Sony has reportedly halted PSVR 2 production until its current backlog is sold
Could a price drop be on the way?
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Sonyhas reportedly halted production on newPSVR 2units until the current backlog of headsets has sold through.
The news comes according to anew Bloomberg report, which suggests thatPSVR2 sales have declined each quarter since its launch in February of last year. Especially notable are the Q4 2023 sales figures, which show Sony selling roughly 325,000 units. That’s a fraction of the 1.3 million headset sales from Meta, though this is likely due to the launch ofMeta Quest 3on top of the consistently strong sales of theMeta Quest 2.
Yijia Zhai, analyst at financial group Macquarie, made a statement to Bloomberg addressing why PSVR 2 could be struggling as much as it is: “The high price of VR hardware acts as the main hurdle for its expansion,” says Zhai. “Currently, there are limited games that support VR devices, and that will also lead to lack of motivation for players to purchase VR hardware. This limited content also has a reason – the development cost for VR games is substantially higher than normal titles.”
The news comes shortly afterPlayStation laid off roughly 8% of its global staff, which included the closure of London Studios and “reductions” atHorizon: Call of the Mountaindeveloper Firesprite; both studios heavily involved with PSVR 2 development.
Additionally, plans have been announced to bringPC support to PSVR 2, though we’re yet to see this come to fruition. Ideally, this planned PC support will be coupled with a price drop for the expensive VR headset, which Sony has been stubborn to discount since launch.
Also likely, and much bleaker, is the idea that PC support could be Sony’s way of wrapping up support for PSVR 2; refocusing its efforts onPS5and future hardware like a potentialPS5 Proand, of course,PlayStation 6. But in the meantime, if Sony wants to sell through its current batch of PSVR 2 units, a substantial price drop does seem like it’ll be on the cards.
Own a PSVR 2? Be sure to check out our guides to thebest PSVR 2 gamesandbest PSVR 2 accessoriesto ensure you’re getting the best experience possible before PC support comes to the device.
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Rhys is TRG’s Hardware Editor, and has been part of the TechRadar team for more than two years. Particularly passionate about high-quality third-party controllers and headsets, as well as the latest and greatest in fight sticks and VR, Rhys strives to provide easy-to-read, informative coverage on gaming hardware of all kinds. As for the games themselves, Rhys is especially keen on fighting and racing games, as well as soulslikes and RPGs.
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