Sony has finally announced the price and release date of its PSVR 2 headset, and it's a lot more expensive than we thought it would be.
PSVR 2 news has slowed down in recent months. But the PS5 virtual reality headset finally has a release date of February 22, 2023, as confirmed by the official PlayStation blog (opens in new tab).
The price tag? An eye-watering $549.99 / £529.99 / AU$879.95. And yes, that's more expensive than the PS5 console itself. The basic PSVR 2 bundle includes the headset itself, the PSVR 2 Sense controllers, and a pair of stereo headphones. A bundle with Horizon: Call of the Mountain will also be available. Naturally, that'll be slightly more expensive at $599.99 / £569.99 / AU$959.95. You can register your interest in a PSVR 2 preorder now, but not all regions are able to preorder at the time of writing.
Is the price right?
The PSVR 2 is undeniably packing some seriously impressive tech under the hood. Sony may have gone a little overboard with the price, but with specs like 4K resolution (2,000 x 2,040 for each eye), 120Hz support, HDR and a 110-degree field of view, it addresses the original PSVR's soupy display and outclasses many PC-exclusive VR headsets.
Sony's certainly spared no expense in making the ultimate console VR headset in that regard. But still, it's certainly more than a little strange that a peripheral would end up being more expensive than the console itself. Even after the PS5's price hike.
The PSVR 2 is $150 / AU$330 pricier than the Oculus Quest 2, but still significantly cheaper than the Meta Quest Pro. That does line up with the price of the original PSVR, which undercut competing headsets like the HTC Vive.
But even if its price tag slots neatly between contemporary PC headsets, Sony's decided-on cost of the PSVR 2 may shock many looking forward to buying one for themselves. It perhaps rings a little tone-deaf in the face of a global cost of living crisis. Doubly so, given that the DualSense Edge premium wireless controller will also cost a small fortune at $199.99 / £209.99 / AU$339.
So what if you're brand new to the PS5 ecosystem, and you want the full, premium experience? Well, a brand new PS5, PSVR 2 headset, and a DualSense Edge controller will set you back around $1,200 / £1,200 / AU$2,000.
But we can't deny that average consumers will likely struggle to get their hands on one. And as a result, it furthers the narrative that in the gaming space, PlayStation and its peripherals are certainly the luxury option.
