Meta has once again changed the prices of its VR headsets, announcing new and reduced pricing for its Quest and Quest Pro units starting next week. Meta cut its 256GB Quest 2 by $70, making the device more affordable at $429, while its Quest Pros were slashed by a hefty $500, bringing them each to a flat $1000. This is quite a significant shift, especially considering that Meta increased both prices just 6 months ago.

Lower Is More

It seems that Meta’s now more confident in its future in this respect, with its ad business getting back on track, Meta’s now able to invest more into the VR future, and the expansion of the Metaverse as a new user paradigm. Which is still a long way from being a reality, but for Meta’s VR environment to become the all-consuming, all-purpose, omnipresent experience that Zuck and Co. envision, it needs people to be involved, and it’s impossible to get that full experience without a VR headset.

In the past, Zuckerberg has about reducing barriers to entry, including posts, to facilitate more reach for its VR tools, which means that it’ll likely need to eat at least some of the price of headset sales to maximize take up. Apple’s iOS 14 update changed things in this respect by taking a chunk out of Meta’s ad income through reduced performance and data insight. Now, however, Meta’s looking to get back on track with VR adoption once again – that Quest Pro price reduction, in particular, could be a big incentive to get more people involved.

Would they want to, though?

So far, most Metaverse examples we’ve seen don’t look that inspiring and haven’t actually been the draw cards to get more people to pay up, and immerse themselves in the experience. Then again, some newer developments will draw interest, such as making the most popular VR first-person shooter ‘Population: One’. With the NBA finals just around the corner, making more games available in VR could also be another drawcard for the units.

It’s not yet amazing just yet – Meta’s VR experience isn’t probably going to blow everybody away or change perspectives, at least not now. However, it’s getting better, and there are advancing uses of the technology that are steadily improving over time, which will open the door to more opportunities.

The Wrap

These are important shifts, and as more people buy VR units, and smaller tweaks continue to roll out, you can start to see a future where VR becomes a more significant consideration in our interactive landscape. It’s still early, but Meta’s whole Metaverse push, for all the criticism it has recently been taking, could still be a very big deal, especially if it can maximize adoption through broader VR take-up.

Sources

http://bit.ly/3yil0sg