The Japanese company Sony in the first month of sales of the PlayStation VR2 virtual reality helmet was able to sell about 270 thousand devices, reports Bloomberg. Prior to this, the company planned to produce about 2 million PlayStation VR2 helmets by the start of sales on February 22, 2023.
Bloomberg attributes the failure of the initial sales of the VR helmet to a decrease in interest in the metaverse among users and technology companies. Prior to this, the PlayStation VR2 was supposed to be a key element in building Sony’s own metaverse. The high cost of the device also works against Sony’s VR helmet: the PlayStation VR2 costs $549 in the US and requires a PS5 set-top box to work, which will cost another $499.
According to one of the experts interviewed by Bloomberg, the rising cost of living and the increased percentage of layoffs do not have buyers to buy an expensive device. Sony’s first headset, the PlayStation VR, sold 5 million units, while Meta’s main competitor, the Oculus Quest helmet, sold 20 million units.