Could The Oculus Quest 2 Usher In The Age Of VR?

This has been quite the week for gaming news. Microsoft started it off by announcing the newest generation of Xbox consoles, the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S. Sony got in on the action by unveiling the PlayStation 5. But the biggest news came from Facebook. Earlier this summer, Facebook informed us they were discontinuing the Oculus Go, and now they tell us that the Oculus Rift S is also on the chopping block. Is this the end of Facebook’s foray into virtual reality?

The answer to that question as it turns out, is a resounding no. Facebook’s big gaming news was not that they are pulling the Oculus Rift S per se, but rather why they are doing so. They just announced the successor to the Oculus Quest, aptly named the Oculus Quest 2. In the 48 hours or so this information has been made public, the device has gotten some of the best publicity and reviews I have ever seen for a video game console. (Presumably all the online reviewers had been under embargo until the info leaked and then was made official at the Facebook Connect 7 conference). Here are just a few of the article titles: “The New Oculus Quest 2 Is the Best Way to VR–by Far“; “Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 is outstanding“; “Oculus’s new headset is the first real VR rival for Xbox and PlayStation“; “The Oculus Quest 2 Has Finally Realized VR’s Promise and It’s Only $300“; “The $299 VR headset to rule them all“. You get the idea.

As I’ve said in the past, what with a pandemic going on and most people confined to their homes, this should be VR’s time to shine. That’s yet to happen, but perhaps the Oculus Quest 2 will mark at turning point. At just $300, it is remarkably accessible, and as the winter months approach families may grow tired of the same old board games and Netflix shows. At the very least, the Oculus Quest 2 should give people something to do. As Facebook says in its official video announcement, this is “a great time and a great device to get started on” if you are new to VR. We know the former to be true. We’ll have to wait until October 13 to find out about the latter.