IDC: Sony sells 270,000 copies of PS VR2, price reduction needed

Research agency IDC estimates that approximately 270,000 copies will be sold in the first weeks after the release of the PS VR2 headset. Sony itself reportedly had much higher sales targets and adjusted them downwards. Sony itself denies this and has not made any targets public.

That’s what Bloomberg writes based on information from the research agency. IDC blames today’s economic conditions. “Consumers around the world are facing rising costs of living, rising interest rates and more and more layoffs. VR headsets are not the number one priority for most consumers in the current economic climate,” said IDC CEO Francisco Jeronimo. In fact, the research firm suspects that a price cut is necessary to avert a “complete disaster” for their new product.

That the sales figures are disappointing compared to Sony’s projections are statements by Bloomberg based on sources ‘familiar with the matter’. In October of last year wrote the financial news agency that Sony wanted to have two million PS VR2s produced by March this year. The implication there seemed to be that Sony would want to have such a number sold around the same time.

In January this year, Bloomberg wrote that Sony had adjusted that expectation based on ‘disappointing early pre-orders’. The expected deliveries until the end of March were adjusted to 1 million copies, so a halving. Furthermore, Bloomberg wrote: “The company now plans to ship about 1.5 million units between April [2023] and March [2024]”.

Sony itself responded to GamesIndustry.biz, after the second Bloomberg publication. It said it was seeing “enthusiasm from PlayStation fans for the upcoming release” and that “PS VR2 production numbers have not been adjusted downward.”

The PS VR2 was released on February 22 and costs 600 euros in Europe. At the time of release, triple-A VR experiences were available in the form of Horizon: Call of the Mountain and Gran Turismo 7. Furthermore, more than 100 VR games are in development for this headset. In addition, Sony is investing heavily in the metaverse, but it has not yet paid off. That’s a problem that also affects Meta.

Update, 9:49 p.m.: added additional information about Bloomberg’s claims about production and delivery numbers, as well as Sony’s response to them.

This video is part of a written review.