Sony cuts the price of its PlayStation VR bundles by $100

[midian182]

The high cost of virtual reality headsets has been one of the biggest reasons behind their slow adoption, but more manufacturers are dropping their prices. The latest of these is Sony, which is permanently reducing the amount you’ll pay for one of its PlayStation VR bundles.

Sony’s virtual reality device now starts at $299.99 (379.99 CAD) for the VR Doom bundle. For that price, buyers get the headset, the necessary PlayStation camera, a VR demo disc, and the Doom VFR game. This bundle was previously available for $399.99 (499.99 CAD)

Spending $349.99 (449.99 CAD) will get you The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR bundle. As the name suggests, this comes with the Skyrim VR core game and all official add-ons, as well as two PlayStation Move controllers, the headset, and the PS camera. The package was originally $449.99 (579.99 CAD).

Sony has temporarily dropped the price of its VR headsets in the past; select bundles starting at $199 went on sale last month. But these new price cuts are a permanent reduction in the MSRP.

It also appears that the headset included in the bundles is the redesigned model Sony unveiled last year. It comes with integrated headphones and an updated processor unit that supports HDR passthrough, allowing users to watch “HDR-compatible PS4 content on a TV without having to disconnect the Processor Unit in between the TV and the PS4 system.”

One of the reasons behind the price cuts, other than getting more PlayStation 4 and Pro users to buy a PSVR, is the upcoming Oculus Go headset. Priced at $199, Oculus’ device might not be as powerful as Sony’s, but it doesn’t require a smartphone, console, or PC to operate.

The discounted PlayStation VR bundles will be available from March 29^th.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/73912-sony-cuts-price-playstation-vr-bundles-100.html

 

[TomSEA]

All of these recent price cuts are telling.

People are simply not buying into the VR gaming option yet, even with a couple of big name releases. Still pretty much a niche event. The latest Steam survey shows only 0.14% of Steam accounts (125 million) have a VR device.

I don't see VR becoming a "must have" option until they resolve 1) pricing, 2) discomfort of wearing headsets longer than 30 minutes, 3) nausea and headaches that people are experiencing and 4) a robust game selection.

 

[Uncle Al]

It's getting closer .... just another $100 off and I'll look more seriously at it, but I'm still waiting to hear their is a "universal format" that any of these headsets can read any of the VR files ..... or does it already exist??

 

[Evernessince]

It's getting closer .... just another $100 off and I'll look more seriously at it, but I'm still waiting to hear their is a "universal format" that any of these headsets can read any of the VR files ..... or does it already exist??

There are open platforms like SteamVR and game engines like Unity already work with all VR headsets. The only problem is, Sony doesn't care about any of that and thus the PlaystationVR doesn't work on PC without some work and additional hardware.

 

[GeforcerFX]

Wonder if they are just clearing out stock, I have 6 friends/coworkers with PSVR, most use it around 20 hours a year since getting it. Seems they get drug out during parties and hangouts more than anything else. I can't use VR, makes me sick in around 3 min, I like VR for racing games, but that's about it. They keep saying they have reduced the "sickness" with each newer model, all of them still take me around 3 min until I have vertigo and trying hard to hold down my lunch.