Wednesday, November 2nd 2022
PlayStation VR2 Pricing Revealed, Costs More Than a PlayStation 5
Sony has finally revealed the pricing for its upcoming PlayStation VR2 headset and for those interested in getting one, we really hope you've saved up, as the headset costs more than a PlayStation 5 console. The headset will only launch on the 22nd of February 2023, but Sony will start taking pre-orders later this month and you're going to have to cough up $549.99 / €599.99 / £529.99 / ¥74,980 depending on where you live to get your hands on one. For the money, you get the PS VR2 headset, the PS VR2 Sense controllers and a set of undisclosed stereo headphones. Sony will also offer a bundle with Horizon Call of the Mountain, which will retail for $599.99 / €649.99 / £569.99 / ¥79,980.
In addition to the headset, Sony will also offer a charging station for the controllers, which comes in at $49.99 / €49.99 / £39.99 / ¥5,480. The controllers would otherwise charge via USB-C. The PS VR2 also uses USB-C to connect to the PS5 console. The PS VR2 offers 2000 x 2040 pixels resolution per eye, using OLED displays that are capable of 90 and 120 Hz refresh rate. The headset also sports four cameras for headset and controller tracking, as well as an IR camera for each eye, for eye tracking. The eye tracking hardware is made by Swedish Tobii, which is a company that specialises in eye tracking solutions. Sony also announced 11 new PS VR2 games, which among others include Switchback VR, Cities VR - Enhanced Edition, Crossfire: Sierra Squad and The Light Brigade.
Sources:
Sony (PS VR2 announcement), Sony (New games announcement)
In addition to the headset, Sony will also offer a charging station for the controllers, which comes in at $49.99 / €49.99 / £39.99 / ¥5,480. The controllers would otherwise charge via USB-C. The PS VR2 also uses USB-C to connect to the PS5 console. The PS VR2 offers 2000 x 2040 pixels resolution per eye, using OLED displays that are capable of 90 and 120 Hz refresh rate. The headset also sports four cameras for headset and controller tracking, as well as an IR camera for each eye, for eye tracking. The eye tracking hardware is made by Swedish Tobii, which is a company that specialises in eye tracking solutions. Sony also announced 11 new PS VR2 games, which among others include Switchback VR, Cities VR - Enhanced Edition, Crossfire: Sierra Squad and The Light Brigade.
39 Comments on PlayStation VR2 Pricing Revealed, Costs More Than a PlayStation 5
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Also, we do cover consoles here, when there are major announcements like this.
It's not real availability. Check prices in Sweden. Try to buy one for MSRP, I'd love to see the crusade that takes you on.
So for perspective scalpers out there the PSVR2 is a bit of a gamble and scalpers don’t like to gamble. I totally agree. I’ve purchased a total of three PS5 gaming consoles . One was direct from Sony via online purchase at a time when it was very, very, very difficult to get. The other two were from GameStop at different times. Those two were bundled units that came with second controller a couple of PS5 games and a gift card IIRC. Those were more but calculated out weren’t inflated with respect to price. In other words they weren’t gouging.
If you’re persistent you can get the PS5 at MSRP but you have to be quick. It’s a challenge to be sure but it is possible.
Because it is still impossible to get a PS5 at MSRP in most parts of the world. Unless he lost on a different planet that is.
It could very well be that the PSVR2 is scalped to heck and back. It’s not always easy to predict these things.
My only point is that not everyone can make use of a PSVR2 and for those lucky few that can, not everyone is interested. If Sony built the PSVR2 the way I had hoped, it would have also functioned as a stand alone product like the Oculus Quest 1, Oculus Quest 2, Quest Pro and upcoming Quest 3 as well as working with the PS5 (heck toss in PC support too). That would have removed the dependency of a difficult to acquire product like the PS5 Which would have made it a better candidate for scalping.
It’s a fair point to say that there is palpable dislike (hatred) for VR among some of the gaming community. So this introduces an element to be concerned with for would be scalpers. It’s worth considering too because availability of VR HMDs such as the Quest 2 for example has remained relatively high since introduction. IIRC, there was a bit of a drought (for VR HMDs in general) around the announcement / release of Half Life Alyx but that was short lived and the exception not the rule.
So, since VR HMDs haven’t historically been attacked and consumed by scalpers, I see little reason to suspect that this one would,…….although it could happen. I’ve said this before in other threads. The Quest 2 is almost certainly being sold at a loss. Why FB / Meta chose to do this is on them and it appeared to have backfired somewhat when they were forced to raise the price.
Whenever a company sells a product at a loss in hopes of recuperating their cost with a walled garden they take a chance. It would have hurt FB / Meta / Mark Suckerberg far more if people bought the Quest 2 and used it exclusively with Steam VR,….which is a viable option.
By saying a hate FB / Meta and won’t buy their VR HMD you’re actually doing them a favor. By buying the Quest 2 and using it your way rather then their way you are really sticking it to them where it hurts.
Sony is going to take a loss on each VR unit still. So unless it's stuck with the PS ecosystem they should not do it. If a Sony person advocated PC support, or a Nintendo person advocated Nintendo games on the PC they should be hauled out of the office and shot on site. Shoot everyone in that meeting as well just to be sure. Then bomb the building. These companies require people locked into their ecosystem to be valid, anything that does not further that is utter suicide.
The PC side of things is odd, and frankly idiotic on all levels. On the hardware side it acts like Nintendo where the companies involved do make money on hardware rather than taking a loss of hundreds per unit sold. And then you have competing stores with different structures so it's all disjointed. There's no clear model and at times that pays off massively. It also backfires as often. The hell with having all these online stores and no more physical media.
VR itself though makes thing dumber. It's another sell units at a loss item but this time on the PC as well which is utterly comedic PC is where you price gouge for all you can on hardware. The software has also frankly sucked. I say this as someone who got the way back like test kit for it before facebook/meta came in. The first few times anybody uses it their mind is blown, then that changes. There were a lot of games I really wanted to like but they either blew chunks or really were better on the 34in ultrawide or 4k monitor. I've kept up with new ones but it's for the SO, her sisters and nieces, to play beat saber now and that's all it's used for. The best thing I can compare it to is that I was (and still am) massively into retro arcade games. I can play those over and over for hours and now decades. Love them! But the SO and her family do not like them. However when we go to the arcades left here it's always this experience thing where it's unique but it's only entertaining for one or two rounds and they move on.
I'd like to see VR be a non gimick but it's just not happening.... yet. Maybe it will!
The original PS VR was not directly compatible with PC, but solutions to use it as such appeared, the same should happen with this one.
I have the Index and Reverb G2 V2. With the Index lenses barely touching my eyelashes (closest FOV possible), the FOV is pretty darn good and I don't find myself wanting more. The G2 with the inner face gasket removed comes close to the Index.
Hopefully soon (maybe Reverb G3) there will be a pancake lens, OLED screen that's brighter than the Index and G2. Something like 2500 x 2500 pixels per eye would be sublime and the 3080ti would still run it fine at 90hz. If the FOV matches even the G2 without the inner gasket, I'd be fine with that.
Some commenting here say that VR is dead once the novelty wears off. I find myself going back to VR for maybe a week or 2, then leaving it along for the same amount. Coop games like Serious Sam The Last Hope and Arizona Sunshine are where most of my VR time was spent in the past. I've spent many hours with a few friends playing those games. HL Alyx is also great and I'm on my 2nd playthough now (damn Jeffry level).
Where VR REALLY shines IMO is in sim racing. I have a DOF Reality 3DOF motion set with 2 Buttkicker subs under the seat (to vibrate over bumps, etc) and a whole Fanatec wheel/shifter/pedals/e-brake setup. Even have the 5-point harness with 12lb springs attached to the frame to simulate Gforces when braking. I have 4 server fans 120mmx38mm with 3D printed veloctity stacks and channelers that speed up / down to simulate wind. This setup is decent in front of a 100" projector screen, but in stereoscopic VR, it's a WHOLE new level. Completely immersive. I've spend MANY hours just driving in VR, testing out different cars and tracks, and e-brake drifting around tracks and slower cars. Rain or shine. Night or day. Assetto Corsa is the only racing game I play in VR. Not only does it run real well cause it's old, there are so many mods for the game (like Content Manager, CSP, Pure, etc) that truly transform it. It's an expensive setup but wow is it great.
2nd Giving a company money just because you believe it would hurt them is utterly naive. A company like Meta does nothing out of philantrophy - if you need another example for companies working that way: PS5, XBSX. If you want to hit a profit-oriented company as a customer: Ignore it and it's products.