If you’ve just seen the price of the PS VR 2, you’re probably wincing: at $ 549 / £ 529 (around AU $ 856), Sony’s next-generation virtual reality headset for PS5 is priced to water. mouth – in fact, it is more expensive than the console needed to power it.
So you may want to state that the price is bullshit, but it may go too far. Of course, it may seem absurd that what is likely a fancy accessory for the PS5 should be more expensive than the console itself. Yet Sony may be able to justify the price here… before we rush to the comments, let me explain.
Next generation VR series
Whichever way you cut it, most VR headsets are expensive. Our pick for the best VR headset, the Meta Quest 2 has actually risen in price to $ 399 in the US, £ 399 in the UK and AU $ 629 in Australia. From there, high-end headphones, like the Meta Quest Pro, get even more expensive at $ 1,499 / £ 1,499 / AU $ 2,449, with the likes of Valve Index still needing a powerful PC to connect to.
As for the Quest 2, while the all-in-one VR headset is pretty impressive and can connect to PCs, it lacks the cutting-edge technology that PS VR 2 should have. Not to mention the weight that Sony’s PlayStation development studios can bring to the table, along with the potential integration and optimization between the headset and the PS5.
For example, the Quest 2 sports an LCD display, while the PS VR 2 will have an OLED display, which should offer superior contrast and colors, as well as inky blacks. And the PS VR 2 gets a 120Hz refresh rate out of the box. It’s quite likely that Sony’s first-party developers such as Guerrilla Games, which is working on VR-focused Horizon Call of the Mountain, will be able to take advantage of such a high refresh rate at launch.
Eye-tracking is also a PS VR 2 feature, which is a high-end way to track user movements and enhance the viewing experience. Such technology isn’t cheap, which is why you won’t find it in Quest 2 and it further justifies the price of PS VR 2.
The PS VR 2 is also set to add advanced touch capabilities to its VR controllers, just like the adaptive triggers in the PS5 DualSense controller. It’s something that Meta Quest 2, or indeed other VR headsets, probably won’t be able to compete with. Add Sony’s proprietary Tempest 3D AudioTech and you’re potentially looking at a VR headset that sounds and feels more immersive than other headsets on the market.
So, with the power of PS5, PS VR 2 should be able to deliver more beautiful and engaging VR games than Quest 2’s based on the headset’s integrated chipset; this unless it has been connected to a PC using the Oculus Link cable.
Higher image value
(Credito immagine: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.)
Speaking of which, the overall price for PS VR 2 as a package seems to be set at around $ 1,000. That’s a big chunk of cash, but then grab a Meta Quest 2, Link cable and then a suitably powerful gaming PC or one of our picks for the best gaming laptop, and you’re looking at $ 1,500 if not more.
And there’s no guarantee of plug ‘n’ play compatibility with Quest 2 and some PC-based VR games. While you can bet your last dollar that Sony will do everything it can to ensure smoother and smoother performance between PS VR 2 and PS5.
There are some noteworthy concerns, of course. The most urgent thing is that Sony will have to make sure it really supports PS VR 2 with games and involves a lot of developers, especially if it’s charging the price of a PS5 for the headset. I’m confident Sony will, as if nothing else is offering the PS5 a feature that the Xbox Series X doesn’t have and isn’t likely to come close, at least not anytime soon.
The other concern is that for VR to advance and become more accessible to all, more companies are needed to build more affordable VR headsets connected to a thriving VR software ecosystem. Console games are much more accessible than PC games, so one would potentially have expected Sony to propose a more affordable VR system. Alas, it won’t happen.
Then again, virtual reality has long been a niche technology area, albeit a growing one. So there is some expectation that people who want extra levels of immersion will pay for it. It’s kind of like I decided to pay for the boost that an OLED TV (shout out at the LG C1 OLED) gives my game console, despite having a perfectly good 4K TV.
In many ways PS VR 2 will be a luxury gaming item, which is why it is packed with the latest in VR technology. While that means that for some it will be an instant switch, I believe that for others having such an option may be exactly what they want from next-generation games. And if you fall into the latter camp, check out our guide on how to pre-order PS VR 2.
