Sony cuts PSVR 2 production over surprise lack of pre-orders

Lady Dimitrescu From resident evil village on PSVR 2

Lady Dimitrescu From resident evil village on PSVR 2

Sony’s PlayStation VR 2 headset is already set to underperform. While the PSVR 2 hardware is leaps and bounds better than its 2016 predecessor, pre-orders for the next-gen VR headset are already below what Sony expected.

In response to the lower pre-orders, Sony has reportedly cut launch shipments for the next-gen VR hardware. Sources close to Bloomberg revealed that the hardware company is halving the original number of launch units.

Initially, Sony was ready to ship 2 million PSVR 2 headsets to retailers for the launch quarter. However, following disappointing pre-order numbers, that number has been lowered to just one million units for the device’s first quarter.

Furthermore, Sony is said to have decreased orders of specific parts for its new virtual reality machine. The report claims that Sony has already informed its supply partner for the hardware’s expensive OLED screen to expect lower orders.

Nevertheless, the next-gen VR headset is still expected to shift a decent number of units despite disappointing pre-sales. Between April 2022 and March 2023, Sony expects to ship 1.5 million units of the VR headset. In comparison, the original headset sold 2 million units in just one year.

PlayStation fans have already express wariness over the new hardware. Last year, fans of the original headset revealed that many of them would not be pre-ordering the new device due to a lack of confirmed games. With first-party support of the new machine lacking, many are unwilling to buy into the headset at launch.

Nevertheless, developers are excited to create VR console games with more powerful and immersive hardware. Not only is there already a swathe of PSVR 2 games, but also a number of last-gen PSVR games that are receiving free upgrades for the new hardware.

The PSVR 2 headset for PlayStation 5 releases on February 22nd, 2023 for PlayStation 5 consoles. PlayStation VR 2 headsets will not be compatible with the PlayStation 4 or original PSVR games.