With all the hubbub around PlayStation VR and the Oculus Rift and a host of other entrants into the VR realm, Microsoft has remained noticeably silent about the whole thing. That's about to change as new reports suggest Microsoft could be VR-ready in 2017, complete with a new Xbox One and a new game.

The reports suggest a "major developer" out of Europe is working on a new virtual reality game to launch on Xbox One sometime in 2017. Additionally, the game would be shown at E3, though no one's saying if it will be shown privately or publicly. There was also no word on whether or not the game would be playable on all the Xbox One versions, including the couple projected for announcement at E3.

Further reports note that the new Xbox One set for release in 2017 was "technically capable of supporting the Oculus Rift," a development that could well open up VR gaming on the sysetm. Given that Oculus and Microsoft had enjoyed a partnership together, this represented good news for Xbox One gamers hoping to get in on the VR fun.

Still, this isn't the greatest news, especially given that PlayStation's plans for VR are much clearer, and much more upfront. The PlayStation VR will hit this October, with over 50 games set to hit the launch window running from October to the end of the year. That's going to blow Microsoft's "Nothing" out of the water for the 2016 holiday shopping season, and that's not a good sign at all. Microsoft had already been lagging the PlayStation's sales; with Sony's plans for VR about to thoroughly swamp Microsoft, that could put the company even further behind and hurt it badly going into the next generation, which is maybe about four years out.

Microsoft has VR plans, and that's good news. But Sony's plans are more extensive and ready to start much sooner that Microsoft's are, and that's going to hurt Microsoft pretty badly in the long run.