Sony have officially announced the release date for the PSVR2. It has been priced at nearly £530 and is due to release on the 22nd February 2023. The full price is £529.99, which is actually more than the device required to run it.
The PSVR2 is not a standalone headset, meaning it is not capable of running without being connected to an external device, the external device in this case being a PS5 which costs £479.99 itself.
This hefty £530 price tag includes the headset and 2 redesigned controllers officially titled the PlayStation VR 2 Sense controllers. These controllers aim to maximise immersion by featuring haptic feedback, adaptive triggers and finger-touch detection.
It’s important to note that the PSVR2 is considerably higher priced than it’s predecessor, Sony’s first VR offering was £349 when it launched back in 2016. Additionally, all the games that were created for the first iteration of the PSVR will not be compatible with the PSVR2. This is quite a surprising development considering that most video game developers already do not prioritise development for VR titles due to the genre’s somewhat niche audience. Perhaps Sony should take a leaf out of Microsoft book and work to develop some sort of backwards compatibility programme.
The price tag will probably mean that most PlayStation Users will opt out of picking up the device or they’ll decide to wait until it goes down in price. With the state of the current economic climate and the cost of living crisis to consider, nearly £530 is a tad too much for what the Average Joe can afford. Assuming customers already own a PS5, not only do they have to fork over £530 for the device, they also have to buy games. Games cost an extra £40 each, making investing in the PSVR2 a rather costly endeavour.
Despite the sizable price tag, the PSVR2 actually looks like a great headset, boasting 2000 x 2040 pixels per-eye, an up to 120Hz refresh rate and a 110° field of view. It looks like a fantastic device for people who already own a PlayStation and want to branch out into the world of VR.
In terms of competition and market share, we’re not sure that the even Sony and PlayStation’s globally recognised names are enough to propel this into being considered one of the most widely used Virtual Reality devices. For example, one of the PSVR’s main competitors, The Meta Quest 2. is only £400.
The Meta Quest 2 also doesn’t require a console to run so the PSVR2 has already been undercut by the competition by quite a large margin. Additionally, Meta are already offering a huge range of games and apps on their devices when compared to what the PSVR2 will be able to offer through The PlayStation Store at launch.
This said, it seems as though Sony are capitalising on already-successful IP’s and developing AAA Virtual Reality games set within these worlds.
Some examples of the games that will launch alongside the PSVR2 are:
- Horizon: Call of the Mountain
- Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge
- Resident Evil Village
- Resident Evil 4
If money was no object, this would be a fantastic consumer device for PlayStation fans. The pricing seems a little steep considering it can’t actually run without another piece of expensive hardware but if Sony stay their course and continue to develop a catalogue of exclusive games that are some of the best in the industry, we think that the PSVR2 could be a great success.