PlayStation VR2 Sales Are Disappointing: VR Gaming Isn’t Going Mainstream Yet

Sony PlayStation VR2 launched on February 22, representing a new gaming era driven by VR. However, the metaverse and VR market have been unstable, which led to Sony’s VR gaming device’s sluggish start.

Bloomberg, citing research firm IDC, reported that between February 22 and the end of March, only 270,000 Sony VR headsets would sell. However, the device isn’t currently available from the world’s largest retailers, such as Amazon.

Before the official launch, Sony reduced the production of PS VR2 due to low pre-order numbers. Sony sought to have two million headsets available for the launch, but the company reduced the number by half to one million. According to Upload, the forerunner PlayStation VR took under eight months to sell one million devices. So there’s a chance that VR2 will catch up.

“Consumers around the world are facing rising costs of living, rising interest rates, and rising layoffs. VR headsets are not top of mind for most consumers under the current economic climate,”

Francisco Jeronimo, IDC’s vice president, told Bloomberg.

The price of PS VR2 seems fair compared to similar headsets – the device currently costs $550. However, it could be too expensive for an average consumer considering the current global economic situation. Jeronimo suggested that Sony would need to sell the device for a lower price to attract more consumers.

To drive sales, Sony announced new games on PS VR2: Green Hell VR, GORN, Solaris Offworld Combat 2, Project Wingman, and Wanderer Remastered, as well as the popular Horizon Call Of The Mountain and Resident Evil Village.

After surveying over 2,000 game developers a few months ago, Game Developers Conference (GDC) concluded that VR/AR gaming future is still very uncertain. The interest in VR gaming is rapidly growing, but mass adoption could still be far ahead.

Read more: