The news that Meta has cut the price of its best VR headsets, the Meta Quest 2 and the Meta Quest Pro, probably won't have caused much consternation at Sony HQ. That's because even with their prices slashed, the Meta sets make the PSVR 2 look like good value.
It seems that Meta is having something of a fire sale at the moment. The Meta Quest 2 now comes with two games included – GOLF+ and Space Pirate Trainer DX – and the cost of the 256GB version is down from £499 to £429.
Meanwhile the Meta Quest Pro is down from $1,499 to $999 in the US – but here in the UK it's still £1,499.
When you compare those prices to the PSVR, which is currently £530, the PSVR suddenly looks so much better value.
At this price, I'd rather have the PSVR 2 than a Meta Quest 2
It's important to note here that Meta's price cuts don't fully reverse the price rises it made in mid-2022: the Meta Quest 2 went up by $100/£100 last year, so the 128GB Meta Quest 2 is still £100 more than it was a year ago despite being a year older. And even with the price cut applied, the 256GB version is still £30 more expensive than this time last year.
That's a lot of money for a VR headset that's now three years old. Sony's PSVR 2 is probably overpriced, but it's also three years newer – and as we detail in our PSVR 2 vs Meta Quest 2 comparison the Sony has better specs in almost every respect: a wider field of view, OLED displays, higher resolution and so on. The imminent Meta Quest 3 will no doubt bring the Meta offering closer to the Sony, but that's not what the firm is selling right now.
I'm still not convinced by the PSVR 2: the content I want isn't there yet, so for me the price isn't right. But when you compare what Sony is offering to what Meta's headsets deliver, and when you compare what Sony is asking for compared to Meta's prices, it's hard to imagine anyone buying the Meta headset over the Sony – especially not if entertainment is their main priority.
