PSVR2 Gets Enormous Price Reduction Starting March 2025

Now this is an appealing price point.

Irrrelevant what the new price is. Sony should have never bothered with this unwanted flop. It's like trying to sell 3D TV in 2025.

I'm about as interested in this at a lower price as I am by the thought of playing DA Failhard for free.

A price cut is great news, but I still think it's not worth more than €359.99/ £299.99.

My issue is I still can't point at any VR games and say: "I need to play that!"

Aside from the first Astro Bot game, which is PSVR1 exclusive lol

It’s not the price, it’s the games, stupid!

With a steadily-growing library of good games, and this price cut now, the PSVR2 might actually worth buying

“Virtually giving it away” is quite the exaggeration, no? This is still kind of expensive. It was cheaper (350) when it was on sale during Christmas and even then was still too expensive imo. I got it for 260 on eBay which is a good price point. Anything higher than 300 AFTER TAX isn’t really worth it.

@Ralizah the problem with VR is that no video or trailer can do these games justice. PSVR2 has been by far by best purchase since psv which I enjoyed immensely. I found PSVR1 pretty bad in comparison.

@CrispyMango92 I got it for 600 and it was well worth the price.

@ManaOwls as a day 1 adopter, I would happily recommend it at the price point with one (or maybe 2) caveats;

1) it makes games such as GT7 a lot better with judging apexes so if you have VR2 compatible games it's a good accessory.
2) If there are games you want to try out (for me some of the smaller, cheaper games, and there's a fair few) then the cut helps absorb the aggregate spend compared to say £530 for the unit alone.

It is a very capable unit, but unfortunately 1st party support is lacking even compared to ps5, unfortunately.

If they announce another Quest or Index device without OLED, I am buying it for sure!

Resident Evil Village in VR is one of the most immersive gaming experiences I’ve ever had. Hope the price point gets tons of new user and therefore compels more developers to publish games for it.

@naruball I guess my thing is that I think a game should be appealing apart from the VR element.

I want a game that makes me think: "I can't wait to get a headset to experience this!" Not: "Oh, this is kinda whatever, but I bet it's kinda cool in VR."

The closest we've come to that is a few flat games with VR support like Tetris Effect and the recent mainline RE games. But I want software like that which is built for the ground up for VR. Like, imagine if the recent Astro Bot game was a fully built-for-VR game?

But 90% of the VR games I see I wouldn't play off a headset, which is a problem for me.

It seems like a cool but under-supported peripheral. Problem for me is I just don't see the appeal of VR. Until there's like true "you're in the Matrix" ***** which there probably never will be, it's just not something I'm interested in. I've tried the PSVR2 with Call of the Mountain and it was interesting, but felt like a gimmick throughout.

I can appreciate that companies keep taking swings at this because we'll never get a truly immersive experience if they don't, but right now, it all feels like a concept piece.

The hand tracking feature looks very promising!

So on black friday it will be £299.99 which is the price I'm willing to pay.

@Ralizah yep this is exactly why my launch psvr2 has been collecting dust for over a year now. I realized a lot of vr enthusiasts have such a low bar for a good game as long as it is in vr. For months I was hearing how Vertigo 2 was one of the best games ever made and when it finally came out to psvr2 it was just some mediocre indie. Made me reflect and I noticed I was just buying games for my psvr2 just so I could find something worth while to actually play on it. So I have a new rule when it comes to vr games; if I wouldn’t play it on a regular screen then I won’t play it with vr. Turns out in the past year no vr game that released on psvr2 has been worth it due to that rule. The headset just has no worthwhile games

£300 and I'll consider. I still don't understand why it launched more expensive than the base console in the first place. It's still more expensive than a PS5 digital edition in the UK.

Tempting, but still not low enough for me. I'm hoping from this price point, any discounts will bring it down more.. I'd buy if it drops near the £250-£300 mark at the absolute most, however unlikely that may be.

On a separate note, it's great that it's functional on PC/Steam - makes it far more appealing for sure.

Wait, i’m probably reading it wrong. But there are two Sku’s, and one of them contains a game, but both cost the same?

@Czar_Khastik hahaha fs

I have the PSVR 1 and while it's pretty cool, it's still just too much of a gimmick for me. The headset, although has gotten better with the new model, is just still too cumbersome. Usually after 20-30 minutes, I just want out. There have not been any games I've really been compelled to push through on it where I could play them for extended periods, and nothing I have seen with the PSVR 2 that really warranted a purchase. Someday, when they become smal enough and cheap enough to be the size of sunglasses, I may give it another try.

I paid $200 for the first one and have only used it a handful of times. Lesson learned.

And no PC in my possession is going to be able to run any VR game unless it’s something like tic tac toe or hangman.

@LogicStrikesAgain that is correct. This price reduction is most likely to get rid of excess stock as quickly as possible which is why the bundle is the same price as the regular version

Great headset when I get the chance to play it very good piece of kit! Ps premium gave away alot of great games. Could do with another first party game but so could the ps5 😂

It sounds like they're trying to get rid of inventory at this point.

Though whatever the reason, PSVR2 has some truly great games but also sadly misses out on many but if you're a fan of Gran Turismo and Resident Evil in particular, they play brilliantly on PSVR2

@get2sammyb couldn’t agree more. I picked one up last year and have absolutely adored my time with it so far.

@PloverNutter Oh wow ok, but it still doesnt make sense to me to price them the same then. Why would anyone buy the version without the game? Doesn't seem really enticing if they want to get rid of those stock

@Czar_Khastik Least snobbish rich person

I got one and i enjoy my time with it! This was my first Vr experience, i never owned PSVR1. It does bug me that they won’t port over Astro Bot. I hope they make a VR sequel for PSVR2. Also hope they keep investing in VR as i love the technology and do wish to see a PSVR3 in the future accompanying the PS6

This might actually get me to buy it...

Now I will see what the price drops to for Black Friday, then maybe I'll pick it up.

I’ve been saving for a Pro but now this is awfully tempting.

Great news. I bought it the moment it hit brick and mortar stores, and I am glad I did. Hitman 3 is coming next month, and I can’t wait for it.
Third party support is good, Somy just needs to support more themselves.

I've never even researched it due to the cost.

I will probably take a look at it but was planning to get a Nintendo Switch 2 when it comes out and I can't afford both.

The VR2 will have to offer a lot to make me change my plans.

199 and I'll try it

So if it is still on sale by the end of the year then the Black Friday sale on this price may make it worth purchasing. Unless I spank all of my money on the Switch 2 first.

I know that if I bought one I would use it 2-3 times and then it would go into storage. Seems like a very anti social way of gaming if you live with family.

@LogicStrikesAgain It is basically a clearance sale. They just want the headsets gone and this adds credence to the rumor that Sony halted production on the headset a while back. Sony wants it off shelves as quickly as possible and to put it behind them, like so many of their peripherals they have made over the years

I have PSVR1 and a decent library of games. It gets used infrequently, but I enjoy it when I do play it. I have recently tried a mates' Meta Quest 3 - he's really really into his VR. And compared to PSVR1, Meta Quest 3 is fantastic.

Does anyone know what PSVR2 is like in comparison to Meta Quest 3? I'm not going to immediately grab a VR2 if it's of equal or better quality, but if it gets to £250 I may be tempted.

Decent price drop. It's something we used to see with all hardware as the tech got better and cheaper, rare nowadays though.

Still not going to make me jump on board. I have a passing interest in VR but they'd have to almost literally give it away for me to ever jump on. It will always be too much money for me to justify for what is a very niche sector.

@PloverNutter Ah ok, hmm, that’s a bit disappointing. I do hope they still see a future in VR

Not enough to make me want to buy this over the Meta Quest 3.
I owned the PSVR but the PSVR2 never called me because of the price > lack of must play titles > lack of backward compatible.
If they would allow (yes, allow) the PSVR2 to play my old VR titles I would gain a reason to buy it.

$400 is still way too expensive… It should be max $300.Neither the hardware or game are there to make worth the investment

Around a 25% price cut. Not exactly an enormous price cut. I would try it for maybe $199.00. Anything higher is a joke.

How about giving the day 1 early adopters some free store credit after shafting them out of £500+ and then ditching support immediately?

No, thought not. Sony👎

After getting it day 1 and being hyped about it. The screens screwed up after a couple of weeks. Got a full refund and have not been tempted to get it again since. Even at this reduced priced I don't feel like I'm missing out.

@LogicStrikesAgain it doesn't look like SIE (gaming Sony) has any interest in VR for the future. According to GameSpot, a source at Sony said that SIE was forced by main company Sony to make the PSVR2 even though they did not want to which explains the complete lack of support past launch. It is like how back around 2010 SIE was forced to make 3DTV compatible games because Sony was trying to make those popular at the time.

Can someone remind me if this is more or less than the price it was on during Black Friday? It sounds like it’s slightly more, but I don’t remember. I’m tempted to jump on it, but less so if it’s not matching that previous sale point.

@hbkay yeah, if Sony doesn't come to my house and offer a free cleaning, I'll be very disappointed. After all, when consoles get a price cut, the early adopters always get "some free store credit". Right? Same with clothing stores, etc.

Isn’t the Meta 3 like $500 or something? People out here saying this should be $199 seem a bit unreasonable. It’s still a good piece of hardware, i’d say $299 - $349 would be a good price

@PloverNutter if that were true, they would be forced to make games for it, too. "A source" doesn't mean anything.

@PloverNutter I don’t get why they would be so against it? I really think VR, maybe not in it’s current form necessarily, is a part of the future of gaming.

Being a game company, and especially one of the few companies period, that has a market share in VR, they surely have a bit more visionary insight than that, to just give it all up. But oh well, we’ll see

Still too much for me

@LogicStrikesAgain Granted, the Quest 3 doesn’t require an extra $400 device to use it tho. Plus the Quest 3 is actually getting games and will continue to get games for a longer period due to Meta opening up the OS to third parties manufacturers.

Meh, it's not cheaper than the sale it had recently, and I'm pissed off anyway as mine's broken and out of warranty so I've been trying for a month now to book it in for repair but the repair service is ass.

wasn't worth it at £350 over Xmas, and £400 is NOT giving it away, are you crazy?

I mean when you've got the meta quest 3 and apparently new valve headset this year and both actually have a decent amount of games then what's the point in psvr2

@naruball ………….. ahem……….. 3DS

@AverageGamer True, but the Meta 3 also requires a PC, right? And a decent one is going to cost way more than $400.

Also, does the Meta still require like a Facebook login or something? I haven’t really followed developments

@Czar_Khastik dude. Yuck.

Not for me. Personally I think Sony should focus on making great first party games again/get them out more often #whereAreTheGames

Microsoft will be releasing more games this year than Sony by the looks of it lol

@LordFunkalot “Microsoft will be releasing more games this year than Sony by the looks of it lol”

Yes of course, they bought two of the biggest publishers in the world, would be a bit embarrassing if they didn’t

It is a great headset and I think the price point is much more palatable for consumers, if you like racing games you wont find a better VR one than GT7 it's awesome (& I don't have a wheel...yet).
I agree with others it is a shame some games are not multiplatform but hey console wars and all that 🤷‍♂️

£399 for an accessory... literally a mobile screen and two lenses. Of I had a PS5 I would still get one over any Quest. Setting up Quest 2 itself on an app didn't work for me. You have an 'allow permissions' button that you have to click. Never worked so I had to download older version of the app. Then I had trouble connecting it to pc with the link cable and air link. The link app doesn't work. By that point I thought there is no way I will purchase another one. Avoiding that ***** and just purchasing a PSVR2 would be the way to go if you have a PS5. Loads of people online in forums asking for help and nothing works. If you have money to risk, lots of small 3d games to choose from. Just those games are prob on Steam too. So if you have a good pc get a PSVR2.

@Romans12 "enormous price reduction" "virtually giving it away" LOL

I already have the PSVR2, since the very first day, and in all honesty... I could not advise someone to buy one just now, even at that kind of price.

I'm a big PSVR1 lover, I still have it, plugged and all, and I'm still watching 3D blurays on it (yes !). Still playing awesome games on it (I replayed Astrobot last year, still awesome).

But the PSVR2 is... a strange piece of technology. I have invested in it to bear its original discomfort (the device originally really, really hurt my front-head) but even then... The infamous "sweet spot" that you HAVE to find (and then stay on it), the inability to play any 3D movies (why don't they make a store for that ? Sure, it's a niche market, but as the PSVR2 is)...

I don't know. I LOVED (and still do !) my PSVR1. The 2 ? Not so sure. Village was awesome, yeah. Really, really awesome. GT7... it makes me nauseous, and the overall image quality takes such a hit that I find myself playing more regularly, on my flat screen, than in VR.

The Meta Quest really seems to be the best choice, for now, if you want to explore the awesome world of VR. I'm saying that without having touched one, so, maybe I'm wrong. But everything I read about it just feels right...

@LogicStrikesAgain Totally would 😂 but I’d like Sony to be releasing more than they are 🫤

@HappyGamerGirl I felt the same way they publicly admitted it was a flop and then gave me the game as part of my PS Membership 3 weeks later. Totally lame move.

They should have put Turok or Tomb Raider collection remaster instead.

@Quintumply Virtually worth buying would have been better.

@Dimey "enormous price reduction" "virtually giving it away" LOL

@LordFunkalot Yeah, i’m right there with you

If there were PSVR2 versions of Astro and WipEout Omega Collection I'd bite at that price, but as it is, only GT7 really appeals.

Still would be a £400 dust collector.There just aren't enough games to justify it at that price.

As it is I can see myself only using it on GT7 and depending on the daily races I can go weeks without playing that game.

Half it again and it would be in the realms of consideration, for me at least

Enormous is a strong word. 50% of would be enormous.

Try out Trombone Champ and be converted.

Pistol whip is also rather good.

@hbkay the exception that proves the rule

@DonkeyFantasy but it did become compatible for free (thanks to the adaptor they sent to everyone who asked for one)

@armondo36 all of his posts are supposed to be funny and not meant to be taken seriously. I personally thought it was hilarious.

This price drop is fantastic news and I hope to see a lot more users soon. This is a terrific headset with a plethora of great games. I mostly play VR now instead of flat-screen. The immersion is just unbeatable. Also, if you have the highest tier of PS+ you have access to 10+ amazing VR titles right off the bat. Hop in and ignore the naysayers!

I love mine, I got it during the black friday deals. I'll be honest though I use it more on the pc side than on my ps5.

This is Karma paying me back for my impulse buying...

In what world is $400 "virtually giving it away"? Anyway, $150 is a great price drop but I'll wait for an even lower price during Black Friday/Cyber Monday before grabbing one. Didn't answer the poll because none of the choices fit that scenario.

I will go all in at $299 (instant buy) - $349 (maybe) I need more games.

Everyone jump at it. But be warned, you will never enjoy racing games, platformers, horror, or first person shooters outside of VR anywhere near as much ever again.

@RiotMaker2424
Exactly this.

@HappyGamerGirl It was never about shifting headsets. Just the fact the console is capable of VR made it look more futuristic than the Xbox.

@HappyGamerGirl "I'm about as interested in this at a lower price as I am by the thought of playing DA Failhard for free."

What is it with you guys and that game? 😅 I've never played it but it just looks like a standard run of the mill western action rpg. Is it because you played it and hated it or some YouTuber/streamer is telling you to hate it or die trying?

20% reduction is hardly attractive. The intro led me to believe I would scroll down and see a 50% price cut. The Quest 3 is £289 and is far superior, objectively, in pretty much every measure. Why on earth would someone buy a PSVR2 when they could get a Q3?

@LogicStrikesAgain No. The Quest 3 does not require a PC. It a standalone device. Facebook is also not required… You really need to update your 3 years out of date information.

@Juanalf The majority of haters never played Veilguard & just jumped straight on the hatewagon. Because for those kind of people it was the cool thing to do and the game of the moment to blindly hate on.

I actually played it. Was it one of my all time favorites? Nope. Was is the flat out atrocity so many people claimed it to be? Again, nope. While it wasn't the greatest game I also had enough fun playing it that I never felt I was wasting my time. I also never felt I wasted my $$$ paying full price for it.

@naruball Thanks for clearing that up. The mods removed my comment because why not, it's not that I already made literally 1000 similar ones

@AverageGamer I told ya i didn’t follow developments. And i don’t ‘need’ to do anything, but i should have in this case. Thanks for the update, and i guess you made a good point about the price 👍🏼

The issue I have is that I can't actually physically play most of the best VR games. I get motion sickness pretty quickly.

I bought the bundle for €380 last november at Playstation Direct.

The price isn't the problem. I feel bad for Sony as they are at least trying to innovate with VR. Adopters will argue there isn't enough software, but seriously, that's not ALL on Sony. Where is the VR content from... football stadiums? Music festivals? Flat pack furniture instructions? Maps? No-one is doing anything!

Who else is doing anything at all with VR? The whole wearable technology market has stalled. If anything we are all going backwards!

Honestly, for a modern-day PC VR headset, that's an absolute steal. I don't think it's an amazing price for PlayStation 5 in particular, but this is a really good competitive price against the Quest 3 for PC VR gaming.

I've never been happier to procrastinate a purchase.

Still getting it used.

Dear Moderators - Please don't ever remove an @Czar_Khastik post. He may be 'inappropritae' at times but I look forward to his comments as much as I look forward to reading the articles themselves. Dude has a great sense of humor that I, for one, enjoy immensely. Do the community here a solid and give the man a permanent pass. Just sayin'

Sony should focus on handheld rather than wasting money on vr, or at least focusing on making the next ps portal.

I've had mine since it launched and I love it. Would recommend if you're interested.

Considering this is more than the holiday sale price… nah! But I’d absolutely be tempted by a future sale based on this new list price, i.e., $300 or less

I barely use mine, but I managed to snag it from a random Costco deal this past Christmas for only £200. Never saw it that low before, so I had to get it. Sold out soon after I did, so I got lucky. Good piece of kit, but not really worth it unless you play something like GT7 a lot... which I do.

I mean, if you don't have a great PC + Quest 3, and just have a PS5 and plan on sticking with Consoles, than the PSVR2 is worth owning just to fully experience Resident Evil Village, especially with it's new low sticker price. RE Village is the PSVR2's magnum opus IMO. It's VR cut scenes are the ultimate VR2 showcase imo. But would i take a VR2 over Q3 to use with PC? Not a chance in holy he-man. lol

PSVR2 titles worth checking out >

• Resident Evil: Village
• Resident Evil 4 Remake - (The treasure hunting, and entirety of the Village section were such a blast! It felt like one highly immersive glorious epic adventure.)
• Subside - (If only the devs applied music to each area, and made the marine life more robust and random when encountering them. It's impressive, but it felt some what sterile and unsettling. 'Photo realistic' marine life doesn't appeal to me in VR, and as expected, the Shark cage encounter that you have to unlock is the stuff of nightmares. lol)
• Compound - (I haven't had this much fun with a boomer shooter since Golden Eye 007's multiplayer. Going back to play the optimized ports for DOOM, DOOM II, Power Slave & Killing Time: Resurrected for PS5 don't even hold a candle in terms of fun factor.)
• Metro Awakening
• Arken Age
• Alien: Rogue Incursion
• Moss Book 1&2 - (Although, neither looks as tack sharp or clear as they do on Quest 3, regardless of the 1 generation behind visuals for both on Q3. I couldn't believe how soft they look thanks on PSVR2 by comparison. Must be the fresnel lenses. Pancake is in a different league with Q3.)
• Vacation Simulator - (The sea floor section at the beach was pretty magical. Get this for the beach area, you won't regret it!)
• Behemoth

NGL, I'd start adding the PC adapter in the box too to complete the value proposition.

@HotGoomba Nah. The Quest 3s is the modern PC VR headset steal. It lighter, cheaper, wireless, and offers just about the same functionality as the Quest 3 in standalone. There nothing worth it about buying PSVR2 over a Quest system for…. Plus you still need to buy the adapter so that another $60 which at that point. You may as well had just bought a Quest 3.

@AverageGamer
The Quest 3 feels like it's 1-2 generations ahead of PSVR2.
Slim beautiful smaller visor, Wireless, ring-less controllers, Pancake lens clarity is amazing, no god rays, no mura, no head movement motion blur(@85 nits SDR), minimal glare, the silicone user interface(Side accessory) is super comfortable, it's IPD dial has actual numbers, colour passthrough, a size adjustable mixed reality 3D/2D screen, it just feels like it's generations apart in terms of how it looks and feels(etc etc), and it's above and beyond far more diverse based on what it can do.

PSVR2 has the clear edge strictly in terms of black levels, colours, comes equipped with eye tracking & foveated Rendering for better game performance, superior controller haptics, head haptics, adaptive triggers, and easily connects to a plug n play power console. It just needs a serious revision, that's all. lol

And it always cracks me up when people sh** all over the Quest 3's stand alone power. If Meta allowed wireless connectivity to pair Quest 3 with an XSX, you'd get power close to that of a PS5, and i say close because Q3 doesn't have eye tracking & FR.

Connect Q3 to a PC with 4090, and especially a 5090 and power wise it will crap all over PS5. My dream set up right now would be to magically connect Q3 wirelessly to a PS5 Pro. That would be the ultimate VR Console plug n' play solution. lol

And also, PC VR has mods for Resident Evil : Village, 7, 2Remake & 3Remake, thanks to Praydog. There aren't any other worth while PSVR2 + PS5 exclusive i can even think of right now other than Resident Evil 4 Reamke.... Gran Turismo you say? Nah, i don't care for racing sims. Meanwhile, Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, along with the Shark encounter from PSVR Worlds have both been left for dead on PSVR1....What a huge missed oppertunity.

@Czar_Khastik

I think its nuts that they removed your comment. At this point it's a feature on this website.

@AverageGamer You're not wrong, but people hate Meta, and that alone is a reason for people to buy the PSVR2.

@HotGoomba Not enough people hate Meta since the Quest continues to outsell every major VR headset on the market.

Bought it 400€ during the last price cut.
Enjoying beat saber and kayak mirage so far.
Haven't DL horizon yet.
Waiting to clear some backlog before losing myself in no man sky.
Spaceship adventuring will be a childhood dream made Virtually Real Xb

I'll pass on it until it can support 3D movies/blu-rays

@DETfaninATL @CieloAzure Thanks guys, I appreciate your feedback. You'll sooner see Gears of War on PS5 than the sarcasm movement stopping

Not having a port of Half-Life: Alyx is a huge missed opportunity

I simply do not have the room that psvr2 requires in my current situation so even if the price is right I wouldn't be able to use it sadly

@get2sammyb it just is whether people like it or not, could it be better, of course but standing in a cavern with a sword in your hand, seeing your breath, hearing the howls and screams in your ears, the rumble in your fingers from a winged beast the size of a building, knowing your going to have to swing with precision in order to survive the next corner, that kind of visceral experience can only come from this headset.

I think in a lot of ways this audience is the wrong audience for VR. This is the home of single player narrative driven playable movie fans, which in the market is a dying market. VR DOES do that well too, but you won't find much of that because it can't even make money in the larger flat market let alone the smaller VR market. So what the crowd here tends to think is what would get them to want vr is the one thing it'll rarely ever have for the foreseeable. But imagine if gta6 online had vr how popular that might be since most players just want to hang out in the space. The narratives exist on PC via flat 2 VR mods and are great, but it comes as quite a cost to brute force and is still imperfect. Right now the biggest problem with VR is to do the kind of things people want and do it smoothly, consoles aren't close to the power needed and even PC is scarcely there still.

@NeonPizza Still have my pimax super on order... Releasing Q4 23.... No q1 25....no q2 25..... 😛

Is considered an upgrade to a 5090 when launched to better keep up with vr brute forcing. Then the 5090 arrived. $2500 Street when you can find it and even if you do it's a 600w space heater that may be missing parts, may have black screens of death, and has a high chance of bursting into flames....... And with all that is only 28% better than 4090, has almost no uplift for quest 2/psvr2 resolution, does have ok uplift for high res sets like the super, but it's main gimmick is multi frame Gen that doesn't even work for VR.

What a disappointment. Even a $3k oc GPU is underperforming for vr. Looks like we're waiting 2 more years minimum due suitable hardware. I feel like we've hit trouble. Both Nvidia and AMD are basically saying we've hit a brick wall, we can't increase performance anymore, and any increase comes with a proportionate logarithmic price increase. That'll kill console too. It means the next consoles will either have to cost a fortune that'll kill console or the next consoles won't actually be much more performance than current ones if affordable.

I feel like that's going to push streaming into the mainstream much more quickly because now even a $3k GPU is delivering MOSTLY AI generated approximations with artifacts and input lag, so why not just stream to get the same problems at a fraction of the cost. And if streaming takes over for real, VR is in trouble.

@NEStalgia
Good to see you here again man. I never got around to replying to that epic long sea of text you threw my way that last time we exchanged conversations neons ago. Then after that, you seemed to of disappeared. Anyways! The biggest problem with PSVR2 and PC VR(AKA > The friction point laden 'botique niche', as mega-powerful as it is. lol) is that we need more games that harken back around two generations in power or so, to get native max Q3 resolution and 90fps without any weird compromises made to the core visuals.

PS3-tier or Switch graphics would do the trick. For stand alone Q3, devs should be dipping into the Dreamcast, Wii, PS2 & XBOX(Original) & 3DS catalogues since the Q3 is absolutely powerful enough to handle visuals in that ball park @90fps. Resident Evil 4 Q3 says hi. I don't know, i'm just not interested in most of these ground up Indie VR titles. I'd much rather see older games from the following consoles i listed above get VR-ified. Think House of the Dead 2(Arcade/Dreamcast), Sin & Punishent: Star Successor(Wii, but in 3rd person VR), Elebits VR etc etc.

And as you know, it's going to take future stand alone VR/MR 'goggles' or goggles that wirelessly connect to a Switch 2/3 or PS6 in order for the tech to succeed. The Q4 should be even smaller, slimmer, hopefully lighter, boasting a goggle design(Which has been said to be the case), no top middle strap(Which is currently needed to get a sturdy tight fit with Q3 and balance out the weight for even noggin' distribution. lol

But it's also aesthetic-killing and semi inconvenient. It's a smaller barrier, but if the Q4 is light enough it will no longer need it, making the headset more 'in and out' and far more attractive as a result.) along with Pancake Plus lenses which would completely by pass the needle to fiddle for a sweet spot, as good as Q3's already is, would cream the current barriers Q3 struggles with.

As is, Q3 is still a headset, it's weighty', there's that tacky top middle strap-thing, the elite strap is 100% essential mainly due to headset weight, and you still have to fiddle slightly for the sweet spot, as night and day as it is compared to the PSVR2's. Those are all barriers that I'm sure will be gone with Q5 in 2029, and possibly even Q4 if we're lucky. But Q4 won't be arriving until Oct 2026, which is around 1 year and 7 months.

Slimmer, smaller, lighter, goggle-design, with no top middle strap. no more sweet spot-fiddling, 2x as powerful as Q3, bump up in resolution to nearly 2300x2500 per eye etc. We'll get there! I've said this before, but Stand Alone & Wireless console connectivity VR/MR will finally find it's stride and blow up in popularity by 2030. Quest 5, PSVR3 and then Nintendo jumping on board with Switch 3('Super' Hybrid > TV, Handheld, TableTop, VR & MR) when the technology is finally grown and beyond it's infancy in lets say 2032-2033, and of course there's always Apple.

But as of today, the Quest 3 for example, comes across like a successor-hybrid to the Wii & 3DS, but unfortunately 99% of it's library consists of indie games. And as for PSVR2, i hate the fresnel lens clarity....It's crazy just how much softer Moss 1&2 look on PSVR2, compared to the Quest 3 versions. It's like going from composite to HDMI. LOL Same thing applies to the overrated 'Max Mustard'. Once you go Pancake, going back to fresnel can be pretty painful.

@NeonPizza I think VR is between a rock and a hard place. It's looking for a subset of a subset of the market. On one hand, to do "AAA games" in VR which is what hardcore gamers expect, even if the budget existed the compute power doesn't and what does is unaffordable. On the other hand that market was conditioned to value image realism above all else, and VR necessitating double the power or half the quality automatically turns those people off.

But it's caught in a bigger problem that will hit all of gaming. With the GPU makers basically out of gas, we're not going to get performance increase any time soon, the tech we have today is basically all we're going to ever have unless a breakthrough like quantum computing happens. Hardware being stuck in place with double the cost, while developers keep pushing flat game graphics that choke all the hardware, something has to give. It's not only VR, the whole model of gaming is broken. Devs want to make games with Hollywood CGI level visuals rendered in real time, while hardware that can do that is ever me exotic and expensive and more importantly mfrs don't even want to make it. Why sell the die as a 5090 for $2k when you can sell the same wafer to a data center for $20k? Data centers have skewed hardware availability because there's only one chip maker used by everything so every gaming card that's made takes capacity from way more profitable server boards.

Unless this changes, consoles either have to start getting into the thousands of dollars too, or they basically stop evolving here. Heck the 5080 is WORSE than 4080 super. And more expensive. Tech is now going backwards. Consoles are on a delay but won't escape this storm

VR then gets caught in that where the compute power it needs probably won't exist this decade. Meanwhile stand alone is the obvious direction, but, that necessitates the visuals are so limited is never going to impress the masses that associate realistic photo fidelity with game quality.

It's so sad because it's the most exciting entertainment medium since the 90s but the numbers and the timing just aren't aligning. And if the intentional undersupply does ultimately start killing the idea of local hardware and into cloud, which I think it will, vr takes a massive blow..

On PC forums I'm seeing a lot of "that's it I'm done with PC, it's for the rich now, I'm back to console forever even PS5 pro is a bargain.". These people are missing the cycle. If the pic hardware prices doubled, so will consoles next time (or they'll be not much better than current ones). If they hit a limit on even multi thousand dollar cards performance gain, consoles won't up their limits to be even close. So the next ps will either be super expense or be very weak an upgrade. And either way they'll make up the difference jacking up software and service prices.

For now I'm enjoying 4090 (who knows when a real good upgrade will exist and how many hostages you need to take to get one) and the huge games like Ross modded and euvr where it works. Getting a super high res headset whenever it ships knowing that hardware to power it to spec doesn't actually exist ....

Realistically, one can live on flight Sim, dcs, ams2, Skyrim, elite dangerous, fallout 4, alone for the rest of their lives and still be happy in VR 😂.

@NEStalgia
PC VR, I'm sure as amazing as it can be, is straight up out of the question in order for VR/MR to become main stream since it's a barrier laden/friction point smacking botique niche that will continue on a solid steady path of financial limbo-loss while providing an anti 'in and out', setting fiddling festio' of an experience. Quest 4 or 5, including a potential PSVR3, and especially Switch 3 VR/MR goggles is when VR/MR will finally explode into the masses. It's just going to probably take another 5 years or so until we actually see none-indie developers like Capcom & Nintendo creating games for the platform.

I'd imagine most VR devs are losing more money than they're putting in. I heard that a 10 million dollar VR title needs to sell 416,000 copies, at $40, in order to break-even. VR-lovers are basically asking PC VR devs to shoot themselves in the foot. Quest 3 seems like a VR devs best bet obviously, especially if they're creating less robust less graphically intensive short VR experiences. Yet instead of resorting to 'ground up' VR games, devs, with the rights, if they can get the rights, should look into VR-ifying classic flat screen titles for Quest 3, that were on Wii, GameCube, Dreamcast, PS2 & Original XBOX. Q3 can handle visuals on that level + 90fps without any weird compromises. It wouldn't be biting more than it can chew, like plenty of PSVR2 releases. Ahem, I'm looking at YOU Resident Evil 4 VR Mode. lol

People need to lower their expectations too in terms of wanting AAA PS5-tier block busters making the perfect transition over to PSVR2. If 60fps reprojection/motion duplication didn't exist, than the need for 90fps wouldn't be there for numerous titles including Resident Evil Village VR Mode. As is, PSVR2 when you Factor in the motion doubling at 60, is best suited at handling PS3-tier visuals @90fps. But then graphics wh**** will still continue to complain. Yet if motion doubling wasn't a thing, than PS4 graphics @60fps with a max 2000x2040 per eye, with zero compromises made to the core visuals would most likely be ideal.

And I recently tried out Arken Age for PSVR2 btw, but that sh** left me feeling cold. Being able to deflect incoming bullets with your 1:1 motion based shield that flings out of your chest is awesome, but the sword play feels like you're slugging a log around, and i don't find the story, nor environments, and mostly forgettable soundtrack to be compelling enough to warrant my time.

I still need to give Alien: Rogue Incursion a shot, including Behemoth and Metro Awakening. Along with the upcoming 'The Midnight Hour' But in all honestly, I'm just itching to get rid of my PSVR2. The nail in the coffin will be the next big main line Resident Evil game, be it RE9 or RE0 supposedly, NOT supporting PSVR2.

I'm sounding like a broken record, but i hate the PSVR2's fresnel image clarity. it just looks soft compared to Q3's pancake lenses. And i hate having to deal with the head movement persistence motion blur with PSVR2 as well....It's in serious need of a revision, yet there's no way in he-man hell it will receive one.

@NEStalgia

We'll have to wait until PSVR3 in 2028-2030. That's what Sony will finally get it right if they decide to jump back in the VR-Race. I'm sure they will after Q4 or especially Q5 explodes in popularity.

By Q5, Most of VR/MR's barriers will be gone. Lighter, No top middle strap(which is an aesthetic-killer, and makes jumping into VR a little less in and out), Slim Small goggle design, Pancake plus lenses(No more sweet spot), Q5's resolution will probably be around 2600x2800 at nearly 120d FOV, and so much more, boasting power that gets close to PS5 including eye tracking & foveated rendering to muster up even more power.

VR-ifying Flat screen games is the way to go for stand alone Quest 3. Q3 has the highest sales and popularity. An existing flatscreen game getting VR-ified doesn't need to be created form the ground up so dev-time is significantly reduces by a land slide, and the branding/popularity of whatever flatscreen game they choose is another massive win, for quest 3 which is where the money is.

@NeonPizza oh yes no question, for people like us who bleed VR, PC VR is almost a paradise ahead of its time, almost, if only video cards that supported it 1) existed 2) were possible to find 3) weren't $2500 for a video card and 3) werent likely to set your headset on fire if you navigate the above.

My current thrill is Jedi Fallen Order in UEVR. It's played with normal controller, not motion, but darned if that doesn't feel like a game actually designed for VR. The world and level design just feels to meant for VR I forget I'm using an injector and think of it as a real VR game. I think it's the amount of verticality in the level design. Once you see it in VR you can never play it flat again. Ue4 does great. Ur5 is garbage in 2d, it's garbage in 3d. Why is that engine popular? It's horrible! It doesn't run well on anything but a 5090, and that it pushes to ignite.

I still feel like VR will NEVER go mainstream, not because of the technical or even financial friction but just because the public already decided they're not interested without actually trying it. The idea of a wearable is simply rejected instantly by the majority and will be until something makes it trendy. And the population seems divided heavily between "I like the idea of immersion (whether or not I'd ever try a wearable) and "I hate the idea of immersion and would never ever want to not be in a crowded space seeing everyone and everything around me at all times".

That's the real idea of VR I think it's the entire concept and purpose is either love or or hate it. The people that love it love it and the rest are revolted by it. With an overlap that's nauseous by it!)

@NeonPizza I'm not sure what happens. It's not going to disappear but I fear it'll remain ultra niche and continue getting increasingly expensive rather than the other way around, following gpus that is all for the rich boys with the Ferraris. At least you can play a VR sim forever and never tire of it. Which is the same direction as pancake gaas anyway.

What WOULD push it mainstream would be apple making it a trend item, but instead they went weird and expensive. Or Nintendo making it a flash craze. But I didn't see Nintendo going there, without iwata they're just another status quo company, and the original vr push at Nintendo was Miyamoto, but he's busy with Real Reality theme parks.

The other problem is market expectations "gamers" aren't interested unless it's Spiderman in VR (which actually IS in VR..... On PC... 😛) Ave the masses are too casual to want immersion in a headset. Where vr is catching on unfortunately is the social games space like gorilla tag among kids. Heck even in PC the #1 game and obsession is VR Chat.

I just don't have a sense vr isn't stuck in an enthusiast rut. To many fractions of an already small market, lack of interest in immersion or wearables from the majority. The games are either too generic and simple to be good, or too demanding to work well. Flat2vr works great on PC but basically requires flagship gpus that cost thousands and rise 50% from a monopoly every 2 years. And it's still dodgy performance. The business numbers aren't working and there's no big growth projection so investment isn't interested. It's too big to vanish. The US is the top market by far and supposedly has 70 million users. That's 20% of the population, not too bad, but what perxent is active is probably much less. I'm the modern world it needs to be trendy. That means celebrity and influencer bombardment. Which means massive advertising spend. That's the only way anything catches on now. And the lack of known growth potential means investments aren't interested. Especially in this economy... It's not going to disappear, is just not going to be more than it is and will be less than it was 7 years ago for a long while I think.

Meta remains the main weather balloon as the primary driver. They really have tried. Batman was a big push. A cheap headset. But much more they can do, plus their huge social influence. But the needle isn't moving. The success of PlayStation and Nintendo in some ways keep hurting vr by maintaining the status quo well enough

Just because they reduced its msrp by 150 its still 400 and thats not free by any means.

@Casco
I got the pc vr adapter with the psvr2 for vr porn which made it worth it. I was only interested in trying out re4 remake in vr but i think village looks ugly so far.

@NEStalgia
Have you checked out the latest Big Screen Beyond 2 VR headset reveal yet? Pretty wild just how much smaller it is than a Quest 3, it also has a higher 116d FOV, Micro-OLED displays, weigh's nearly 5x less than Q3, has eye tracking(That can use dynamic foveated rendering), and no flipping top middle velcro strap. It isn't needed I guess due to the substantial drop in weight.

But I'm not sure if it's boasting pancake lenses, it also doesn't offer wireless connectivity for those that wan't it, and it's resolution is a bit wonky. Seems like it either offers 1920x1920 upscaled to 2560x2560 per eye just to hit 90fps, or 2560x2560 per eye @75fps...

But i'm guessing 75fps would introduce a bit of motion doubling, unless these guys maanged to bypass it with their latest reprojection system, if it's even possible at this point. And as expected, another dystopian depressing bleak sterile presentation. It's like something out of Black Mirror. LOL The world sucks now, crap commercials aside. It's so painful and depressing thinking back to the late 80's/early 90's and what pop culture has descending into these days. Wish i could blast back.

Anyways, the design in terms of weight and overall size is a huge leap over Quest 3. It's wired though to be fair. Had it been wireless, it would most likely of packed on the pounds! Heck, this thing makes the PSVR2 look absolutely ancient aesthetic/design-wise. Oh, and have you tried out Bohemeth by any chance? Going to give it a go tonight! Not looking forward to more of that motion control based climbing nonsense like in Horizon Call of the mountain. But I'm willing to trudge through the motion control environmental chaos to get to the meat and potatoes. Aka, blasting arrows on top of a Gargoyle soaring hundreds of feet in the sky.

@NEStalgia
At this point, as of now. VR is still absolutely going to suffer as being a full on-niche. Ultimately, it's the entire headset being headsets plus the weight(Although, the Big Screen Beyond 2 has officially changed that however to small light weight goggles. But this is a PC-only tethered headset, so it's once again entering the realm of niche.), nearly everything being motion control focused and what have you that I'm sure are turning most people off, aside from mostly uncompelling software created by indies on a tight budget that just don't really resonate with most people.

Look at Big screen Beyond 2. If Meta or Apple created goggles that small, possibly a pinch slimmer, made them white, AS light, with 2x the power of Q3, included Eye Tracking(With foveated Rendering), higher resolution, FOV etc, backed with handfuls of flat to VR screen classics from the Dreamcast, PS2, XBOX, 3DS and possibly the PS3 & XBOX360 era if 4.8 Teraflops + eye Tracking can do the trick, with more games making use of a traditional controller, i truly believe VR will finally creep out of the niche zone.

Quest 4 is up next for main stream semi affordable VR in oct 2026. So much untapped Flat to VR classic potential. I'd kill for a house of the Dead 2(Arcade/Dreamcast) VR, and the Q3, as is, could absolutely handle it at 90fps. But i guess most devs aren't willing to put in the time and cash because of how semi stagnant & niche the platform still is compared to something like Switch or PS5.

I think it will break the niche at some point, but probably not until the early 2030's with Q5, PSVR3, Apple VR/MR and especially when Nintendo enters the VR/MR race with Switch 3. Being into VR is such a struggle. Like you pointed out, it's a platform that is impossible to showcase what it's truly like until you actually try the headset for yourself. That issue will always remain. Sometimes i feel super optimistic, but then i feel frustrated. I can see the potential, but both Q3 and PSVR2 are at a weird place.

Q4 doubling Q3 with 4.8 teraflops of power + Eye tracking in stand alone mode, with lets say 2300x2500 per eye will be really nice. But it will once again it will most likely be stuck with dual LCD displays, so blacks & colours will suffer, unless Meta decides to release a Pro model with micro-oled, but that won't be mainstream friendly due to the big price hike.

@NeonPizza BSB/BSB2 are really cool for what they do with form factor, but I haven't seen any real indication that BSB2 fixes the biggest issues with BSB1. As with everything VR, it's not about avoiding flaws, it's about picking which flaws you'd rather have than others. In the case of BSB the problems are their lenses. Pancake as a big weakness with ghosting/glare/reflection and even Meta hasn't fully resolved that (I see ghosting all the time on my Q3. They also have a narrow binocular overlap due to their flat profile, and that's a big problem where VR splits between the tradeoff of big and bulky vs slim and comfortable. The get a proper binocular overlap, wide FOV, large sweet spots on single element lenses, etc, you simply need SPACE - the lens needs to be far from the eye and wide enough to curve around, and that simply means a bulky visor, mandated by the laws of physics. Any small and light headset naturally needs small, light lenses, close to the eye, and that means pancake tricks, capped FOV, capped binocular overlap.

I know Pimax is (ticking people off again by announcing a new product before releasing the delayed old product) but they have a similar small headset coming up, the Dream Air. But it has the same tradeoffs.

I still have my Pimax Crystal Super on order. Originally I'd ordered it with the QLED + mOLED modules (the mOLED is the same as the Dream Air one), but they changed things (as they do) and I'm not re-ordering the mOLED. It's expensive, and literally every time they talk about them they pretty much say "it's worse in every single way except black level which is a little better, and it costs 50% more" I MAY be persuaded to buy the wide FOV version of the QLED. It's cheaper, same screen as the normal one, it just uses the optics to stretch wider at the cost of some resolution (which is already very high). BUT....Pimax is Pimax and there's always a dice roll with them. And it ain't tiny.

Only stand-alone headsets can offer wireless for (compromised) PC, and that means batteries, processors, weight, and cost, so that's standard. It should be pancake because AFAIK mOLED REQUIRES pancake (which in turn saps 70% of the already dim light.) AFAIK it also doesn't have internal cameras and relies on lighthouses (IIRC it was designed for existing Index owners to use theirs but they sell their own expensive ones otherwise.) I won't touch lighthouses even if it's superior if you get it set up right. That kills BSB for me. I'd love to own one, even if just for watching virtual big screen 2d movies and things which I can't seem to want to tolerate Quest 3 for let alone a big Pimax.

I'm sort of caught between. I do experience the discomfort on my face with the big bulky headsets, but given a choice of "best quality VR I can get" or "more comfortable VR with more compromises" I opted for the bulky set for the best VR quality and I'll put up with the discomfort. I may regret that once I get it (Shipping September 2024! LOLOLOL)

@NeonPizza
The biggest improvement, IMO of the BSB2 is that it finally has a universal cushion and isn't custom molded to your face so as the shape of your face changes, it becomes useless. I think if looking for a small compact set, at that price, it's much more appealing than the Pimax Dream Air. And even ships sooner. The only catch is, it does require lighthouses, while the Dream does not. NOT an issue for, say, simmers, flat2vr players, etc though that aren't using the motion tracking. I'm finding I'm spending most of my VR time on flat2vr currently, although I may jump back into some sims or skyrim when I get the Pimax because it should impress with native VR, aand honestly I have a hard enough time getting stable fps with flat2v4 with a 4090 and quest 3, the Crystal Super resolutiosn would crush the GPU unless I can get a 5090 for one. million. dollars. (and it doesn't explode, crash, or is missing ROPs........ free leather (straight) jacket included!)

I like Pimax presentations. They come in 2 flavors: The PR guy speaking in monotone for 20 minutes but in a lovably "camera in the garage" sort of way, or their biannual shows. They're cheesy, cheap, overdramatic, always feature the same 2 people, they're lying through their teeth the entire time, selling things like they've got Peter Molyneaux at the helm, but somehow I can't help but love the lie.

I haven't tried Behemoth! I probably won't even get to it this y ear. I'm still dining at the flat2vr buffet. Jedi Fallen Order felt VR native. It was delightful. Had to do some hacking to get Jedi Survivor going. It's beautiful . It punishes the GPU. It crashes constantly and needs to be reloaded, though I hear it does that in pancake mode too. Indiana Jones only got a VR mod when I was part way through. I did a little Avowed but waiting for improved performance. Thought Luke may do that one next but he did Kingdom Come Deliverance and FF7Rebirth first (can't say no to that, Remake I played a little bit in VR and it's awesome.)

In May I'll probably finally get my Pimax and barely use it at all until Oct/Nov, I don't really do much VR in the hot months though my Q3 can go outside a bit for some native games.

I think GPUs basically stalling now (and will be stalled until the AI boom crashes to zero demand), will really hold back PCVR (and gaming) heavily. But yeah the VR fans are part of the problem. The flat2vr people are very happy with motion-free VR gaming but the bulk of the VR faithful seem OBSESSED with "if you're not standing and walking around in full roomscale, it's not really VR and isn't worth the time." Which basically limits VR to not only those interested but those with enough empty space to use it without getting killed tripping over an ottoman. Then a large population sees it only as a fitness device. There's a LOT of VR users particularly in north america, where surprisingly it's the most popular, more than even asia. But I think a lot of those are fitness gimmick users, and bolstered by a lot of "gorilla tag kids" and a lot of sim racers/pilots.

@NeonPizza You won't see many NATIVE flat2VR as there's simply no profit in the effort for the companies, and most of those efforts stalled completely. So that whole segment is limited to mods which of course requires flame throwing PCs. I would never have bought that monster PC if not for flat2vr, it's the only reason I paid that much. But with the GPU prices skyrocketing, maintaining that level of performance might not be something I want to continue. But that means rolling backwards next time, not even treading in place. It makes it really hard to be a VR fan and yet it's amazing when it works.

One thing to remember with mOLED is that it's MAIN advantage is not being a superior display. It's MAIN advantage is that it's small, lightweight, and low power usage for small stand-alone battery powered devices. It's actually a compromise. The panels are very small, expensive, low yield. The pancake requirement means expensive lenses with glare issues that reduce the light by more than half, but it's's limited max size means limited max resolution, it has a limited fps, it has a limited FOV and overlap, limited color range, it's not an end-all solution, it's a compromise solution for a particular application, namely, small and light weight with low power consumption. I'm going to be very curious trying the Super whenever I may get it. Single element lenses, bright, 1k dimming zones for "near-OLED" blacks (not as good, but not too far away without the other compromises.) wider FOV than Q3, some have said simlar to PSVR2, some said better. Depending on if that goes well or not I"d consider ordering the wide FOV version, 132 degrees - same screen different lens, less center resolution but still much higher than q3 or even bsb2. I think the other module is $400 (whenever they sell it) but, will have the new tarriffs added so $450 ish I guess. The Super has interchangeable modules, the "retina", the "wide", maybe another in the future, but it'll be long-term limited by the displayport version capping bandwidth in the future.