According to reports, Sony has paused production of the PSVR2 to clear out the excess inventory of unsold units.
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| Sony Has Reportedly Paused Production of PSVR2 |
According to Bloomberg, Sony is temporarily pausing production of its most recent virtual reality headset, after producing over two million units, in an attempt to reduce unsold inventories. Despite its launch in February 2023 at a price tag of $550, sales of the VR headset have reportedly “slowed progressively”, leading to the stock collection.
The PSVR2 was initially introduced as an accessory for the PlayStation 5, however, data from IDC indicates that shipments of the VR2 have declined each quarter since its launch.
While Sony reported that the PSVR2 had sold about 600,000 units six weeks after its release, analysts claim that it sold slightly more than a million units in its debut year. In December 2023, SIE's head of worldwide business, Eric Lempel also stated that PSVR2 was "a bit of a challenging category right now," and he added that he believed "there was a higher expectation generally for what VR would do to gaming." And based on the data revealed, it seems like the holiday season of 2023 particularly saw poor sales for the PSVR2.
Well, the questions about the PSVR2's success first arose when Sony revealed a lineup of upcoming games for the device, none of which were from its in-house studios. Additionally, Sony's VR-focused London studio was closed as part of a disastrous wave of layoffs that affected 900 employees.
According to Bloomberg, the lack of PSVR2-supported games is the main issue. A number of AAA games, such as Horizon Call of the Mountain, Gran Turismo 7, and Resident Evil games, are compatible with the PSVR2, however, the expectations are high because the headset costs $549, which is more than the PS5 alone.
However, Francisco Jeronimo of IDC believes that Apple Inc.'s release will help the product category rebound in the upcoming years. He said, “We forecast the VR market to grow on average 31.5% per year between 2023 and 2028." Furthermore, Sony recently revealed that it is testing PC support, providing “the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC,” in an effort to expand the amount of material available for its headsets. So, we might see a surge in the demand for PSVR2 in the near future.
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