VR headset recommendation

[Watchthis]

My daughter has decided she'd like to add a vr headset to her wishlist for Christmas

I don't have the first clue what's decent or reasonably priced. Any recommendations?

[Blib]

Meta Quest 3 is the go to headset at the moment.

[Watchthis]

Those popped up straight away when I looked earlier. Not the cheapest things on the planet either ha!

[trebnamo]

Similar discussion happening here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

The Quest 3 is the preferred headset at the balance for price/performance, and the Quest 3S is currently £250 direct from Meta: https://www.meta.com/gb/quest/quest-3s/ The compromise for me is that the Quest 3S has fresnel lenses vs flat 'pancake' lenses in the Quest 3. I prefer the flat lenses but your daughter might not notice or care!

Either of them are pretty decent headsets, you can use them self-contained or as passthroughs for PC gaming. PSVR2 is also reduced at the moment and worth considering if you have a Playstation.

[GnuBee]

Quest 3 is the most obvious choice. I say that having moved from PSVR2 to Quest. Valve's new headset would be the only other contender but it's not released yet.

[Watchthis]

We don't have another games console at home so relying on this to either come with games or more likely, pay a subscription to have access to online games

[Lucas Ayde]

Don't know if the deals are still active but the Quest3s model (with the older, Fresnel lens optics) was just over 200 quid on Black Friday.

If you are really serious about VR then it's worth going for the more expensive full Quest 3 version but for the price, the 3s makes a killer entry-level VR headset that has most of what makes the full 3 version great (apart from the optics).

Steam Frame will be worth a look whenever it comes out, also. But will almost certainly have a premium price compared to the Quest headsets which are subsidised by Meta.

[Dave Hedgehog]

for kids meta quest 3S is where its at, so many of them on their playing gorilla tag etc

smyths have a deal atm

https://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/gaming-and-tec...

if quality is the goal wait for the new steam frame headset, it looks like its going to make everything obsolete over night

https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steamframe

[Virtual PAH]

Dave Hedgehog said:

for kids meta quest 3S is where its at, so many of them on their playing gorilla tag etc

smyths have a deal atm

https://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/gaming-and-tec...

if quality is the goal wait for the new steam frame headset, it looks like its going to make everything obsolete over night

https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steamframe

Interesting. The Steam Frame has the better pancake lenses like the Quest 3 and a google search suggests the RRP is likely to be in a similar ball park.

Hopefully more competition in the sector leads to lowering production costs of the better lenses and therefore lower consumer prices of these devices as the popularity increases, if it's not another 3D cinema damp squib. Making the headsets lighter and more comfortable is perhaps as big a factor as the visual element.

[Watchthis]

Thanks for the recommendations all. I've ordered the meta 3s now, fi gers crossed she likes it

[Blib]

Watchthis said:

Thanks for the recommendations all. I've ordered the meta 3s now, fi gers crossed she likes it

Dont forget to have a go yourself!

[Odysseus01]

Watchthis said:

Thanks for the recommendations all. I've ordered the meta 3s now, fi gers crossed she likes it

I bought one for my children last week (8 and 6) and they love it. Still discovering how to use it although it is very intuitive (I'm hopeless at such things) and what games to get.

[130R]

Virtual PAH said:

Dave Hedgehog said:

for kids meta quest 3S is where its at, so many of them on their playing gorilla tag etc

smyths have a deal atm

https://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/gaming-and-tec...

if quality is the goal wait for the new steam frame headset, it looks like its going to make everything obsolete over night

https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steamframe

Interesting. The Steam Frame has the better pancake lenses like the Quest 3 and a google search suggests the RRP is likely to be in a similar ball park.

Hopefully more competition in the sector leads to lowering production costs of the better lenses and therefore lower consumer prices of these devices as the popularity increases, if it's not another 3D cinema damp squib. Making the headsets lighter and more comfortable is perhaps as big a factor as the visual element.

I'm waiting for the Frame because it looks really good for (and is primarily aimed at) people that have a gaming PC and want to stream VR from that. It has a dedicated 6GHz wireless link to stream from PC unlike any of the competitors.

We'll have to wait on price but the previous Valve VR headset (Index) was £919. However that included Base Stations which the Frame does not require. Without Base Stations the Index was £689.00 with controllers. So I'm guessing that will be ballpark.