Research Firm Claims PlayStation VR2 is Off to a Slow Start - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 02 April 2023 / 3,456 Views
The vice president of data and analytics research firm IDC, Francisco Geronimo, speaking with Bloomberg is claiming PlayStation VR2 is off to a slow start.
IDC claims PlayStation VR2 is likely to have only sold around 270,000 units by the end of March. This should be taken with a grain of salt until Sony provides official sales numbers.
"I suspect a price cut on the PSVR 2 will be needed to avoid a complete disaster of their new product," said Geronimo.
He added, "Consumers around the world are facing rising costs of living, rising interest rates and increasing layoffs. VR headsets are not top of mind for most consumers under the current economic climate."
PlayStation VR2 released on February 22 and is priced at $549.99. It includes the virtual reality headset, Sense controllers, and stereo headphones.
The launch window lineup for PlayStation VR2 includes over 40 games, while many more games are planned to release throughout the year.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Oh weird selling an accessory that costs more than the console isn't selling well. Never heard that before coughsegacough
Of course it is off to a slow start. There was never any chance of it going differently. The cost of entry is sky high, and the PS5 install base is not yet huge.
The real test will come over the next couple of years when we see how it stacks up against the original PSVR and other VR units.
I don't see VR taking off in all honestly. One or two big IPs will never be enoug, you need a constant stream and I don't see this happening when most VR experiences are reductive experiences of what's already enjoyable sitting on a couch. I would love to be proven wrong.
its like the kinect fun at first then gets left on the shelf for months
I'm glad MS are not investing money in a sector of technology that is not yet ready to move on from being in that gimmick category. I'm also glad some companies are as that is the only way to improve the tech.
Apple does copy Samsung quite a bit, and buy/merge a lot of smaller companies, but the most expensive thing they bought was Beats by Dre for 3 billion in 2014.
Not innovative? Please do pop the bubble you live in, you and the fanboys who upvote you.
Everyone console, and even some PC storefronts, are either forever iterating on what the 360 launched with intersm of UI/feature-set, or some specific feature (achievements, etc.) or feature set (all games must be HD, with 5.1 SS).
Tablets were not invented by Apple, but they did get a nice consumer win from their cult later on - good for them. (and I do love people who inconsistly care about populatized vs invented too - but since thats the name of the game, I shall to sometimes, I suppose). Anyway Sorry, it was MS who 'invented' that.
Gears literally created a new kind of shooter - and yes, we will give that to MS, since "second parties" working with Sony and Nintendo count for them (who knows why, but thats how ya'll act for reasons).
Every shooter post Halo 2 is really just apeing its specific overall featureset copied over and over again (and it was not typical for that to be considered standard UNTIL Halo 2). Fun mention - When Doom 216 launched and was going to be all "old school" and not do all of the things HAlo 2 did (and then CoD did), some people celebrated, but also, many people thought it was crap when it actually game out. turns out ranked machmaking and blah blah blah is good, actually.
Windows Phone UI and the tile thing was actually not a opy of anything and won positive marks from all those weirdos who review tech every day of their lives. We all know if Apple had done it, the apply fans would be scream how innovative and nice it looked. Shame MS, with help from the press, crapped all over the platform. Oh well, sideloaded not-android on my phone is better anyway.
Really, its not hard to list out things they did first - probably thats true of all large tech companies.
Actually when it comes to console gaming specifically, other than free games with your sub, Sony has copied MS WAY more than the other way around.
PS - No one doing VR is really innovative - the idea is old, and everyone is just chasing the "its just like a pair of glasses" dream. Maybe whoever is on the edge is innovative, buts its not sony - their VR last time was also ran and only worked beause it was affordable and attached to the popular console of the day. Now they have something that is basically just higher-end-ish PC stuff that is overpriced and seeling like crap. golf clap
I guess he thinks MS is inovating when they make nail polishers, fridges, hoodies, etc.
Specifically from the Xbox brand there is this idea that you win support by being the nastiest person in the room. I never understood that and it drives me away from the brand. Resorting to calling all tech reviewers weirdos does not make your point. It only pushes me further away from a brand that seems to be centered on attacking others.
And then if Sony get a big marketshare on it you'll be complaining of they dominating the market and not leaving poor trillion dollar company space unless they buy multiple publishers on VR?
Exactly.. Just like they laughed the iPhone off and now all we get is the non-stop crying about a "duopoly". Despite the fact that MS was in infinitely much better position than Google to make a compelling smartphone but nope, "let's sit this one out and see if it works first". Typical MS.
Bought Nokia to try and have a footing and nothing out of it.
I have no takes on this until Sony themselves gives sales figures. Anecdotally I have not seen any in stock and there could be any number of reasons for that
You can only buy a PSVR2 directly from Sony. I checked just now and they're still in stock.
I wouldn't say 270k is all that bad. It's expensive and barely out for a month and already made around 150 million in revenue. It's also only available via Sony themselves, so it's way to early to call this a flop already. Most expensive VR headsets don't even break a million units.
Yeah, but isn't that a bit odd selling directly from Sony instead of also through retailers like the original PSVR? It's not like Steam Deck being sold directly from Steam where it's not really meant for mass market appeal.
I don't think it'll be a flop. I just don't think it'll get past the VR niche market. Maybe a little more than the original PSVR if I'm being optimistic? I'm guessing Sony is selling PSVR2 at a loss and aren't anticipating major sales, thus preferring to sell exclusively through their store. Beyond impressive tech for sure that I would love to see take off, but it's been difficult for VR to be accepted in the mass market.
I agree that they should also sell it via retailers. VR is a niche market and will remain that for at least a decade. But as long as PlayStation can sell 5 to ten million of PSVR units every gen they will probably keep making them. It's s great piece of tech after all. They make profit on the accessoires like the chargers though.
In Brazil I can buy from many different stores.
Considering it is being sold only by Sony I don't know how IDC is tracking it and if SteamDeck isn't a mass market product why would PSVR2 be?
The thing is, if the hardware doesn't sell enough then development slows to a crawl and support withers. Basically anyone looking to get the PSVR2 is paying over a grand for the pleasure to experience VR without even a game. Its just not at a mass market price so adoption will be low. I have the PSVR2 and while nice, its not blowing me away but then again the games that are considered really good are not my type of games. I already packed it up and put it in a corner to wait for something I am interested in.
It's not great imo. The most recent Oculus Quest for instance shipped 10m+ the last time Meta released numbers for it back in 2021, while PSVR1 sold through 5m+ the last time Sony gave numbers for it in 2019. Seem like PSVR2 is tracking toward less than half of PSVR1 lifetime, unless Sony releases some killer software for it and has substantial price cuts planned for the future.
Its better and worse to the Oculus Quest. Between the 2 Quest is very cheap, at near mass market price and doesn't require any additional system to do what its designed to do. The PSVR 2 with PS5 games look way better, the optics are better with HDR higher graphics and frame rate. There is no question that the PSVR2 hardware is way above the Quest but then again it still cost anyone who wants to experience it over a grand.
I would definitely say its worth it for people who are willing to pay a lot of money for the other high end VR setups its just not really worth it for the budget conscious consumer which is where most sales go to.
I do agree that there will need to be some price cuts but not sure how when. How long will it take before developers decide that its not ready for mainline support. I believe it will be up to Sony to basically make all their upcoming games VR capable if they want sales to pick up.
Expensive plus interest rates too high
IDC, the one who claimed the Switch wouldn't sell 100 million units
Shocker.
Yeah, the software isn't there yet. I'm definitely not willing to spend the equivalent of PS5 for couple of overpriced tech demos and games I already played.
The software and hardware are incredible though. GT7 and RE8, just wow! What an experience! Best gaming moments since the original psvr launched.
Another PS Vita is knocking on the door..
Literally no killer apps for it. Horizon turned out to be mediocre. Similar things happened with the Vita, relying on 3rd parties to make it sell isnt reliable. Sony needs to get their 1st party teams on board, not just accouple.
Should have been PC compatible at launch
So PSVR2 sold almost as much as Xbox series is selling and is considered a disaster? ok. And that is if both they have the right data and if Sony projection was a lot higher and not met, considering you can't buy from retailers at on the street I don't think Sony is having hard time selling it.
Well, that is an interesting take. I do not believe anyone said it was a disaster but it is a very expensive add on and its not selling anywhere near Xbox series X. Anyone looking at the PSVR2 is thinking, I have to invest over a grand for this device including the PS5 and that is before thinking which game to purchase with it. That is a very steep asking price when the add on it more expensive then the actual console. Its reliance on the PS5 hinders its adoption a lot.
How many companies are going to put out 3 year AAA games on a system that just doesn't have enough users to support that kind of developer effort.
Also the reason you cannot buy from vendors on the street is because projections and sales were considered to low. There was an article on this where Sony was not getting no where near the preorders they projected.
It would be silly to dismiss the hardware this early but like any add on, the longer it takes for it to reach a certain amount of sales, the less support it gets. Not sure where that time frame is but I am sure Sony will need to step up their output as the years go on.
By articles you mean rumors (some even debunked) right? And in other places Sony is selling in retail stores, I severely doubt that PSVR2 sells more in Brazil than USA and here you can buy in regular stores. More likely they are selling through they store to avoid that other problem like PS5 had, called scalpers which a lot of people complained and asked them to take action.
This month Xbox sold like 400k, PSVR2 this company claim 270k, so if 270k month for PSVR2 is a disaster (and yes there were people claiming it, even this article say "complete disaster") then that put things in perspective.
I am not going on any rumor, it was Sony who cut their sales projection in half for PSVR2 which means they themselves felt demand at this stage was not there. Also there is no shortage of PSVR 2 as its readily available from Sony and we know there still isn't a strong supply for the Series X.
Tell me this, do you believe at 550, the PSVR2 will sell at the rate and success as the PSVR1. I have both versions and while the PSVR2 is definitely an upgrade over the first, it did not give me a must have feel so far. Either way, we will see if demand continues and how strong it develop or not. That price though is always going to be a big barrier to mass adoption no matter how you slice it. I just believe it will be up to Sony to pull out a game that make that investment worth while and it probably should be most of their 1st party catalog in my opinion.
