Black Friday Is the Best Time to Buy PlayStation VR2
I loved the original PlayStation VR. I picked it up at the peak of the pandemic (my first experience with VR games) and was shocked. Instead of spending nights in the small living room of my apartment, I walked through the villages of Skyrim , explored planets in No Man’s Sky , and rode through imaginative landscapes in Astro Bot Rescue Mission .
I was such a fan of the original that I argued that it was a better VR headset than the Oculus Quest in 2021 —a position that many VR fans strongly disagreed with. However, three years later, the OG PS VR’s shortcomings are more pronounced than ever: the OLED display resolution is lower than modern headsets (960×1080), and the headset requires a complex set of devices and cables (including the camera) to set up. (At this point, I haven’t set up a headset since my last move.) But more than that, the controllers simply are n’t VR controllers: while VR headsets have been using controllers with joysticks for finger tracking for years, PS VR just uses the same ones Move controllers, which have been available since the PS3.
However, PS VR2, released in February 2023, solves these problems: the OLED HDR display has a much higher resolution (2000×2040), which quadruples the number of megapixels per eye compared to the original; there’s a passageway so you can see your immediate surroundings without taking off your headset; tracking is better despite not requiring an external camera or peripherals; and the controllers are true VR controllers with finger tracking and joysticks. And if you get tired of Sony’s VR games, you can connect the PS VR2 to your computer just like you would any other VR headset.
Sony’s second-generation PlayStation VR still wasn’t perfect: in addition to having a smaller library than some other VR headsets, the PS VR2 was and remains expensive , retailing for $549.99. When you consider that you’ll also need a PS5 to run this thing (it’s not compatible with any PS4 console), it’s a really expensive setup. That’s why I haven’t bought it yet, even if its plug-and-play approach will make it easier to return to VR.
But you read the headline: It’s Black Friday season and the PS VR2 is on sale. On Wednesday, Sony announced a series of PlayStation Black Friday deals that will run from November 22 to December 2. As part of this announcement, Sony revealed that the PS VR2 will be discounted by up to 40%.
The math is a little off, as you can actually buy the PS VR2 for 42% off: Right now, you can get the Horizon Call of The Mountain PS VR2 bundle for $349, down from $599.99. The PS VR2 standalone version (without game) is also $349, down from $549.99. All things considered, you’re better off getting the Horizon kit as the prices are identical. However, people will likely feel the same way, so this bundle may sell faster than a headset-only offering. I already saw today that the package was unavailable, but it’s back now, so act quickly if you want it.