Should I buy DS a Virtual Reality headset?

[Tarchie]

My DS wants a VR headset for his birthday but I’m not sure if they’re worth the expense. Does anyone know if they’re worth the money (£350) and whether they’re easy to operate? DS is autistic and so becomes rather fixated on things. This is now the be all and end all present and nothing can sway him from wanting one. Unfortunately his autism means he’s very much socially isolated and he’s done so much research about the games, educational experiences etc which he could see on the headset. Does anyone know if it would be worth buying?

Anyone??

Google it and you get techie mag reviews, which would be a good guide. I’ve just looked at Which? And they don’t have any reviews yet.

I bought my ds 13 one for Xmas, the games are pretty basic. In all honesty he’s played on it a handful of times since Xmas the novelty wore off very quickly

We have a VR headset for our PS4. We all enjoy it, including DD (she's 5 so we don't let her use it much because it's not great for their eyesight etc). It was second hand and I think DH paid about £200. Still expensive but we've played it a lot.

We've got a few games for it, and they're good fun. I think it depends on what you like to play. I can't play racing games because they make me feel dizzy, but I love Job Simulator and Astrobot. DH likes Beat Saber and Gran Turismo. We all like the free Playroom, but that's PS4 only.

It's not something we use every day, though. Probably for the best!

Thanks Just for mentioning the games are basic. What model does your DS have? Mine wants The Oculus Rift. I am going to try the suggestion from Pip and see if there are any reviews. But I was hoping MN would help me out too.

He has the PS4 set, plus point a lot of the games are cheaper than normal games( I found this as I’d shopped around a lot)

What games is he thinking of getting?
I originally backed the occulus on starter so have the original and the freebie rift.
It's OK but for me not as great as I'd hoped it would be, I find the headset annoying to wear (I also have asd and struggle with sensory issues and it's just a bit bulky and annoying) and the vr games I have are okish but not great, I probably use it every 4 or 5 months or so.

Has he tried it? You can get a Google cardboard version for about £3 on eBay that works with a smartphone. You can download free apps to try.

My LO will play for a few minutes then say it makes her feel sick so could be s cheap way to see if he likes how it feels.

I'm getting one for ds at Xmas. An HTC probably. Hes used them a few times at a local vr place and loves it. I would limit the use but think they are fun and they are seriously good exercise!

How old is he? They’re not recommended for under 12s as they can be bad for eyes and cause headaches.
If he wants an Oculus make sure you have a computer that can support it. It won’t run on a standard laptop or pc, needs to be a fairly new and high end pc. Last I checked the cheapest pc that will run it is at least £800-1000 (my DH has a mini pc that will run it and it cost £800 plus about £100 worth of memory). So if you don’t have the right set up it’s not worth it.
You can get some cool games on it but they are often smaller and less in-depth games, so he may get bored of them quicker.