PlayStation VR2 launches in February at $549.99 by Isabelle Tomatis, Vice President of Brand, Hardware and Peripherals, SIE for the PlayStation Blog
PS VR2 launches February 22, 2023 at $549.99.
Woof.
Costing more than the PS5 hurts. I thought it would be $500 at the max. I understand the pricing. The tech in the headset and controllers is top notch; market-leading in some areas. Combined with the PS5 is still cheaper than a Valve Index and supped up PC or the new Quest Pro.
But, man, it is a tough pill to swallow when just looking at the sticker price. I bet Sony felt good when Meta raised the cost of the Quest 2 by one hundred bucks earlier this year. The top end Quest 2 now costs just $50 less than PS VR2. If you have a PS5, I think spending the extra $50 is a no brainer. If you don’t already own a PS5, then the conversation there changes tune.
Sony also announced a wave of games heading to PS VR2. Notable titles are The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR from Supermassive Games, Crossfire: Sierra Brigade, Cosmonious High by Owlchemy Labs (of Job Simulator fame), and Tentacular. None of those are “wow, gotta buy PS VR2 day one” games to me though. Horizon VR: Call of the Mountain is doing almost all of Sony’s lifting here.
I’m surprised there is no mention of Astro Bot yet. I would have bet that Asobi was going to have a game ready for launch. I’m amped for Resident Evil Village. Hopefully, that is also a launch day title and I can have some impressions for Chapter Select Season 5. And, of course, the dream that Half-Life: Alyx could come to PS VR2 is still strong. That would be the game to snag. I hope that is something Sony and Valve could make work.
I am excited to get my hands on PS VR2. Hopefully, that’ll be at launch. But I know I am in the enthusiast group of consumers. I think this is going to be a tough, tough sell to the average PS5 owner.
And perhaps that’s the point. With Big Tech pushing for headsets and immersion, Sony is in a prime spot with their tech. It’d be even better if PS VR2 is PC-compatible. One would hope it would be, considering all that connects it to the PS5 is a USB-C cable. We’ll see how it shakes out in February and for the rest of the PS5’s life-cycle. The tech is exciting. I hope the games will be too.