When Sony rang its bells to alert potential PSVR 2 buyers of a massive, permanent price cut, we couldn’t help but get excited. Sure, there was no telling just how the new $400 price tag (down from $550) overseas would affect wishful Saffas, but there was a glimmer of hope for a reasonable price. That glimmer has been snuffed out.
“For those who have been waiting for the opportunity to jump into PlayStation VR 2 and experience what this generation’s innovative virtual reality system has to offer, we are happy to share we’re reducing the recommended retail price of PSVR 2,” said Gamefinity, PlayStation’s local distributor.
The “new” price of the PSVR 2 does its best impression of a Takealot listing and ‘knocks’ R2,000 off the old price, bringing the RRP down to R13,500. This… was the price of Sony’s overqualified headset when it first launched in SA, before Gamefinity tacked on a price hike, seemingly to keep up with low demand.
Still more expensive than the PS5
While any price cut is welcome in a country like South Africa, it’s difficult to be excited when customers are stuck paying the same price that early adopters did in February 2023. Compared to the $400 price overseas, roughly translating to R7,300, South Africans pay nearly double what American gamers do.
That’s before considering the price of a PS5 or PC (preferably a high-end one), which is necessary to make the PSVR 2 function. Even the most basic PS5 bundles, including the slim console and a single DualSense controller, will set you back at least R12,000. As for PC gamers, they’ll first need to pick up a R1,300 adapter.
Read More: Valve has a new premium VR headset coming, codenamed ‘Deckard’
And then there are the games themselves, costing well over R1,000 for a single triple-A adventure. That’s generally par for the course in the gaming landscape, but when you start to look at the price as one collection, it seems a bit ridiculous. Particularly when compared to cheaper, more capable headsets elsewhere.
“In addition, with a recent update to PSVR 2, it now supports low-latency hand tracking, which allows developers to create games that tracks a player’s hand position and movement through the cameras embedded on the PSVR 2 headset. Through this new feature, players will be able to experience intuitive controls in supported games such as Waltz of the Wizard. “
