Sony PSVR2 headset off to a slow start as metaverse push sputters

The Tokyo-based console maker is likely to sell about 270,000 units of the PSVR2 between its Feb 22 release and the end of March, according to estimates from the research firm IDC. — Bloomberg

TOKYO: Sony Group Corp is projected to sell fewer than 300,000 PlayStation VR2 headsets in its first weeks on the market, a slow start for company efforts to take a leading role in development of the metaverse.

The Tokyo-based console maker is likely to sell about 270,000 units of the PSVR2 between its Feb 22 release and the end of March, according to estimates from the research firm IDC.

Sony had a lofty goal of making about two million units for the PSVR2’s launch window, Bloomberg News reported last year.

The headset is a foundational piece of Sony’s strategy to build a metaverse where people can do far more than play video games. But the conceptual 3D virtual environments that prompted Mark Zuckerberg to rename his company Meta Platforms Inc have yet to repay the industry’s heavy investments in hardware and software.

Sony president and chief executive officer Kenichiro Yoshida made the metaverse a growth tentpole for Sony, much like Meta has done, and the company’s in-house game studios have been developing virtual reality (VR)-tailored games to help the new headset get off to a fast start that hasn’t materialised.

“Consumers around the world are facing rising costs of living, rising interest rates and rising layoffs,” said IDC’s Francisco Jeronimo, vice-president of data and analytics. “VR headsets are not top of mind for most consumers under the current economic climate.”

Chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki said at a recent Morgan Stanley conference that Sony is reasonably confident about surpassing the roughly five million sales of the original PlayStation VR goggles over the course of the PSVR2’s lifetime on the market. — Bloomberg