Since the AVP came out I’ve been yearning for a path back into VR. Quest 3 is the obvious answer and I’ve even had it in my amazon cart, hovering over the “purchase” button at least twice now. However, I just can’t bring myself to pull the trigger and now I’m starting to take a closer look at the PSVR2.

So about me:

  • I already have a PS5.
  • I used to have a PSVR 1 back in the day, with an Oculus Go for “multimedia” purposes. (Giggity)
  • I don’t have a gaming PC. (I use a Mac.)
  • I actually convinced my dad to get a Quest 2, so he’s in there somewhere.
  • I wear glasses, if that matters.
  • I will probably be moving back to my forever country with whatever I end up buying.

Quest 3 gives me…

  • No cables, lightweight, pancake lenses, colored pass-through AR, hand tracking (cool!), slightly higher resolution.
  • A LOT of games and new games entering the store regularly. (I’m keen on whatever that assassin’s creed game is).
  • Could play golf or “go fishing” with the old man.
  • Would definitely watch multimedia. (wife might even use it from time to time) (also, giggity)
  • I can see myself playing around with productivity and virtual monitors for my Mac.
  • UI improvements are getting exciting now that Meta has some competition in Apple.
  • Side-loading, mods, alt stores, huzzah! (PS5 remote play?)
  • I might be able to put the old, horrendous Lenovo Mirage VR180 camera I bought to use with my Oculus Go back into use with this thing somehow. (I am skeptical, though)
  • Controller can be stowed when traveling with batteries removed, Headset is small enough to slip into a carry-on.

PSVR2 gives me…

  • OLED, HDR, eye-tracking. tracked foveated rendering, cabled fidelity, comfortable out-of-the-box, haptic triggers, headset rumble. (omg these hardware features! Ugnh!)
  • More than €100 cheaper than a 512gb Quest 3 (which is the one I’d buy).
  • I already have some PSVR2 compatible games in my PS library. (I really want to replay No Man’s Sky in VR, too)
  • Games on PSVR are more graphically impressive and haptics make them more immersive.
  • No concern for headset battery life, peripherals, battery packs, or other hidden costs (which makes that €100 price difference mentioned before more like a €200+ difference).
  • I won’t have to feel weird about Meta being meta about everything I do in and out of the headset
  • I could use this for games and hold out for a something like a Vision “Air” or a Quest “Light” later on to use exclusively for media consumption. (Giggity)
  • Cable is probably long enough to reach my bed, meaning late night, big screen Flat PS5 gaming in HDR, OLED glory!
  • No battery in the headset Means it can be stowed in traveling. Controllers can be kept in the carry-on

So yeah. My biggest gripe with the Quest 3 is that gobsmackingly absurd 1-2hr battery life, the comfort complaints, and the hidden costs/bulk associated with all of that. On the other hand, my biggest gripe with the PSVR2 is what looks to be a concerning lack of interest from Sony and the implications for the future of the platform. That said, there are already more than enough games for me on either platform, so maybe that wouldn’t matter.

Anyway, I’d like some outside perspective on the matter. Thank you to anyone willing to oblige.

  • @EvilBitEnglish
    5•7 months ago

    I mean, no corporation is perfect, but Meta has been changing their policies significantly after the fact in ways that would make me deeply uncomfortable, and their entire business model is privacy invasion. I would never in a million years buy a piece of hardware from Meta with any kind of sensor on it, much less the insane number of cameras, microphones, and other sensors the Quest has.

  • dindonmaskerEnglish
    5•7 months ago

    Based on all this it looks like the psvr 2 is more what you’re looking for and like you said the apple vision lite or whatever will come next. So you’ll have both a good VR game experience and in the future something that is built for productivity and media consumption. Seems like a great choice to me.

    • EggyheadOP
      1•7 months ago

      On a Mac, I’m keeping my expectations in check on that.

  • @fer0nMEnglish
    2•7 months ago

    It sounds to me like you’ve basically decided already and thought this through. Probably the PSVR is the one to get. I own both PSVR2 and Quest 3. I only play PSVR occasionally for exclusives and I enjoy Quest a lot more, so what I’m about to say isn’t impartial, but here’s a few more things to consider, apart from the stuff you already mentioned:

    • I find the PSVR quite uncomfortable and charging the controllers by plugging them in is really annoying (I fixed both by buying accessories)
    • if you strap a battery pack to the back (with valcro) you get infinite battery (also sessions usually aren’t long enough to actually kill the battery in the first place)
    • The Quest lenses are so much nicer and clearer (the sweet spot is really tiny on PSVR)
    • if you don’t already, you have to pay an additional monthly subscription to play PSVR games online
    • Quest games usually have a discount and are cheaper, also you can refund every game if you played up to 2h. PSVR games are more expensive and you cannot return them
    • There’s more friction to get a PSVR game started, compared to the Quest (doesn’t seem like much, but it adds up and I’m pretty sure that’s the number one reason for VR not being bigger)
    • the Quest has a lot more games and will get a lot more
    • think of meta what you will, but they’re 100% committed to VR and constantly putting out new stuff and improvements, PSVR on the other hand feels pretty abandoned by Sony which will result in even fewer new games
    • the PSVR grab buttons are klick buttons and you have to squeeze hard to grab. Some games support touch or toggle klick, but I much prefer the quest controllers in that regard
    • Quest has mixed reality games and the passthrough is night and day difference to PSVR
    • there’s some really great games on PSVR (gran truismo, re8/4, Vertigo 2, synapse, …) you cannot get on Quest
    • the PSVR haptic triggers are really great, but not every PSVR game makes use of haptic triggers, e.g. Vertigo 2 doesn’t

    Again, the PSVR is probably the one to get for you, but I thought I‘d summarize a few of the things I noticed while playing with each.

    Also, question: why would you pack up your PSVR? To move somewhere? Or are you bringing you PlayStation with you?

    • EggyheadOP
      2•7 months ago

      I appreciate your thoughts. I did pull the trigger on a PSVR2 last night, but I’m not ruling out getting whatever that Quest Lite will be or maybe even a Quest 3 later on down the road when my finances have recovered. For now, I just want to play a few really immersive games.

      I’d need to pack up my systems because I’ve been living abroad semi-long term and brought my PS5 with me. We will probably be moving back in about 1 year.

  • aprilEnglish
    1•7 months ago

    Honestly I don’t think VR is comfortable for super long sessions anyway and you can get the elite head strap for more battery or just plug it in. Quest 3 is gonna be easier to watch videos on than PSVR.