As much as it pains us, virtual reality has not managed to take off. It has been with us for over a decade and it doesn’t seem like it will ever find its footing. Perhaps it’s due to the lack of essential titles, apart from Half-Life Alyx, or perhaps it’s due to its price, which is unaffordable for many wallets. Because the only thing we know for sure is that no one is managing to popularize this technology. Not even Sony.
According to a report by Bloomberg in one of their latest articles, PlayStation VR2 could be nearing its end. Since its launch, unit shipments have been progressively more limited each quarter. To the point that, currently, they have completely halted the production of new units.
Launched on February 22, 2023, the PlayStation VR2 was released at a price of €599, a price well above the competition. Only compatible with PlayStation 5 and without backward compatibility with games from the first PlayStation VR, they were received with lukewarm reviews by critics and the public, despite the obvious improvements compared to its first iteration. Especially due to its price and lack of exclusive titles.
While Sony has not clarified how many PlayStation VR2 units it has sold so far, we have some estimated approximations. According to IDC, a market analysis company, the estimated sales were 270,000 units by the end of March. Something that Sony denied by stating that they would be around 600,000 units.
According to IDC’s estimate, however, the figures would not be so promising. Falling consistently throughout the quarters. In the second quarter of 2023, they would have sold around 435,000 units, 343,600 units during the third, and 325,200 during the fourth. Ridiculously low figures for a piece of hardware.
That would explain Sony’s reasons for completely stopping production of the PlayStation VR2. Or their recent announcement that they are testing the possibility of making them compatible with PC, so that players can access the entire catalog of games on that platform. Something necessary given the poor first-party support that Sony has given it.
