The Meta Quest 3S is losing its grip on the budget VR gaming market as Sony's discounted PSVR 2 starts to sell out

Last month, Meta increased its Quest 3S pricing. This week, Sony launched its Days of Play sale, cutting $100 off the already-cheaper-than-launch PlayStation VR 2. You can bet on which one’s flying off the shelves right now.

With the cheapest Meta Quest 3S now coming in at $349.99, the PlayStation VR 2’s $399.99 MSRP has been relatively unthreatening in the last few weeks. Now that Sony’s sale on the table, dropping that PlayStation and PC headset down to $299.99, it’s become the go-to for budget VR hunters. While the Quest 3S still sits sadly on the shelves, Amazon and Best Buy have already run out of stock of discounted PlayStation units.

After all, this is still one of the best VR headsets we’ve tested. It’s hiding a powerful feature set, one that was far more befitting of the premium (more than the PS5) price point it received at launch.

While you’re dropping back to older fresnel lenses compared to the Quest 3S’s pancake lenses (a sometimes ever-so-slightly softer image quality compared to Meta), the actual panel is a boosted HDR OLED. An increased per-eye resolution and a larger 110 degree field of view also work to provide far more benefits than your small losses in the lenses.

If you’re investing in a VR headset for gaming the PlayStation VR 2 is exactly where I’d be looking right now. It’s $50 cheaper than Meta’s competitor, offers an (overall) better visual experience for gaming, and we even found its control tracking to be superior as well. If you’re after more of a multimedia experience it’s worth reinvestigating the Meta Quest 3S.

That’s because PSVR 2 runs via either your PS5 or PC, remaining tethered to a device to showcase your games and movies. The Meta Quest 3S is more of an everyday device, with a standalone cable-free design and mixed reality features.

For more offers, we’re also rounding up the latest PSVR 2 bundles. If you’re in Meta’s camp, though, check out the best Meta Quest accessories we’ve tested so far.