On February 22, Sony officially launched the PSVR2, the virtual reality (VR) headset for its PlayStation 5 game console for the price of $549.99. However, sales of the VR gaming headset have not been good, according to the research firm IDC.
Bloomberg reports that the firm expects to see only 270,000 PSVR2 units sold by the end of March. This is not good news for Sony, who reportedly expected to sell 2 million units of the headset by March 2024, and then lowered that figure to 1.5 million units. A few weeks before the headset went on sale, there were reports that Sony cut its shipment forecast to just 1 million units, due to poor pre-order sales, which Sony quickly denied.
The PSVR2 does has a very high price tag. In fact, its higher than the PS5 console that"s required to use it. That price, along with a lower interest in VR content, and the current economic slowdown, have all likely combined to hurt the sales of the headset.
Francisco Jeronimo, the VP of data and analytics at IDC, is quoted in the article as saying, "I suspect a price cut on the PSVR2 will be needed to avoid a complete disaster of their new product." If that"s the case, it would have to be at least a $100 price reduction, if not more, to get more people interested in buying what is basically a very fancy accessory for a game console.