Playstation VR 2 production reportedly on hold due to slowing sales
Sony has reportedly halted production of the Playstation VR 2 due to a backlog of unsold units, according to a new Bloomberg report.
Bloomberg, citing two people familiar with the matter, writes that Sony has halted production of the Playstation VR 2 until a backlog of unsold units is cleared. According to the sources, Sony has produced well over 2 million units. The Playstation VR 2 was released in February 2023.
According to market research firm IDC, Sony has shipped more than 1.7 million devices to retailers through the fourth quarter of 2023.
The last official sales figures date back to May 2023, when Sony announced that it had sold nearly 600,000 units, slightly more than the first Playstation VR sold in the same period. Sony has not provided an update on sales since then, suggesting that the Playstation VR 2 has now fallen behind the sales of its predecessor headset.
IDC estimates that shipments to retailers have declined steadily since launch, from 600,000 units in the first quarter of 2023, to 450,000 units in the second quarter, to 340,000 units in the third quarter, and to 325,000 units in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Playstation VR 2's difficult first year
Ahead of the launch, Bloomberg reported that PSVR 2 pre-orders were disappointing and that Sony had cut its sales forecast in half.
The sluggish sales are probably mainly due to the price of the accessory: Playstation VR 2 still costs $550, which is more than the PS5 itself. In addition, no new first-party titles have been announced for the expensive accessory since its launch. On the first anniversary of the headset, Sony instead held out the prospect of Playstation VR 2 gaining access to additional VR games on the PC, which calls into question Sony's commitment to its VR platform.
Shortly before Christmas, a Sony executive described the headset as a "challenging category," and VR studio First Contact Entertainment, which was considered Sony's VR protégé, shut down. In February, Sony closed its London studio and laid off staff at Firesprite, both studios with deep VR expertise.
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