Go figure, the virtual reality bubble around a console system that consistently failed to meet sales expectations has burst.
Sony’s PlayStation 5 is a console that hasn’t seen a price drop since release, more rather actual monthly costs when accounting for PlayStation Plus subscription services have only risen since release, with the console at the latter stages of its lifespan barely having any actual exclusives to its name.
As a peripheral enhancement to the system, Sony launched the next-generation virtual reality headset, the “PlayStation VR2,” serving as a successor to the original PSVR released in 2016 during the peak of the VR craze. Sales of the original PlayStation VR were somewhat disappointing, with only five million units sold by December 31, 2019.
On February 22, 2023, Sony released the PlayStation VR2 for $550 USD, which is $150 more expensive than the previous model and more costly than the PS5 system itself. Unsurprisingly, its sales have been dire, with reports stating that the VR headset sold less than 600,000 units in the first six weeks. Since then, Sony, usually vocal about their game sales, has been notably silent about the VR machine.
Just a month after its February release, it was reported that Sony was so disappointed with the sales of the overpriced VR headset for a console that lacks exclusive titles to leverage the machine that they halted production back in March. Now, reports indicate that Sony is drastically scaling back its funding for PSVR 2 and first-party VR games for the headset, effectively killing the VR headset for good.
According to Android Central, sources suggest that Sony is “making deep cuts” to VR game funding internally. Additionally, a second source revealed that only a couple of PSVR 2 games are currently in development at Sony. What those games are, or if they’ll ever be released, remains to be seen.
Sony is releasing a PSVR 2 PC adapter this August, which will allow owners of the $550 VR headset to connect it to a PC for compatibility with SteamVR titles. Priced at $60 / £50, this might seem like a good move to expand PSVR 2 compatibility.
However, the announcement of a paid accessory has likely ruined any chance of significant consumer adoption, serving only as a means of pissing off those who already bought the PSVR2.
In contrast, the Oculus Quest 2, released in October 2020, now sells for $200 USD for the base model, less than half the price of Sony’s unit. The latest and more powerful Meta Quest 3 also undercuts Sony’s pricing by fifty dollars for its 128GB base model.
The Meta Quest 3 is more versatile and wireless, being a standalone device that natively supports the PC platform. This is unlike Sony’s unit, which demands an additional $60 upfront just to use with a PC, effectively making the PSVR2 a $610 lemon.
With the PlayStation 5 nearing the end of its lifecycle and few exclusive titles to its name, coupled with the dismal performance of the PSVR2, reports indicate that Sony are discontinuing their VR efforts. This decision comes amid significant layoffs this year, including the closure of London Studio who coincidentally were the developers behind various PlayStation 4 virtual reality games like Blood & Truth and PlayStation VR Worlds.
The video game industry is on its last legs, with the PS5 consistently falling short of Sony’s sales targets. Commercial failures with hardware such as the PSVR2 will not be overlooked by Sony, who now rely heavily on software sales and subscriptions to sustain profitability.
Mark Cerny, the PS5’s chief architect, has warned that game development will become even more costly and time-consuming, with Sony’s first-party exclusives often surpassing $200 million in development costs.
As development times increase, there is concern that developers may struggle to align with DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) agendas, resulting in games catering to niche audiences and laden with political themes and diversity-focused content.
Speculation has been rife that the console industry may pivot towards a digital-only subscription model, especially as the possibility of another gaming crash looms on the horizon.
