If you've wanted to give VR gaming a try but the cost of entry has kept you at bay, then you don't want to miss out on the one Meta Quest deal for Cyber Monday. The Meta Quest 3S was indisputably the best value out there in the world of VR gaming even at its retail price. However, for Cyber Monday, Target decided to turn it up a notch by including a bonus $100 Target gift card (you'll see it automatically added to your shopping cart). The Meta Quest was our hottest seller on Black Friday (selling even more than the PlayStation and Switch consoles) and the bonus at the time was a $75 gift card or digital credit, depending on where you got it. This is a better deal and I expect it to blow up.
To sweeten the pot even more, every Quest 3S purchase this month comes with the Batman: Arkham Shadow VR game and a three-month trial of Meta Quest+. In IGN's 8/10 review, Dan Stapleton wrote that "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 an improvement over the original Quest 2 in every way and, amazingly, without a price increase. It also adopts many of the same features of the more expensive Quest 3, like the new and improved Touch controllers, the upgraded SnapDragon APU, and support for full color AR passthrough. In IGN's 9/10 Quest 3S review, Gabriel Moss wrote 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 – arguably – the very first time.
What really sets this deal above all other VR deals is that the Meta Quest 3S can be played completely untethered. That means you can play games like Beat Saber or Pistol Whip without having to own a powerful gaming PC or a PlayStation 5 console. Try to find another standalone VR headset at this price and you'll come up empty.
How Is the Quest 3S Different from the Quest 3?
Even at retail price, the Quest 3S comes in at $200, or 40% cheaper than the $500 Quest 3. Obviously, some compromises were made to get the 3S to its competitive price point. The spec comparisons are listed 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 (1832x1920 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 nearly the same headset but with downgraded optics. On the plus side, since both headsets use the same processor, running at a lower resolution reduces the load on the APU, which could theoretically improve performance in games and also account for the increased battery life.
For the price, the Quest 3S is unquestionably a better value than the Quest 3, and a better choice for most gamers, especially if the Quest 3 was completely out of your budget in the first place. Compared to the previous generation Quest 2, the decision is even easier.
The PlayStation VR2 Is Also on Sale
Now Steam (PCVR) compatible
The PSVR2 is currently just $349 at Amazon and Best Buy after a massive $250 (40% off) discount. This is easily one of the most advanced headsets available right now and a huge upgrade from the original PSVR headset. You can also use it as a Steam-based PCVR headset by getting this PSVR2 PC adapter.
The PSVR2 is equipped with high-end hardware and features. The display consists of two 2000x2040 OLED panels with 120Hz refresh rate, 110-degree FOV, and eye tracking with foveated rendering. There's even a motor built into the visor to mimic rumble effects in the headset itself. The controllers are a huge update over its successor. Not only have they been redesigned for comfort and precision, they feature haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, precision tracking and finger touch detection. Unlike the Meta Quest 3S, however, PSVR2 is tethered, but at least it's only a single USB cable tying you down.
If you're able to play on a PlayStation 5 console, there are currently two must-own exclusives for the PSVR2, and that's Horizon: Call of the Mountain and Gran Turismo 7. Call of the Mountain is included in this bundle and is a spinoff of PS5's Horizon series of games. Gran Turismo is currently on sale for $29.99. Either way, this is a great chance to own an excellent next-gen piece of hardware - which is now cross-compatible - for an incredible price.
Will the Deals Change for Cyber Monday?
In my experience, many of the same deals we saw on Black Friday will return for Cyber Monday 2024, including deals that were sold out or expired. Retailers usually release their hottest selling items in batches so that every sale event has at least some inventory reserved. That said, I also expect plenty of new, never before seen deals. Traditionally, Black Friday was known as the "retail holiday," where the best deals were found in-store, and Cyber Monday was known as the "online holiday," where the best deals were online only. Although today the lines have blurred, it is still true that many online only retailers still consider Cyber Monday the sale event of the year instead of Black Friday. Expect some amazing sales to come out of online-only sites like Amazon, Newegg, Dell, HP, Lenovo and several online-only deals from traditional retailers like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. In fact, Amazon has taken the preemptive and already switched over to Cyber Monday.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
