Pre-orders for Sony’s highly-anticipated PlayStation VR2 will begin later this month, with the headset ready to hit retail shelves on February 22, 2023. The virtual reality (VR) headset will have a starting price of $550 (or approx Rs 45, 454), the company said in a blog post on Wednesday. The retail box includes the headset, controllers as well as stereo headphones.
Users can pre-order the PlayStation VR 2 on November 15, exclusively from the official PlayStation Store for buyers in the US, UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. In other regions, pre-orders are expected to start from November 15. India launch, however, is yet to be confirmed.
The PlayStation VR 2 isn’t a standalone headset, just like its predecessor. That means the headset needs to be hooked to the PlayStation 5, which costs additional Rs 50,000. The PS V2 hardware and design have been updated. A new design has a colour scheme that matches the PlayStation 5, and a headband-type visor that’s similar to but smaller than the first-generation PS VR. Gamers can experience upgraded 2000×2040 per eye display resolution, eye tracking, 120Hz refresh rates. The headset will also come bundled with two Sense controllers, delivering similar levels of haptic feedback and adaptive triggers seen in Sony’s DualSense PS5 controllers. The device also offers eye-tracking, which the first-generation PlayStation VR headset did not support and will no longer require an external camera.
In the beginning, Sony said as many as 20 games will be available when the new Playstation VR2 headset goes on sale next year. The list includes Horizon Call of the Mountain and Resident Evil Village.
Sony’s announcement of the retail availability of the Playstation VR 2 headset comes at a time when Apple is expected to launch a consumer-focused mixed-reality headset in the coming year. Facebook-parent Meta, too, has been investing significantly in developing VR hardware. The company recently introduced the new Quest Pro headset which costs $15000 and offers mixed reality features.
The Japanese tech giant first shared details of the next-generation headset earlier this year. According to a report from Bloomberg in October, Sony plans to make 2 million units.
