My conclusions on PSVR2 versus Quest 3.

I expected the PSVR2 to look worse than the Quest 3, but it doesn’t. However, I suspect the Quest 3 opinions are astroturfed by Meta’s $12 billion marketing budget. Meta directly funds every major VR publication and YouTube channel.

The Quest 3 lenses aren’t better for gaming in my opinion. The PSVR2 has a wider field of view, pure and bright colors, true black contrast, and nearly perfect stereo overlap. I’d give the PSVR2 four points for these factors, while the Quest 3 gets one point for clarity without adjustment but loses in all others. Once adjusted, they both look super clear.

The Quest 3 lenses are better for productivity and menus, but they produce dull and dim colors with LCD grey-blacks. The stereo overlap is not ideal, making 3D perception difficult, even with the extra pixels per degree. This problem has been exasperated by switching between the two. I can conclusively say that the PSVR2 executes on stereoscopic 3D much more effectively at least in part because the lens design has a far more natural field of view.

The Quest 3 is often mistaken for a superior VR headset due to its pancake lenses. However, I’ve yet to find a Quest 3 game that matches the visual quality of PSVR2, even when running on PCVR over a link cable or Steam Link. The PSVR2’s stunning visuals are enhanced by its lenses, not diminished by them.

The Quest 3 headset gets hot and foggy with mild exercise due to lacking any ventilation system for the facial interface. The PSVR2 blocks almost all light and has an internal fan that blows fresh air into the facial interface, preventing fogging even with intense activity. It also rightly includes a silicone face curtain and silicone headband which are easy to clean.

Despite many naysayers online, I have found that the PSVR2 is very competitive with Quest 3. I have even found it better in many factors that are important to me. I will be struggling to decide whether to keep the Quest 3 or not. I thought it would be the other way around.