Sony has announced when we’ll finally be able to get our hands on the PlayStation VR2 and it won’t be a Christmas or even New Years’ gift.
In fact, with a launch date of February 22nd 2023, you might be able to call it a “late valentines day” present if you can find someone that loves you enough to spend the USD $549.99 on the highly sought after item.
This standard pack includes the PS VR2 headset, PS VR2 Sense controllers and stereo headphones.
Now, that doesn’t even include a game, but there is a bundled version for USD $599.99 that is said to include the voucher code for “Horizon: Call of the Mountain”. A game that looks like it will be a must-own title for this new setup and is exclusive to PlayStation.
It seems that the global launch will be in phases with the initial launch phase available for players in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg who can pre-order PlayStation VR2 through PlayStation’s online store at direct.playstation.com only.
These pre-orders will begin on November 15, however, you can register for pre-orders starting today.
Orders from direct.playstation.com for PlayStation VR2 headsets and bundles will ship throughout the week of launch.
It certainly feels like Sony has learnt to manage expectations after having the PS5 console itself being a hard-to-acquire product since its launch 2 years ago.
Sony has said that for other markets (like Australia), the PlayStation Vr2 will be sold at participating retailers, with pre-orders beginning on November 15. None of the big retailers have it listed yet, so it will be interesting to see when it will come to this market.
It’s really exciting to see the launch of this groundbreaking VR system getting closer and in all seriousness although I was hoping it would be more affordable for an average consumer it’s not as ridiculous a price when compared to what else is available in the VR space right now.
Meta has been pushing the Meta Quest Pro hard these last couple of weeks and it is available on the Meta site for $2,449.99 which is a super unrealistic price considering most of the feedback is that it is a microdot better than the Meta Quest 2 which you can grab on Amazon for $629.99 at the moment. So given that the announced US price of $549.99 roughly converts to $875.50 au, it’s actually an understandable price for what is a new and improved piece of high-end technology.
I mentioned in a previous article how powerful the device will be, you can find that here.
One other thing we know though is that the PlayStation VR2 won’t be compatible with Original PlayStation VR games either, so you will need to start a new catalogue of titles to use with your new headset.
What this system really needs (and any VR system for that matter) is it’s own “Half-Life: Alyx” a VR title that I still consider the greatest VR experience, and no other game has come close. There are some impressive looking additions on the way for the PSVR2 though including:
After The Fall
The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR
Crossfire: Sierra Squad
The Light Brigade
Cities: VR - Enhanced Edition
Zenith: The Last City
Cosmonious High - Announcement Trailer
For now the PlayStation VR2 is added to the “dream list” but at the rapid rate the cost of living expense are rising in Australia it will be interesting to see if the market can sustain another VR luxury item, even one as impressive as this.
