PlayStation VR2 has been an unmitigated disaster for Sony. Ever since its launch two years ago, it has been continually neglected with a distinct lack of exclusive games and post-launch support you’d expect from a high-profile peripheral like this one. It smarts even more so when you consider how much of a success its predecessor was, and how, for years after its arrival, it felt like Sony was serious about supporting it despite a lack of hardware power.
When it comes to PS VR2, we’ve had first-party exclusives from Sony like Horizon: Call of the Mountain, while partners have been picking up the slack with bangers like Metro Awakening and Alien: Rogue Incursion. Of course, you have the usual suspects, including Beat Saber putting out regular content and a handful of ports of games we played on the previous headset, but aside from that, it’s hard not to feel like Sony sent this thing out to die.
State Of Play Was The Final Nail In The Coffin
Following a packed State of Play earlier this month in which not a single PS VR2 title made an appearance, my colleague Stacey Henley wrote about how it only further confirmed what we already knew: PS VR2 is dead, and this was the final nail in its coffin. During a showcase designed to promote all the biggest things coming to PlayStation in the next several months, it was made clear that virtual reality didn’t have a place. I bet there isn’t a single VR exclusive in the works at a first-party Sony developer right now, because there isn’t the audience out there to justify spending millions on such a project. But in an ideal world, there would be.
I consider myself a tried-and-true VR enthusiast. When I first got into this line of work and had my first internship, the original Oculus Rift was placed onto my desk and I was given free rein to play around with and write about this exhilarating new piece of technology. It’s been years since that moment, but I still make a point to keep on top of everything being done in the space even as it fails again and again to attract mainstream attention.
We’re closer than ever with headsets like the Meta Quest 3, while the PlayStation VR felt like it might be destined to introduce console players to the medium. But Sony failed to build on its successful momentum with a product it hardly marketed or produced any triple-A titles for, instead relying on ports, third-party support, and rare enthusiasts like myself who were willing to pony up the eye-watering $549.99 price tag.
That’s a lot of money for a headset with no games, no backward compatibility, and no future. But now, there’s been a decent price drop and audiences are likely willing to give PS VR2 a chance. Should they?
Should I Buy PS VR2 Now It’s Dropped In Price?
Earlier this week, Sony dropped the recommended retail price of PS VR2 from $549.99 to $399.99, with the bundle containing Horizon: Call of the Mountain being the exact same price. While not as good as some offers that cropped up late last year that cut almost three big ones off the asking price, this is still a pretty good deal – especially as a permanent adjustment. However, a good deal isn’t the same as confirming whether a casual consumer would get something out of picking one up.
As a piece of technology, the PS VR2 is excellent, and one of the best VR experiences on the market outside very high-end PCs. It presents fantastic image quality, controls which boast incredibly accurate tracking, and a slew of features that make it feel straight out of the future. Yes, it still requires a single wire to be plugged into your console, but it’s something I got used to in minutes. I don’t feel like I wasted my money upon buying one, but I’m also an individual who writes about games for a living and can write it off my taxes. The people who are umming and ahhing about buying one of these headsets probably aren’t, and can’t.
Chances are this price drop isn’t being made in an attempt to grow the audience of PS VR2, but to clear all the remaining stock and move on from this high-profile failure. Knowing this, you will be purchasing a headset not for a potential library of future games, but instead for those that exist right now. You could pick it up for PC usage, but then you’d need the adaptor which will run you an extra $40. There are too many variables, not enough exclusives, and the constant reminder that whatever investment you put into PS VR2 is going to be fleeting.
Whether this price drop makes it worthwhile is up to you, but as an owner who’s been through the ringer already, it’s a pretty hard one to justify.
PS5
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$50
- Brand
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Sony
- Storage
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825 GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
- Resolution
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Max 8K (4k at 120 Hz playable)