Meta introduced immediately one thing that we haven’t beforehand seen occur in the midst of a VR headset’s lifecycle—a value enhance for Quest 2. To melt the blow, the corporate says it should embody a free copy of the headset’s hottest recreation.
When Quest 2 launched again in late 2020, it did so at $300; a value level $100 lower than its predecessor, and considerably lower than most main headsets available on the market. That’s because of Meta closely subsidizing the headset in an effort to unfold VR to the lots.
Effectively, that technique has labored, and possibly a bit too effectively. Meta is believed to have been promoting Quest 2 at a value considerably lower than it truly prices to make and ship to clients—which means that as the corporate sells extra headsets it losses extra money. The hope is that this loss might be recouped by the 30% payment charged to builders.
However now Meta says it has turn into dearer to construct and promote Quest 2, which has solely elevated the losses the corporate is incurring because it sells headsets.
In an obvious effort to make issues extra sustainable, Meta immediately introduced it’s rising the value of Quest 2 by $100—that’s $400 for the 128GB mannequin and $500 for the 256GB mannequin—the identical value as the unique Quest headset.
“By adjusting the value of Quest 2, we will proceed to develop our funding in groundbreaking analysis and new product improvement that pushes the VR business to new heights,” the corporate mentioned.
The worth enhance doesn’t take impact till August, so in the event you have been planning to purchase a Quest 2 within the close to future that is your final probability to select one up on the present value level.
To melt the blow a bit, for the primary time ever Meta is bundling the headset with its hottest recreation, Beat Saber, for brand spanking new Quest 2 purchases by the top of 2022. That’s a $30 worth, and considerably attention-grabbing as a result of Beat Saber has by no means gone on sale or been bundled with the headset.
It’s odd to see the value of a product enhance in the midst of its lifecycle, however world inflation definitely doesn’t bode effectively for backed merchandise. To be truthful, Quest 2 has been improved in manifold methods since launch, and the corporate even doubled the storage on the identical value level—from 64GB to 128GB for the bottom mannequin, and from 128GB to 256GB for the highest mannequin—for which firms normally cost a $100 premium anyway. Whatever the value hike, Quest 2 continues to be one of the crucial reasonably priced headsets available on the market with a value that’s nonetheless robust for others to beat.