Maybe this wasn’t a good idea (pic: Sony)



An analyst group claims that the PSVR2 is already struggling and that Sony’s only option is try and reduce its price.



There’s no doubting the PlayStation VR2 is an amazing bit of hardware but releasing such an expensive peripheral in the middle of a cost of living crisis, just a couple of years after the launch of the PlayStation 5 , is unfortunate timing. Especially as it has very few exclusive games.



Sony hasn’t offered any sales figures yet but according to research firm IDC they’ve only sold around 270,000 headsets so far.



That’s not good and IDC analyst Francisco Geronimo has said that: ‘I suspect a price cut on the PSVR 2 will be needed to avoid a complete disaster of their new product.’



Geronimo points out the obvious, saying: ‘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.’



It’s unclear what Sony’s future plans for the PlayStation VR2 are, as they have not announced any major new first party games for it since launch and have barely discussed it since.



Given the cost of the components and manufacturing though any significant price cut would almost certainly mean selling the headset at a loss, which Sony is no doubt keen to avoid.



The IDC comments come via Bloomberg , who previously suggested that Sony was originally aiming to ship two million headsets in the first three months, but later halved this goal. If these sales figures are correct it suggests they won’t make either number.







Sony has denied Bloomberg’s claim about halving its targets but the only subsequent comment they’ve made is to say that there’s a ‘good’ chance it may eventually outsell the original PlayStation VR for the headset.



That doesn’t seem a very ambitious target but then it’s hard to know what exactly Sony expects to get out of the whole venture now, especially given the lack of new game announcements.



It’s looking increasingly like Microsoft’s decision to stay out of the VR market was a wise one, with Xbox boss Phil Spencer saying in 2019 that it was ‘not a focus’ for the company.







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