You don’t want to pass up the one Meta Quest offer for Cyber Monday “Cyber Monday Meta Quest ” if you’ve been considering trying VR gaming but have been put off by the high entrance cost. Even at retail, the Meta Quest 3S was unquestionably the greatest value available in the VR gaming market. Target chose to boost the ante for Cyber Monday, though, by giving away a $100 Target gift card, which will be automatically added to your shopping cart. The bonus at the time was a $75 gift card or digital credit, depending on where you purchased it, and the Meta Quest was our best-selling item on Black Friday, selling even more than the PlayStation and Switch systems.
A three-month trial of Meta Quest+ and the VR game Batman: Arkham Shadow are included with every Quest 3S purchase this month to make things even sweeter. As we noted 8/10 review on AG4Tech, “Batman: Arkham Shadow makes most of the Arkham series’ defining gameplay work respectably well in VR, and its mystery story pays off.”
Meta Quest 3S VR Headset with Batman: Arkham Shadow
Bonus $100 Target Credit
The Quest 3S is a significant advance over the original Quest 2 in every regard, and it does it without increasing the price. It also has many of the same capabilities as the more expensive Quest 3, such as new and enhanced Touch controllers, an upgraded SnapDragon APU, and support for full color AR passthrough. In AG4Tech’s 9/10 Quest 3S review, Achraf Grini noted that “raw processing power, full-color passthrough, and snappy Touch Plus controllers make the Quest 3S a fantastic standalone VR headset that also brings entry-level mixed-reality gaming to the masses for the first time.”
What truly distinguishes this deal from all other VR deals is that the Meta Quest 3S can be played totally untethered. That means you can play games like Beat Saber and Pistol Whip without needing a strong gaming PC or a PlayStation 5 console. You’ll be hard-pressed to find another standalone VR headset at this price.
How Is the Quest 3S Different from the Quest 3?
Even at retail price, the Quest 3S costs $200, which is 40% less than the $500 Quest 3. Obviously, some compromises were made to bring the 3S to a competitive pricing point. Specification comparisons are provided below:
Quest 3S vs. Quest 3 Similarities
- Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor
- Touch Plus controllers
- 120Hz refresh rate
- Mixed reality passthrough (same cameras, different layout)
Quest 3S vs. Quest 3 Differences
- Lower per-eye resolution (1832×1920 vs 2064×2208)
- Fresnel lens vs. pancake lens
- Lower FOV (96°/90° vs 104°/96°)
- Smaller storage capacity (128GB vs 512GB)
- Longer battery life (2.5hrs vs 2.2hrs)
In essence, the Quest 3S is a nearly identical headset with inferior optics. On the bright side, because both headsets use the same processor, running at a lesser resolution decreases the load on the APU, potentially improving gaming performance and accounting for the enhanced battery life.
For the price, the Quest 3S is clearly a better value than the Quest 3, and a better option for most gamers, especially if the Quest 3 was utterly out of reach in the first place. Compared to the previous generation Quest 2, the decision is even simpler.
The PlayStation VR2 Is Also on Sale
Now Steam (PCVR) compatible
The PSVR2 is presently priced at $349 on Amazon, following a significant $250 (40% off) sale. This is certainly one of the most advanced headsets available right now, and it is a significant upgrade over the initial PSVR headset. You may also use it as a Steam-powered PCVR headset by purchasing the PSVR2 PC adaptor.
The PSVR2 comes with high-end hardware and features. The display is made up of two 2000×2040 OLED panels that refresh at 120Hz, have a 110-degree field of view, and support eye tracking and foveated rendering. There’s even a motor embedded inside the visor to simulate rumble effects from the headset itself. The controllers are a significant upgrade over their predecessor. Not only have they been updated for comfort and precision, but they now include haptic feedback, adaptable triggers, precise tracking, and finger contact detection. Unlike the Meta Quest 3S, the PSVR2 is tethered, albeit only via a single USB cord.
Will the Deals Change for Cyber Monday?
In my experience, many of the same discounts we saw on Black Friday will be available again on Cyber Monday 2024, including those that were sold out or expired. Retailers typically release their best-selling items in batches, ensuring that each sale event has at least some inventory reserved. That said, I anticipate plenty of new, never-before-seen offers. Black Friday was traditionally referred to as the “retail holiday,” with the best deals found in-store, whereas Cyber Monday was referred to as the “online holiday,” with the best deals available solely online. Although the lines have blurred, many online-only merchants still consider Cyber Monday to be the biggest sale day of the year, rather than Black Friday. Expect some incredible prices from online-only sites such as Amazon, Newegg, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, as well as online-only deals from established shops such as Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. Amazon has already shifted over to Cyber Monday Meta Quest.
