The Price Of The Future Of Gaming: PlayStation VR2 Will Arrive In 2023 & Cost $550 (Pre-Sale Has Started But There's A Catch)

By Miguel Medina

Just a few days ago, Sony Group Corp SONY announced that PlayStation VR2, its own next-generation virtual reality headset, will go on sale in early 2023 with an MSRP of $550/€599.

The box includes the PS VR2 headset, the PS VR2 Sense controllers, and the stereo headset. But there will also be a special edition called PlayStation VR2 Horizon: Call of the Mountain, which includes the same devices as the standard edition, plus a PlayStation Store coupon code for "Horizon: Call of the Mountain," a new installment for the "Horizon" franchise developed by Guerrilla Games, which has sold over 20 million units to date.

At the same time, the Japanese company presented 11 new video games that will reach the virtual reality system throughout 2023, some from renowned franchises such as "The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR," "Hello Neighbor: Search and Rescue," "Cities VR – Enhanced Edition," "Crossfire: Sierra Squad" and "Jurassic World Aftermath Collection."

Capcom had previously announced "Resident Evil Village VR," a virtual reality adaptation of its most recent installment in the saga; and one of the biggest commercial successes of 2021, with more than 6 million copies sold worldwide.

The Price Of Entering the Future

The price of PlayStation VR2 is high, but is still cheaper than other virtual reality headsets for PC.

Without going any further, the first PlayStation VR cost $399 dollars. The glasses went on sale in 2016 and, despite having somewhat outdated hardware specifications - especially in terms of resolution with their FHD viewers, they continue to remain one of the best options to discover the world of virtual reality. At least on consoles.

Another option available on the market is the famous Meta Quest 2 from Meta META (formerly Facebook), with a price that starts at $399 in its 128 GB model, and offers the possibility of playing several video games without the need for a PC or scanning devices.

This is Meta's most ambitious proposal, aimed at installing virtual reality in homes and connecting people through the "Metaverse" that tycoon Mark Zuckerberg promoted so much this year.

In terms of prices, the most expensive glasses at the moment are those of HTC Vive. The device costs about $799, but it includes some of the most accurate motion capture technology available today.

HTC Vive connects to a PC and runs video games through the hardware itself, but requires the installation of capture towers in the room to analyze and transmit the user's movements in the game.

It is also interesting to highlight low-cost models. Homido, Zeiss VR One, Google Cardboard, and Samsung Gear VR glasses connect to the user's smartphone and allow the vision of many video games to be "expanded" to simulate a virtual reality experience. The price of these devices is around $100. However, the quality of their video games is totally different from what companies like Meta or Sony go for.

With a price of $550, PlayStation VR2 becomes a more than interesting device due to its hardware specifications. It offers an OLED panel, 4000x2040 resolution (twice as much as its predecessor), 90/120Hz frequency, and a 110-degree field of view.

Likewise, both the helmet and the controls integrate motion sensor technology, gyroscope, proximity sensor, eye tracking, and haptic vibration.

The Need For An Increasingly Expensive Console

It is important to note that, to use PlayStation VR2, it will be necessary to have a PlayStation 5 console, since they the ew device is not compatible with PC.

And while Sony's latest console has increased production in recent months, its price has increased by 10% in various regions of the world (the model with a reader is sold at 550 euros in Europe, 479 pounds in the United Kingdom, 60,478 yen in Japan and $650 in Canada).

In Latin America, however, although an "official price increase" was not announced, an exponential increase was also perceived since its launch. And despite the sometimes crazy price of PlayStation 5, in a financial meeting at Sony, it was reported that demand for the console was not affected.

At roughly $500 for the console and another $550 for the headset, the key to the "future" of gaming costs at least $1,000.

PlayStation VR2 will be released on February 22, 2023. Pre-sale started on November 15 at the official Sony store.

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Image by El Planteo