Reports have been floating around citing how the PSVR 2 was off to a slow start, seemingly hinting that Sony may have backed the wrong horse when it came to PS5 add-ons. But that may not be the case after all.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, the PSVR 2 has sold between 270,000 and 300,000 units from its launch on February 22 to the end of March. And IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo said such figures were not living up to Sony's expectations. However, as flagged by Insider Gaming, if these figures are accurate, then the PSVR 2 will have been one of the fastest-selling wired virtual reality headsets to date (at least, in its first month).
So the PSVR 2 might not be the VR misstep some have it pegged for. Sure, it’s expensive and doesn’t offer the wire-free experience of the Meta Quest 2. But as we say in our PSVR 2 review, the advanced hardware and some stand-out games make this one of the best VR headsets we've tested.
And having shipped up to 300,000 units so far is nothing to be sniffed at, especially as Sony is pushing a $549 headset amidst a recession.
PSVR 2 has lots of promise
While sales of the PSVR 2 could indeed slow down and force Sony to consider a price cut, the number of headsets shipped so far is still a reasonably healthy indication that there is somewhat of an appetite for console-based VR.
That could be promising for people who made the plunge and got a PSVR 2 already, as it would likely mean Sony will ensure there are plenty of VR-centric PS5 games in the works. After all, the company did say it has 100 plus PSVR 2 games in development.
Beyond Horizon Call of the Mountain, the PSVR 2 hasn’t really got a suite of flagship games for it. But the likes of Gran Turismo 7 are great in virtual reality. And Sony has some very strong developers like Naughty Dog and Santa Monica Studio as its first-party developers, so there’s scope for The Last of Us or God of War-based PSVR 2 games.
Don't get us wrong, we don’t expect the PSVR 2 to overtake the Quest 2 in overall popularity. But we feel it still has plenty of potential and could be the tip of the spear in really thrusting VR into the gaming mainstream.
