Sony reportedly halves PS VR2 launch forecast

Sony has halved its launch projections for the upcoming PlayStation VR2, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

The report, citing “people familiar with [Sony’s] deliberations”, claims that the company had previously aimed to ship two million PS VR2 units during the headset’s launch quarter, but that those figures have now been halved to one million this quarter after disappointing pre-order numbers.

According to the report, Sony has told a supply partner to expect a reduction in the number of orders for display panels, expecting to ship around 1.5 million headsets in the 11 months between April 2023 and March 2024.

The PS VR2 will launch on 22 February, and will be priced at around £529.99 – for this, players get the PS VR2 headset, the PS VR2 Sense controllers and stereo headphones. There is also a version costing £569.99, which includes a PlayStation store voucher code for launch title Horizon: Call of the Mountain.

There will be 36 other games available on launch, including a VR version of Gran Turismo 7, and ports of Rez Infinite and Tetris Effect.

Sony began taking pre-orders for the headset in November last year, making them available in select regions on an invite-only basis in order to manage expected demand. However, the invite system swiftly ended, and players were then freely able to pre-order the headset from the PlayStation Direct online store – implying the demand was limited.

The PSVR headset, the PS VR2’s predecessor, cost around £150 less at launch and sold around two million units in its first year. It benefitted from both competitive pricing and a significant install base for the PS4.

By way of explanation for the cut, some analysts have suggested that there is scepticism that the device will ever be more than an “expensive accessory for the PS5”. They also noted that the headset is more expensive than the PS5 console required to use it, and that it is not compatible with the earlier headset’s library of games.

Sony has since contested the claim, stating that it has not cut production numbers, after telling Bloomberg that it would not discuss its platform inventory.