$550 PlayStation VR2 launches on Feb. 22, 2023

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Say so long to the original PSVR's glowing blue lights.
Enlarge / Say so long to the original PSVR’s glowing blue lights.

Sony’s PlayStation VR2 headset will cost $550 in the US when it launches on February 22, 2023, almost exactly two years after the headset was first announced.

The $550 package will come bundled with two tracked, handheld “PS VR2 Sense” controllers and stereo headphones, Sony announced in a blog post Wednesday morning. A $600 bundle will include the VR-exclusive Horizon Call of the Mountain.

On the surface, $550 seems like a sizable increase over the $400 asking price for the original PlayStation VR in late 2016. But that comparison is a bit misleading. First, $400 in October 2016 is worth the same as about $490 in today’s dollars when accounting for inflation. Second, the original PlayStation VR required a tracking camera and two PlayStation Move controllers to control many games.

Those accessories were sold separately or included in a $500 bundle when the original PSVR launched (about $613 in today’s dollars). PlayStation VR2, on the other hand, is packaged with two hand-tracking controllers and uses “inside-out” tracking that doesn’t require an external camera.

While prototype PSVR2 controllers have been all-black, they now match the white of the PS5 itself.
Enlarge / While prototype PSVR2 controllers have been all-black, they now match the white of the PS5 itself.

Sony’s new headset is not compatible with the PS4 and will not work with original PlayStation VR games, either. Today, Sony also announced 11 new PSVR2 titles that will launch sometime in 2023.

Of those announced games, six will be available for preorder alongside the PSVR2 hardware starting on November 15, suggesting they will be available at or near the headset’s launch.

Those titles are:

  • The Light Brigade
  • Cities VR
  • Cosmonious High
  • Hello Neighbor: Search and Rescue
  • Zenith: The Last City
  • Tentacular

Sony previously revealed most of the relevant specs for the PSVR2 headset, including a 2000×2400 per-eye OLED display, 110-degree field of view, 120 Hz maximum refresh rate, and headset vibration. The headset also features a simplified single-cable console connection and cameras for both eye-tracking and a “passthrough” view of your environment. https://arstechnica.com/?p=1894491