Sony’s new virtual reality headset, the Playstation VR2 (PSVR2), may not be selling as well as expected. According to market researchers, less than 300,000 copies had been sold in the first few weeks after it went on sale in February. Sony was expecting more popularity due to the hype surrounding the Metaverse. Analysts had predicted that Sony would have sold 270,000 PSVR2s between February 22nd and the end of March. However, Sony has not released any official numbers. Last year, it was forecasted that 2 million copies would be sold for the first time after the market launch.
Sony has announced that it wants to sell approximately 5 million copies of the PSVR2 during its lifetime on the market, similar to the sales figures of its predecessor, the Playstation VR. However, the pre-orders for the PSVR2 had already fallen short of expectations. Despite this, Sony has denied that it plans to reduce the production of the virtual reality headset.
One reason for the moderate popularity of the PSVR2 is due to the global economic situation. Consumers are faced with rising living costs and layoffs, and VR headsets are not a high priority. Furthermore, the PSVR2 is sold significantly more expensively than its predecessor, for 600 euros instead of 400 euros. As a result, IDC expects a price reduction of the PSVR2 to “avoid a complete disaster of the new product”.
Sony had described the Metaverse as a growth driver. Its in-house game studios have developed games tailored to virtual reality to help the new VR headset get off to a quick start on the market. However, this has not yet come about. Disney recently shut down its Metaverse division to cut costs. Meta itself also wants to reduce its investments and has proclaimed a “Year of Efficiency”, which has so far manifested itself in austerity measures and layoffs.
The market researchers predict that the global economic situation will continue to affect sales. However, a price reduction may make the PSVR2 more attractive to consumers. Only time will tell if sales will improve for Sony’s new virtual reality headset.
