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PlayStation VR 2 Headset Production Paused - Report

Sony wants to sell its existing stock first.

19 Comments

Sony is reportedly pausing production on creating new PlayStation VR 2 headsets until it clears its existing inventory.

According to Bloomberg, sales of PSVR 2 headsets have gradually become slower since its launch back in February 2023. Sony has reportedly manufactured over 2 million headsets and won't produce any more until it sells the remaining backlog.

While virtual reality is exciting technology, its demand hasn't been the greatest. Back in December, First Contact Entertainment shut down after eight years due to the general lack of virtual reality support in the space. The studio was responsible for one of the most popular series on the PSVR platform, Firewall Zero Hour and Firewall Ultra.

Sony also laid off around 900 developers last month that impacted its VR division, including closing the PlayStation London studio entirely. The studio developed PSVR games like PlayStation VR Worlds and Blood & Truth.

It doesn't seem like Sony is completely stepping away from the VR side, though. Last month, Sony announced that it is currently testing PC compatibility to its PSVR 2 headsets. It's a move which could expand the market for the headset. Priced at a steep $550, PSVR 2 currently requires a PS5, pushing the total cost to over $1,000.

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StickEmUp

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It’s a great headset, but their problem is they just aren’t investing in the games. They have to take a big risk and put some big money on the line and put a lot of big budget, high quality first party VR games out. You can’t shift a ton of stock based off of just a few good games. It’s a lesson Xbox still hasn’t learned.

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hardwenzen

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Edited By hardwenzen

All the decisions by Jimbo Ryan were so damn shitty. He truly did ruin sony for this generation.

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BestDad94

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Edited By BestDad94

I love my PSVR2, it’s easily in the top 3 headsets I’ve used. That said, it needs a boost in the game department. It does have some greats already, but where’s that first party support, Sony? Call of the Mountain was awesome and just made me think of how good bringing their other franchises to VR would be. Imagine fighting clickers in the last of us VR, hucking your leviathan axe as Kratos in God of War VR, swinging around New York in Spider-Man VR… the potential is all there, just wasted. Opening the headset up for PC users to use is definitely something they should have done from the start. If I could start using my PSVR 2 on steam, it would be amazing. Hopefully the PC thing will actually go somewhere.

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xgalacticax

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A VR headset that is more expensive than the console it requires to work. I don't know why it even sold 100 units. It's too expensive or too restricted. Open it up to PC.

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ceelogreen94

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So much for that PS5 pro huh lol. They can't even sell what they have now.

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Plurmp

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I really love Sony's hardware. It's a big shame that they've stopped investing in actual games. Lack of support is what killed the Vita despite it being far superior to DS in terms of technical capabilities.

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wolfpup7

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Edited By wolfpup7

@plurmp: Yeah, Vita totally lacked 1st party support after the first wave.

I think it was tough because it COULD get close enough to Xbox 360 to do ports (which side by side are obviously much worse, but still solid) only it required real resources to do games of that calibur. It's not powerful enough to just directly dump the code on with a quick port.

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Chubby170

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Release an Astrobot bundle...

We are all waiting!

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Javier

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PSVR2 is awesome hardware trapped in Sony´s mediocre management.

Having PC support would make it the bast VR set out there.

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PeteBonion

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The problem with PSVR 2 is that Quest 2/3 does the exact same thing for less and wirelessly.

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BoobyTrap

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@petebonion: I don’t think this is a relevant comparison. You can’t use Quest with PS5, so what’s the point even comparing them. It’s not like PS5 owners all ran and bought a Quest instead of a PSVR2.

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PeteBonion

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@boobytrap:

Both are VR headsets that share 90% of the same gaming library.

The PSVR2 needs the PS5 to function while the Quest doesn't need an external device to function.

The Quest has shown backward compatibility, the ability to install mods and sideload app, PC connectivity,

And all of that for a similar or cheaper price (Quest2) so please tell me why I would need a PSVR2 to play games like Walkabout Minigolf, Red matter2, etc.?

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BoobyTrap

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@petebonion: you’re still missing the point: PSVR2 can only be used with PS5. Quest cannot be used with PS5. End of story. You compare products from 2 completely different eco systems. What’s the point?

The article is about PSVR2, not Quest. Even if I wanted Quest, I wouldn’t be able to use it with my PS5.

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PeteBonion

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@boobytrap: The article is about Sony halting production of the PSVR2 headset because it's not selling as Sony would have hoped.

My answer is about why it does not sell.

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BoobyTrap

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@petebonion: which doesn’t make sense. You keep talking about Quest that has nothing to do with PS5 or its eco system.

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lonewolf1044

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@boobytrap: No, you can't but you can't use Steam with a PSVR2 and you can with a Quest. Sony limited themselves by not doing so. Yes, the PSVR2 may be superior but it has a few games.

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Pedro

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@boobytrap: That is the problem. PS gamers aren't buying PSVR2 but casuals and PC gamers are buying Quest 2/3.

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Simonthekid7

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1000 dollars is a lot but many players pay more for a high end gaming pc. But people mught not be used to paying 550 dollars for a game console accessory.

Maybe if they lower the prie, more people would buy it? Or not. Maybe VR is too niche to sell a lot even if the cost is more like 250 - 300 dollars.

I think PS VR 2 is a big step forward from PS VR but people might have tried PS VR and decided it was not cool and now they might not want to give PS VR 2 a chance even though i think (or read about how) it is a significant improvement from the first one.

Maybe they need to bring some big franchises to PS VR 2 as well to give it a boost. Maybe a PS VR Spider Man game could be cool. Or The Last of Us, Uncharted..

But VR feels like it sort of passed it peak, at least for the current VR technology. Maybe in the future it could sell al lot if there is a technological leap forward.

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BoobyTrap

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Edited By BoobyTrap

@simonthekid7: that’s exactly the issue: while the original PSVR was a novelty and many people were curious to try it out, many of the same people are not interested in investing in PSVR 2. It’s a bummer since the new one is a huge improvement on every single level. On top of that, they don’t have big game hits to push the sales. I thought Horizon Call of the Mountain was fantastic, but it was more of a niche one though. They need more fun and universal titles like Astro Bot Rescue Mission. They completely dropped the ball by not releasing a sequel to it at least for the previous holiday season. It would’ve helped a lot. The PlayStation management is just very mediocre, so they’re drowning all these interesting products in their questionable decisions.

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