Remember the PlayStation VR2? No? That’s understandable, as it seems that Sony is struggling enough to sell units that it’s reportedly paused production on them.
In all its years and forms, virtual reality has never really managed to properly take off, and it seems like the PS VR2 is much the same. A recent report from Bloomberg has claimed that Sony has apparently paused production of its PS VR2 headset because it has a backlog of units that it hasn’t managed to sell yet. According to sources that spoke with Bloomberg, sales have slowed down in the year following the PS VR2’s launch, having apparently produced as many as two million units total.
PS VR2 shipments have apparently been less and less every financial quarter, with them unsurprisingly being highest during the period the headset launched in, according to market intelligence firm IDC, which tracks deliveries to retailers. There’s apparently a surplus of headsets throughout Sony’s supply chain, though IDC’s Francisco Jeronimo says there is a potential for recovery thanks to the arrival of Apple’s Vision Pro headset. “We forecast the VR market to grow on average 31.5% per year between 2023 and 2028,” Jeronimo said.
While Meta has managed to shift substantially more units than Sony has of its own Quest headsets, it still hasn’t managed to bring a steady supply of content onto the platforms, a problem both companies have faced. There’s also obviously concerns that the Apple Vision Pro will face similar problems, especially considering how expensive it is, so who knows how things will actually pan out.
At the very least, Sony is apparently testing the ability to let you use your PS VR2 on PC to play PC VR titles, an option that would certainly help justify spending hundreds of pounds on a headset that doesn’t really let you play many games.