What it’s good to know
- Meta won’t supply a trade-in or loyalty program for Quest 2 house owners to improve to Quest 3.
- The Oculus Quest 2 value $299 at launch and bought over 20 million models to this point, whereas the Quest 3 prices $499.
- No main electronics shops (i.e., Gamestop) look like accepting Quest 2 trade-ins, both.
When requested in regards to the potential for a Quest 2 trade-in or loyalty program in alternate for discounted Quest 3 headsets, a Meta rep knowledgeable us that “we wouldn’t have an improve/trade-in program right now.” And whereas this is not stunning, it is nonetheless a disappointment.
VR headsets exist in an odd center floor between online game consoles and wearable tech. In contrast to most consoles, there is not a lot after-market worth for Oculus Quest headsets, apart from direct gross sales to fellow VR followers in areas like Fb Market.
Most console producers do not settle for trade-ins straight; it is third-party companions like Gamestop or Finest Purchase that achieve this. However not like plug-in-and-play consoles, modular Quest headsets most likely require extra cleansing and checking for authentic components earlier than resale is feasible. So, it isn’t stunning that the majority corporations (together with Meta itself) will not hassle with taking and reselling them regardless of their recognition.
Due to that, plenty of Quest 2s are going to finish up in landfills over the following few years. And it is a missed alternative for Meta, which might have each decreased e-waste and pushed extra Quest 2 house owners to improve.
Regardless of promoting 20 million Oculus Quest 2 headsets since its late 2020 launch, Meta has lots using on the Quest 3 launch. Its AR/VR Actuality Labs division loses billions each quarter, and Quest 2 gross sales have sagged with the Quest 3 incoming.
Our Quest 3 hands-on has us enthusiastic about all of the methods the brand new headset improves on the outdated one. However at $499, the Quest 3 can be a major funding in comparison with the $299 Quest 2, on par with a PS5 or Xbox Sequence X. The comparably priced PSVR 2, for reference, bought about 600,000 models after three months — respectable however pedestrian numbers which have seemingly fallen off since.
The Quest 3 is not dependent upon one other console, widening its potential person base. However the reality is, the Quest 2 is the one VR headset to succeed in a large, “informal” gaming viewers on par with conventional gaming consoles, partially due to its affordability. Meta tried elevating the Quest 2 worth to $399 final 12 months however dropped it again to $299 pretty rapidly after gross sales deflated.
We’re fairly assured that the Quest 3 will make a splash with VR followers, primarily based on our time with it. However to develop past that passionate base to the remainder of Quest 2 house owners, a trade-in program would have gone a great distance.
The very fact is, blended actuality is a see-it-to-believe-it know-how. Regardless that the Quest 3 graphics improve appears to be like unbelievable, most individuals can be completely happy sufficient with their Quest 2 headsets within the quick time period. The Quest 3 seemingly will not have any unique video games for a while, as builders will hold their video games backward appropriate to focus on the bigger Quest 2 set up base.
A small, limited-time-only Quest 2 trade-in low cost in direction of a brand-new Quest 3 would have gone a great distance towards combating that feeling of inertia. Meta would “lose” cash on headsets that it is most likely promoting at close to value however make that cash again on future recreation gross sales and hold people invested within the Quest ecosystem for an additional few years.
Plus, it might then flip round and promote refurbished Quest 2s if it needed, or simply promise to correctly recycle them.
As a substitute, Meta is relying on folks shopping for a brand new Quest 3 at full worth only a few years after shopping for the Quest 2 and ignoring the entire Quest e-waste that is sure to pop up within the subsequent few years.
The Meta Quest 3 VR headset presents a extra highly effective Snapdragon chipset with 33% extra RAM, a a lot lighter design, full-color blended actuality, and loads of design upgrades. Even in case you personal a Quest 2 and do not know what to do with it, the Quest 3 is tempting sufficient that you could be nonetheless need to improve.
