Meta are growing the worth of all variations of the Meta Quest 2, their flagship wi-fi VR headset, by $100. They introduced the choice in a put up on the Oculus weblog, saying that the rise in worth would assist them “proceed to speculate for the long run and hold driving the VR business ahead.” Principally, Meta wish to lose much less cash now.
“We’ve been all-in on VR for the reason that early days of PC and cellular, throughout to immediately’s premium standalone 6DOF headsets—and we’ve invested billions of {dollars} to assist nurture a thriving VR ecosystem,” begins the put up on the Oculus weblog. “Now, we’re making a change that may assist us proceed to speculate for the long run and hold driving the VR business ahead with best-in-class {hardware}, action-packed video games, and cutting-edge analysis on the trail to really next-gen units.”
From August, the Meta Quest 2 will value $399.99 USD for the 128 GB model and $499.99 USD for the 256GB model. There isn’t any point out within the put up of regional pricing, nevertheless it appears protected to imagine that costs will enhance equally in different territories. The 2 variations of the Meta Quest 2 presently value £299 and £399 within the UK.
The put up additionally notes that Meta Quest 2 equipment and refurbished models will even be growing in worth. For a restricted time, purchasers of the Quest 2 will get Beat Saber included free of charge as some kind of compensation – which is, no less than, the most effective VR sport.
The Meta Quest (previously Oculus Quest) headsets had been priced to encourage adoption within the nascent VR market, and it is doubtless that Meta (previously Fb) have been promoting them at a considerable loss. Rising the worth appears extra prone to sluggish gross sales than ‘drive the VR business ahead’, however I think about Meta’s collapsing inventory worth in 2022 performs a job within the resolution. It is also value noting that Meta have a second quarter earnings name scheduled for tomorrow (July twenty seventh), Meta staff count on heavy layoffs (paywalled), and Meta are within the New York Instances immediately making an attempt to make their metaverse pitch sound thrilling and never stumbling and undesirable. The NYT article notes that Meta’s {hardware} unit “misplaced practically $3 billion within the first quarter” of 2022 alone.
For what it is value, the Oculus Quest 2 is an efficient headset, and having the ability to play in VR with out wiring as much as a PC is a big boon. Earlier this month, Meta introduced that they’d not require a Fb account to make use of the Quest, which is a bonus.
In the event you’re keen to pay the elevated worth, nonetheless, you would possibly need to think about the Valve Index headset, which stays costlier at £459 however which is the gold commonplace of VR headsets. At the least till we get a take a look at Meta’s Mission Cambria, their high-end headset which, this worth change announcement notes, is because of launch later this yr.