Reaction: Meta Quest 2's Price Hike Will Have PSVR2 Relieved or Rubbing Its Hands

So glad they went with quality. Don’t really care about the price too much. Well, probably £550 would be my limit before needing to consider waiting for sales or good bundles.
By the way, why is the question stated in Dollars? That threw my answer off.

There is another take @get2SammyB in that maybe even Facebook can't make VR software sales on a subsidised platform balance the books, as its an enthusiast device that doesn't shift enough hardware or software. I hope PSVR2 really takes off but there's an argument to say that software vr experiences have faded away over the last few years and the vr games people would tell you to play a couple of years ago, are still the games they would tell you to play now.

It'll be 399 I think

@R1spam Or it's hard to sell a headset as cheap as they were without the data mining aspect to subsidize it. Also my take is they've probably been pouring money into their VR meta stuff with little return. This is one of the outcomes.

@R1spam I think Quest’s low power has also backfired in some ways. The resolution is better, but a number of games have worse graphics than PSVR, which is appalling. Before Quest 2, I think PSVR1 was the best selling headset. Sony will probably have a huge influence on the future of VR. Quest’s mobile processor is bad for the future as games are harder to make and more limited.

Facebook said they have heard us you dont have to use your Facebook id to sign in , just use your meta id
all those trackers that go with it.
nope il just buy the psvr2
still have to attach the psvr ti the pc hopefully the psvr can drop that to cannot wait.
safer to stay away from Facebook.

The cheapest PS4 was $299.99 when PSVR launched at $399.99 so I'm going to guess PSVR2 is $599.99 ($100 more than the cheapest disc PS5).

Quest 2 has some wiggle room on price, since you don't need to purchase another device to use it.

The cost of entry for PSVR2 will be brutal, though. Probably $900+ between both devices. Still not bad compared to a good PC and a high-end headset, which will set you back thousands, but I do think the barrier to entry for PSVR2 will keep it from taking off the way it probably deserves to.

@Grumblevolcano Why the cheapest disc PS5 rather than just the cheapest PS5? I don't think PSVR2 will require the disc drive.

Also, don't you think $600 is a bit much of the old 1 was only $400? Which probably half only sold after dropping to $200. I'm guessing $500, same price as the PS5, b/c $600 just seems unrealistic. Though bundled w/ 2 of those crazy controllers I suppose you could be right. Did your $600 include the 2 controllers, is that given Sony only sells it with them, I don't really know.🤷

I think PlayStation will be relieved and it will cost around £400, I doubt it will be more than the PS5 itself but not far off!!

I still think VR is an idea that's a decade too soon.
Tne games themselves are always far lesser quality and lack any substance for the most part, the bulk of them feel like tech demos.

In the infamous words of Kaz Hirai "599 US Dollars!" xD

I already noted yesterday after the blog post that I was worried how much this might end up being. Right now I am suspecting £500-550.
Hope I am wrong! But it's my expectation.
And I'll still be a muppet and try and get it day 1 xD

I expect 400. I'd be kind of appalled at 500. If they go over 500 we're going to be screaming Jim Ryan memes in here until the end of time.

With current Sony thinking and Occulus increase, I'm not pretty worried they'll charge as much as or more than the disc console. Excited as I am for VR2, I'm not paying that. I'd order a Steam Deck before I'd pay that for a headset. It's less cool but realistically would be used more.

Hoping for a good price point obviously but I'd almost pay anything at this point. I'm so hyped! This is one of the main reasons I got a PS5.
My last hope is that it will be backward compatible and that the big VR1 games like Astrobot and Moss will have VR2 upgraded versions. No Mans Sky has already confirmed to be doing that so I don't think its too far fetched.
I just can't wait for a refreshed VR experience. VR1 was the last "magical" moment this aging gamer experienced but the tech is ancient now and I need this updated, high-res, feature-loaded headset in my life! Maybe it will even launch with another Astro Playroom which was a ball on VR1.
My wallet is ready, Sony. Throw it at me!

$400 USD is the right price.
It's important to note that the Quest has the processing hardware, storage and memory built in, while PS VR does not. This should allow them to match the Quest's price easily.

Honestly... I expect $499 minimum with those controllers included. After tax that puts it well above the $500 mark.... plus however much your PS5 cost you.

prediction PSVR 2 $500 and sells less than psvr 1

@Uncharted2007 I think it'll be $400. I think it'll be hard to sell it for as much as the PS5. I think Sony would be willing to sell it as a loss if they could make it up in 2-4 games.

It will cost the same as a PS5 disc edition I promise.

Sony seems to be in a mood of "push the limit and see what sticks, capturing the whales and early adopters in the process."

I would like to see them set a reasonable price at $400 and make it really popular. But. We already know they'll have limited stock, we already know PS5 stock woes are ongoing for years. They know early adopters are wealthy and will pay literally anything on eBay for scarce resources, and they know that's money they can capture for their total limited inventory.

My HOPE is a nice $400 price and it builds its life from there. But my expectation based on the business decision trends at Sony/PS is that they'll se the price excessively 500-600 at launch, capture as much money from the early adopters as they can before the scalper markups, and build product prestige as expensive and hard to acquire, a premium product, and then only when sales flatline, drop the price to 400 or so.

Which isn't really unlike PSVR1's sales model, except starting at a higher point.

@xDD90x I don't think they can match the Quest 2 price point easily; the tech in the PSVR2 is considerably more advanced and more expensive than that in the Quest 2.

@PlayStationGamer3919 There is no way thats its $299 and I would be incredibly surprised if they were to get it down to $399. I think $599 will be the price point.

Keep in mind that the tech for the original PSVR was not very high end compared to the competition at the time, and they still had to sell it for $499. This time around the tech is industry leading and at best they will be able to match the PSVR price; more realistically they will top it by $100.

@thedevilsjester
We also have to consider the fact that even at $499 PS VR was the least expensive of the of the major VR headsets back when it launched. The PS4's price was also slashed to $299 at the same time, so even with the price of the console included, it offered the lowest cost to entry. Now, with Quest 2 on the market that's no longer the case. $399 flat, no other hardware needed, no wires, has a lot of content/dev support, and has most of hit games. Plus the tracking is great and it can optionally be connected to a PC for the enhanced experience. I would say PS faces some stiff competition and knows that they need to price it competitively, even if it means selling them at a loss, just like they have always done with their hardware and like they are currently doing with PS5 Digital Edition.

@themightyant I've always fancied trying it out but the price point for the software available, need for dedicated space and how closed off you are to everyone else in your home have always held me back. I'm with you, I'm not sure it's ready for mass consumption. I was surprised when Sony announced a new VR headset. I thought the sales of the 1st headset, when taken the ps4 install base in context would have made it unlikely. In a way, its cool they are making it and I hope its brilliant and comes with some killer apps. It feels like if Sony can't make it work, no-one is going to make it stick.

@xDD90x I think the difference is that you see the Quest 2 as competition for the PSVR2 and that just isn't the case; no more than the Switch is competition for a gaming PC. They are products that can serve similar functions; but are targeting vastly different markets (and can easily co-exist in the same household with the same consumer).

Instead, the PSVR2 will be competing with the native PCVR systems such as the Valve Index, and the Pimax. While a lot of Quest 2 owners do hook up their headsets to a PC (and its pretty awesome that this feature exists), the experience is very subpar compared to a native headset.

@R1spam I doubt Sony had huge expectations regarding attach rate for psvr. I'd even imagine that 5 million units was considered a success, considering vr was an unproven seller at the time.
The difficulty getting a psvr in the first year, and the seemingly never resolved ps move shortage suggests it was even selling better than expected at times.

@thedevilsjester
I think PlayStation is still competing for mainstream market share even if their device is technologically more on par with the high-end PC headsets. They've always struck a good balance between mainstream and enthusiast appeal. And even with all the advanced tech built into PS VR2, I maintain that the cost savings of not having to include an SoC—processor, memory, storage, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, etc.—plus a battery, will allow them to hit the $399 price point.
But you might be right. We'll just have to wait and see.

There is no chance that the PSVR 2 will be more than the PS5. I doubt it’s more than the digital only PS5’s price of $399 personally.

I think PSVR2 will much more popular than last gens PSVR. Once people see what it will be capable of, it will fly off the shelves like the PS5.

I'm worried that the scalpers will be a problem again, though.

@xDD90x I don't honestly know if I would want the PSVR2 if it was priced in that range. You get what you pay for and I am not really interested in another Quest 2 quality headset. That's the only thing they could make if they priced it at $399. While there is nothing wrong with the Quest 2, a premium headset it is not; and that's what Sony needs to deliver with the PSVR2. Keep in mind that the rumors (from claimed inside sources) about the "Quest Pro" (which would put the specs more inline with the PSVR2) has it priced between $800-$1000. Even considering selling at a loss, and not having to include a mobile phone inside of the headset; I don't think Sony could get the price that low without some serious sacrifices.

As you said though, we will have to wait and see.

I think psvr2 will sell less than the first one. With all the problems associated with VR, the current cost of living crisis, and the supply issues with PS5, its doing to a very hard pass for alot of people

PS I don’t think it’s a coincidence Meta have to raise the price as they take away the mandatory link to a Facebook account.
With less data selling revenue available to offset the loss making £299 figure they have to.
Probably worth pointing that out.

Sony also won’t have that Facebook data selling angle either so expect a similar£399 price which is prob around cost price.

Very similar specs on screen and controllers.

VR , the Gaming equivelent of 3D on TV's with those glasses...and we all know how that turned out.

Take away the wire and I'd happily pay £500 but as is I may wait for a sale

Ideally Id want to pay £350 or less......but Id probably go to £400.

In reality.......Im expecting it to retail at £450

@thedevilsjester I'm very pessimistic on price given current Sony's business methods, but at the same time, I think as you propose it they'd send it out to die. Sure, it would still be appealing to the super niche existing VR community, but realistically that's a small niche, and though the enthusiasts would spend anything, Sony doesn't have a track record of catering to small niches at extreme prices with PS the way they do in, say, audio or photography. They usually kill products that don't hit mainstream appeal pretty quickly.

If it's going to be that expensive, I think it'll sell well at first to early adopter enthusiasts, and then crash and burn like Vita before they abandon it at which point Jim announces there's not really a market for VR, but they'll be there "someday" when someone else makes it popular, like he already said. He really sounded like he had no interest in pursuing VR, which makes the existence of PSVR2 strange to start with.

But I wouldn't rule out they'd set a price like that just to extract as much as they can from overzealous enthusiasts before hitting a planned price cut in a year or so (PS3 Phat/PSVR1 style, though neither was intended.)

And that's in the best of times. Launching into the current market where discretionary items including TVs are sitting as unsold inventory because people have cut spending and/or shifted spending to more expensive basics, a really expensive novelty toy in a category the public still has minimal interest in isn't going to gain momentum. Launch would go well, there's plenty of early adopter enthusiasts, and they won't have much supply. But the device would never gain significant appeal and VR software would remain niche and underserved, and it would always be an exotic PS peripheral at best unless at that pricing.

Either way launch will go fine with enthusiasts even if it's that expensive. The question then is when do they price cut it so it gains any mainstream appeal at all, or do they just let it suffer Vita's fate, and that's that.

@NEStalgia You may be right, and you make some good points.

The problem is that the features they have outlined are not cheap if done right, and if they make sacrifices and cut corners to get that price down, they may lose both the casual and enthusiast.

@thedevilsjester Very true. It's a rock and a hard place, but that's kind of the problem with VR in general. Right now it's expensive niche appeal stuff that's unlikely to ever break out of just being expensive niche appeal stuff unless something drags it wholly mainstream. And the only way that's going to happen if it it sheds the expensive status without being a cheap gimmick like the VR phone headsets. The masses aren't sold on it, and I don't think they'll ever get sold on it until it's put in their hands. And I don't think they'll do that until it's not "really expensive." Though, tbh, even $350-400 I don't think will attract the masses. Sony can do it better than Occulus, but right now VR is still so niche/unappealing/unfamiliar, people aren't really willing to shell out tons of money on it.

Much as I wanted Sony to make PSVR2, part of me can't understand why they're actually making it. Business-wise, VR seems like a dead-end treadmill that COULD someday be the next big thing, but it's caught between the "it's expensive" and "nobody cares until after they've already had one" dilemma.

Much as I dislike Jim, that's pretty much exactly what he was saying about VR in the pre-PS5 launch cycle. And then 2 days later Japan announced PSVR2....

PSVR1 was an experiment for SONY. They recycled PS3 era technology (moves, camera, the light based move tracking also being used for the headset). The tracking solution was already "out-dated" when PSVR1 was released (though besides the small tracking volume it still gets the job done). It was said that PSVR1 was not sold at a loss. The full package costed 500$ (headset, camera, moves).

PSVR2 won't be an experiment. At least it seems to be state-of-the-art technology wise. In comparison to PSVR1, there is no break-out box, since all of that (e.g. 3D audio) is already included in the PS5. The camera will be in the headset (more cameras: 6 instead of 2, but monochromatic not colour), the controller set will be more expensive than the moves, but not vastly more expensive. The screen will be 4k instead of HD, but many cell phone screens are already 4k. Then there is Tobii's eye tracking technology, which needs to be licenced. All-in-all, there is nothing really exotic about the headset, so I would say a price point 400-500$ does not seem unrealistic. SONY might sell the headset at a loss i.e. selling at ~400$ to increase the install base. I doubt they will go cheaper, and I doubt they will go much above 500$. Only very few people would buy an accessory for a price exceeding the console price, in my opinion.

In the end It is always the games which sell hardware. The technology is only for the few enthusiasts. I think PSVR1 was sold mostly because of the novelty (at the time cheapest VR solution), not necessarily because of the irresistible games (I am not saying that there are no good games for PSVR1, there are plenty, but there are also many which would not have any chance on PSVR2). For PSVR2 it will be different, I think. There will still be some indies which succeed and attract people by their "innovative" ideas like super hot, or the likes of beat saber, pistol whip. Otherwise, titles have to match the quality and scale of flat games to appeal to the expected larger player base. I don't expect call of the mountain to match forbidden west in scale, but if it is just a 2h tech demo, it will not sell many headsets. So, I think we will see many more games like resident evil 7 and hitman 3 on PSVR2. The power of the PS5, foveated rendering and the gained experience with VR in general, will reduce the development time to adapt a flat game for VR. At least for the near future, I would not expect big budget games to be made exclusively for VR (like call of the mountain, half life alyx), but rather flat games to be also playable in VR. Hopefully, the new sense controllers and the experience with what works and what does not work in VR allows for more immersive adaptations than what was done for resident evil 7 and hitman 3 on PSVR1. Anyway, without games which match flat games in quality and scale, people will quickly loose interest in VR.

Just like psvr 1, I think sony will sell psvr 2 with the same price as it's main console, so my prediction is $500 for psvr 2.

@Jaberwocky tell me you haven't tried VR without telling me you haven't tried VR

@mclarenrob2 Yes i've tried VR , I get motion Sickness !

@Jaberwocky apologies, that's unfortunate. There is lots of comfort options in most games to help with that, and psvr2 is supposed to have haptic on the actual hmd that can help with it too

@rjejr no chance PSVR2 will be that expensive.
Compare it to Quest2. Since the PSVR2 has no storage, Ill compare it to the cheapest Quest model. $400 including controllers.
The PSVR2 has no expensive CPU and GPU, no Ram, no storage, no wireless radios, no battery. Those savings will be more than enough to cover the costs of a slightly better screen, and eye tracking.
Also Quest is the Wii of VR. Selling lots of units, but a low attach rate. PSVR1 had an amazing attach rate, as it is aimed at gamers, not casuals, so Sony wont need a big profit per unit on PSVR2, as will make money on software.

Its likely going to cost £350/$400

If people are going to consider the total cost of PS5/VR then the quest could be a better option for people, but PSVR2 is aimed at people who already have a PS5, or people looking at buying a next gen console.
Why would a VR fan buy an Xbox over a PS5?
And why would any PS5 owner buy a quest, when PSVR2 will be the same price.

@Deljo well you are in luck. PSVR2 will sell for under £400, with a wireless adaptor being released after 1 year for £100