PlayStation VR2 just came out late last month and isn’t selling anywhere near the predicted amount Sony had in plan. A report from Bloomberg indicates that Sony may sell well below 300,000 units. Pair that with Sony’s original goal of selling 2 million at launch, it’s not boding well at all. The main issue? That price point just isn’t cutting it with consumers. As Bloomberg points out, “The PSVR2 requires a PlayStation 5 console to play with and costs $549, a price that’s only grown more onerous as economic conditions have worsened.” Those who want a PSVR2 will be spending nearly $1000 in total between the console and the headset respectively. Even worse, the headset costs more than a PS5 console alone, consumers are no doubt put off by the price.
Back in early February, Bloomberg also reported that the pre-order numbers were so low that Sony cut back on how many units it would ship by nearly 1 million. Sony denied those claims from Bloomberg, but the numbers of how many headsets have since been purchased really says more than enough.
While the PSVR2 has been praised for enhancing VR gameplay experiences and technological improvements within the headset, consumers just aren’t interested in bulky headsets at exorbitant prices. The original PSVR which released in October 2016 cost only $399, expensive still, but was reasonably priced compared to PSVR2 at $549. Today, the most popular VR headset the Meta Quest 2 costs $399 and has currently sold nearly 20 million units. PSVR only sold 5 million in its lifetime.
It’s unclear what Sony will do next, but the fact is, PSVR2 will end up being a disaster for Sony if the trend continues. In the current economic climate, with inflation, higher cost of living, and layoffs, people are putting their money towards necessities, not gaming headsets. It remains to be seen the future of PlayStation VR2 in the coming year, but the price remains the biggest issue.