PlayStation Sony pauses production on PSVR2 due to excessive unsold stock

[Shakaan]

As a regular Index user i was interested by this product, but sadly i knew Sony was not gonna support it so skipping it was an obvious call.

That's unfortunate because it's a good VR headset.

 

[Mer.Saloon]

while sony didn't give the PSVR2 the best chances at success I'd say the device lack of success is hardly an outlier in the VR space, companies have been investing billions into it and it's still a niche market that isn't growing.

I'd have to assume it's in part because the mass market consumer that would have ever bought one of those headsets won't ever consider buying a better/newer version because most of the experiences/games you can play are rarely worth the hassle of the set up you need even with wireless/standalone headsets.

I feel it's also really hard to sell a device that just makes a person look stupid to the outside world. At least at these prices.

It's like an expensive isolating toy for rich kids.

 

[BowserIsMyFather]

• No games
• £500
• Sony themselves don't seem to care about it
• Locked to PS5, an already expensive console

I've spent a lot of time with PlayStation. My friends and I had an amazing amount of fun with PS1 and PS2, fell off with PS3, fell back in with PS4, but man..... It feels like Sony have really shit the bed this generation with PS5. I'm so glad I didn't pull the trigger at launch.

 

[Steve]

What is it with Sony and not supporting their different systems, the same thing happened to the vita because they rarely made games for it.
Like isn't valve Index a success because of half life alyx?

 

[metwars]

Man it's such a shame too. I was initially looking forward to this thing. The specs on it sounded great, and I was always curious to own a vr set. But after the announcement of no BC, that hype flushed away. Why should I buy such a expensive accessory with very little to play on.

 

[Lord Azrael]

Why did they produce so many. Did they expect this to sell much better than it did? With their history of basically dropping any non-home console device instantly? Not to mention how ungodly expensive it is, on top of requiring an expensive console already

 

[JorgenRaft]

Meanwhile you still can’t even buy a Portal without it selling out in 30 seconds, almost half a year after launch.

If anything they should refocus production over to that thing.

 

[Síriocaz]

Meanwhile you still can’t even buy a Portal without it selling out in 30 seconds, almost half a year after launch.

If anything they should refocus production over to that thing.

And allow it to be able to stream, that's going to do wonders for it.

 

[switchum]

I think I’ve come to the belief that VR – at least in its current form – will never become truly mainstream (or “part of regular life” for most of society). It seems as though people (myself included) have hoped for years that VR would revolutionize the world and become a part of life for most people, but I’m beginning to accept that won’t be the case until VR as a whole goes through a sizeable evolution (similar to what the original iPhone did for mobile phones, launching them from flip phones to something it’s hard to imagine life without).

Before anyone jumps at me for suggesting this because of one flopped PSVR system, know that this sentiment has been building within me for a while already. Meta Quest is really the only notable player in the game these days, and even they’ve only sold a fraction of what regular consoles sell. Obviously, it’s a vastly different market and a much newer one, but I’m trying to make the case that modern VR will never be normalized in the same way having a “regular” system is. I don’t see the ”Meta Quest 7” for example ever being comparable in sales to whatever mainstream consoles there are at that point in time.

Just look at the recently-released Apple Vision Pro: amazing technology to be sure, but its high price point and lack of exclusive features (that can’t already be done with a smartphone or laptop) will prevent it from making VR mainstream in the way Apple hopes it will. Not to mention that it – as well as pretty much every other headset – becomes a glaring eyesore when you put it on and makes the user seem distant from the real world, even in the case of AVP which makes use of a lot of ”see-through” technology for the user. The tech might be cool, but in its current form, it will never be accepted by the mainstream as a part of everyday life.

I’m not saying this as a slight against VR or those who enjoy it – in fact, I love using VR from time to time and I even used to work at a VR entertainment facility – but I think it’s time to acknowledge that VR (in its current state) is simply NOT the future for humanity or society in the way so many hoped it would be. There’s a reason we have dedicated VR entertainment facilities in malls but no such type of business that lets you walk in to play a PS5 or Nintendo Switch – playing a VR system is simply a novelty for most people that they wouldn’t want to invest in by actually purchasing a unit of their own.

Perhaps in the not-so-near future we will see a form of VR tech that works through contact lenses or glasses or some other less intrusive-looking technology, and it will have more unique uses that justify the mainstream purchasing it, but as it stands… I’m sorry, modern VR is not the future, and this is just another example of it failing to reach the heights that so many hoped it would.

 

[grobla123]

Looking back at it how were they able to support the psvr 1 reasonably well? It's not like ps4 games weren't resource intensive. I guess it being cheaper and being in the hype cycle made it more profitable, more worth it and expectations were lower so small experimental titles were more acceptable. Doesnt help that astrobot was pinched as a pretty good launch game.

 

[Síriocaz]

Looking back at it how were they able to support the psvr 1 reasonably well? It's not like ps4 games weren't resource intensive. I guess it being cheaper and being in the hype cycle made it more profitable, more worth it and expectations were lower so small experimental titles were more acceptable. Doesnt help that astrobot was pinched as a pretty good launch game.

Sounds to me like the company got cold feet. At one point between the announcement and the release, executives must have deemed the business like a failed venture, and so directed to produce a small batch of units and tried to recover whatever they could, hence the high price.

 

[AngryAlchemist]

 

[Regulus Tera]

Sony’s N64 Disk Drive

 

[Sadist]

Can I be honest? I kind of forgot it existed.

 

[balgajo]

Man it's such a shame too. I was initially looking forward to this thing. The specs on it sounded great, and I was always curious to own a vr set. But after the announcement of no BC, that hype flushed away. Why should I buy such a expensive accessory with very little to play on.

I was on the fence, ended up pre ordering it but 2 weeks before release I cancelled mine as GT7 and watching movies was my only motivation. If I could play the VR Astro Bot game I wouldn't have cancelled. In the end I waited, no interesting software appeared and I lost my will of buying it.

Not sure if it was only my bubble but the only time I saw people around me really interested on the technology was during Alyx release. Though most couldn't afford it

 

[grobla123]

Sounds to me like the company got cold feet. At one point between the announcement and the release, executives must have deemed the business like a failed venture, and so directed to produce a small batch of units and tried to recover whatever they could, hence the high price.

Is the price actually all that high for what you get? It seems reasonable, goodish even. Just that you need a ps5 as well, which is rough. It's not like modern vr sets are cheap to make. Quest was both a budget option and subsisided by Facebook. Pretty much every other headset is pretty expensive. And without the Tech jump to less cables, better screen, headset and movement, its not really worth the investment in a generational jump. It's just a big investment. And then the games are sold to a smaller market. I don't really see a world where it could pay off right now.

 

[Kreeth]

Meanwhile you still can’t even buy a Portal without it selling out in 30 seconds, almost half a year after launch.

If anything they should refocus production over to that thing.

Has it really been selling that well? I'm genuinely asking because in France, it's actually quite easy to get.
It's not on Amazon France right now but it's fully available at most of the big stores here like Micromania (the French GameStop), Cdiscount, LDLC, Materiel.net and even Leclerc (basically Walmart).

 

[JorgenRaft]

Has it really been selling that well? I'm genuinely asking because in France, it's actually quite easy to get.
It's not on Amazon France right now but it's fully available at most of the big stores here like Micromania (the French GameStop), Cdiscount, LDLC, Materiel.net and even Leclerc (basically Walmart).

I don’t think they’ve released figures yet but it sells out right away pretty much any time Wario64 shares a new link for it.

 

[buildz]

As with anything, it all comes down to software - the PSVR2 lacks much interesting software to compel a $500 purchase. Broadly VR is stalling because of a lack of software, with current economic conditions making it harder to get investment for VR games given their mostly tepid performance until now - and then the cycle repeats.

 

[IamPeacock]

As with anything, it all comes down to software - the PSVR2 lacks much interesting software to compel a $500 purchase. Broadly VR is stalling because of a lack of software, with current economic conditions making it harder to get investment for VR games given their mostly tepid performance until now - and then the cycle repeats.

Meta Reality Labs reported a record revenue last quarter, so I wouldn't call VR stalling.

But you're right about Sony, they launched it and completely neglected it. Makes a person wonder why there released it in the first place. Same with Vita.

 

[IamPeacock]

I think I’ve come to the belief that VR – at least in its current form – will never become truly mainstream (or “part of regular life” for most of society). It seems as though people (myself included) have hoped for years that VR would revolutionize the world and become a part of life for most people, but I’m beginning to accept that won’t be the case until VR as a whole goes through a sizeable evolution (similar to what the original iPhone did for mobile phones, launching them from flip phones to something it’s hard to imagine life without).

Before anyone jumps at me for suggesting this because of one flopped PSVR system, know that this sentiment has been building within me for a while already. Meta Quest is really the only notable player in the game these days, and even they’ve only sold a fraction of what regular consoles sell. Obviously, it’s a vastly different market and a much newer one, but I’m trying to make the case that modern VR will never be normalized in the same way having a “regular” system is. I don’t see the ”Meta Quest 7” for example ever being comparable in sales to whatever mainstream consoles there are at that point in time.

Just look at the recently-released Apple Vision Pro: amazing technology to be sure, but its high price point and lack of exclusive features (that can’t already be done with a smartphone or laptop) will prevent it from making VR mainstream in the way Apple hopes it will. Not to mention that it – as well as pretty much every other headset – becomes a glaring eyesore when you put it on and makes the user seem distant from the real world, even in the case of AVP which makes use of a lot of ”see-through” technology for the user. The tech might be cool, but in its current form, it will never be accepted by the mainstream as a part of everyday life.

I’m not saying this as a slight against VR or those who enjoy it – in fact, I love using VR from time to time and I even used to work at a VR entertainment facility – but I think it’s time to acknowledge that VR (in its current state) is simply NOT the future for humanity or society in the way so many hoped it would be. There’s a reason we have dedicated VR entertainment facilities in malls but no such type of business that lets you walk in to play a PS5 or Nintendo Switch – playing a VR system is simply a novelty for most people that they wouldn’t want to invest in by actually purchasing a unit of their own.

Perhaps in the not-so-near future we will see a form of VR tech that works through contact lenses or glasses or some other less intrusive-looking technology, and it will have more unique uses that justify the mainstream purchasing it, but as it stands… I’m sorry, modern VR is not the future, and this is just another example of it failing to reach the heights that so many hoped it would.

I think it just needs time to grow.

We compare this relatively new tech with consoles who has had the chance to mature over the course of 40 years.

Quest shows that you can sell millions of them if you have the right amount of good software and hardware that is affordable. There are still some issues like user retention, but I believe we're going into the right direction. Some competition would be nice though.

Will it replace pancake gaming? No, don't think it ever will. TV didn't replace radio, internet didn't replace tv, ...

 

[Rareware]

Regret buying mine. Purchased it almost a year ago now and have used it a grand total of two times.

 

[Kreeth]

I don’t think they’ve released figures yet but it sells out right away pretty much any time Wario64 shares a new link for it.

I had no idea, thank you! Here in France, I only hear about it when there are offers available, which has been quite a lot. So I started to think it was going the way of the PSTV ^^'

 

[BowserIsMyFather]

I think I’ve come to the belief that VR – at least in its current form – will never become truly mainstream (or “part of regular life” for most of society). It seems as though people (myself included) have hoped for years that VR would revolutionize the world and become a part of life for most people, but I’m beginning to accept that won’t be the case until VR as a whole goes through a sizeable evolution (similar to what the original iPhone did for mobile phones, launching them from flip phones to something it’s hard to imagine life without).

Before anyone jumps at me for suggesting this because of one flopped PSVR system, know that this sentiment has been building within me for a while already. Meta Quest is really the only notable player in the game these days, and even they’ve only sold a fraction of what regular consoles sell. Obviously, it’s a vastly different market and a much newer one, but I’m trying to make the case that modern VR will never be normalized in the same way having a “regular” system is. I don’t see the ”Meta Quest 7” for example ever being comparable in sales to whatever mainstream consoles there are at that point in time.

Just look at the recently-released Apple Vision Pro: amazing technology to be sure, but its high price point and lack of exclusive features (that can’t already be done with a smartphone or laptop) will prevent it from making VR mainstream in the way Apple hopes it will. Not to mention that it – as well as pretty much every other headset – becomes a glaring eyesore when you put it on and makes the user seem distant from the real world, even in the case of AVP which makes use of a lot of ”see-through” technology for the user. The tech might be cool, but in its current form, it will never be accepted by the mainstream as a part of everyday life.

I’m not saying this as a slight against VR or those who enjoy it – in fact, I love using VR from time to time and I even used to work at a VR entertainment facility – but I think it’s time to acknowledge that VR (in its current state) is simply NOT the future for humanity or society in the way so many hoped it would be. There’s a reason we have dedicated VR entertainment facilities in malls but no such type of business that lets you walk in to play a PS5 or Nintendo Switch – playing a VR system is simply a novelty for most people that they wouldn’t want to invest in by actually purchasing a unit of their own.

Perhaps in the not-so-near future we will see a form of VR tech that works through contact lenses or glasses or some other less intrusive-looking technology, and it will have more unique uses that justify the mainstream purchasing it, but as it stands… I’m sorry, modern VR is not the future, and this is just another example of it failing to reach the heights that so many hoped it would.

I think Nintendo have an outside chance, unless even they have given up on the idea. If we are essentially getting a more powerful Switch next gen with a better screen and processing power, then adding in VR as another switching option could actually work.

Mario Kart in VR would be absolutely mental, as would MP4.

 

[Bulborb]

I thought VR was dead as soon as I got my oculus quest 2 and used it like 2 times for Half life alyx and nothing after it. Its legit in my closet for so long the other day I was going to clean it to sell it and the batteries in the controllers had corroded and now I can only sell the headset without the controllers lol.

When I get home from work im usually exhausted and many times even have a headache. The last thing I wanna do is put a giant clunky helmet on my head that fogs up on the eyes so much and just makes my head sweaty. I am a big half life fan but I never finished alyx because wearing a vr headset is just so uncomftorable to me that it made the experience literally unbearble. I ended up watching someone just play it on youtube even though I spent like $250 on alyx when it comes down to the game price plus the headset I bought it for.

 

[Josh5890]

I'm still of the mind that VR is never going to reach any sort of mainstream potential until it has a "Wii Sports" moment where everyone wants to get in on it. That could have 5 years from now or never.

Unfortunately with how many VR studios that we have seen closed down the past few years the likelihood of that happening grows slimmer every day.

 

[Bulborb]

I'm still of the mind that VR is never going to reach any sort of mainstream potential until it has a "Wii Sports" moment where everyone wants to get in on it. That could have 5 years from now or never.

Unfortunately with how many VR studios that we have seen closed down the past few years the likelihood of that happening grows slimmer every day.

I think VR is going to live on but mainly for Science and Medical purposes. I think VR has its place in the world but idk if that place is for gaming.

The thing that I can see VR coming mainstream for is if instead of these clunky heavy headsets they can somehow make a very lightweight headset that you dont even feel like your wearing or maybe even a google glasses type device. I would legit play way more VR if the headsets were not like 3/4th of a football helmet and would not cause so much discomfort. But then again I have a big head so this could just be a me issue.

 

[shoichi]

the price of the heasdset, as well as its being tied to just PS5 is the main reason I have not had any interest in it.

If the thing ever goes on fire sale in a year or two and enables PC linking. I'll probably pick it up as a more premium option if Valve doesn't release something to replace the OG Index. I have a good enough experience with the Quest 3 I currently use.

 

[Mer.Saloon]

I think VR is going to live on but mainly for Science and Medical purposes. I think VR has its place in the world but idk if that place is for gaming.

The thing that I can see VR coming mainstream for is if instead of these clunky heavy headsets they can somehow make a very lightweight headset that you dont even feel like your wearing or maybe even a google glasses type device. I would legit play way more VR if the headsets were not like 3/4th of a football helmet and would not cause so much discomfort. But then again I have a big head so this could just be a me issue.

I'm sure at some point it will become mainstream. It's more of a matter of when it becomes accessible enough to be mainstream. If these eccentric billionares keep plowing their money away at development, at some point it's gonna be accessible, who's there to stop them from throwing away their own fortune?

 

[ADog]

PSVR2 feels like a complete misfire on every point imaginable. The second I saw no BC with PSVR1 titles, and a price tag higher than the actual console, I had a feeling it was going to be DOA. I wonder if PC compatibility with the headset would have saved it?

 

[Bulborb]

I'm sure at some point it will become mainstream. It's more of a matter of when it becomes accessible enough to be mainstream. If these eccentric billionares keep plowing their money away at development, at some point it's gonna be accessible, who's there to stop them from throwing away their own fortune?

Very True. If Price comes down and the comfort goes up im sure Vr wll go mainstream.

 

[Amin_Parker]

PlayStation VR2 production paused as stock "piles up" - report

Production of the PlayStation VR2 headset has been halted, a new report claims, while Sony struggles to shift a growing…

www.eurogamer.net

Safe to say it hasn't been selling too well at this point

Honestly, the only way VR will become mainstream is if the CEOs of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo got together behind closed doors and made an agreement that entailed having the VR headset being the actual next generation console product from them. VR has to be included in the box just like how Wiimote controller was included with every Wii console. Every major console manufacturer has to force gamers into accepting VR as the primary way of playing your games. Meaning the only way you can play any upcoming next generation consoles in any capacity is if you are playing it through a VR headset. This has to also be something that valve joins in on when it comes to PC gaming. Then at that point gamers will just have to accept it. However Sony can't be the only company out of the big three doing this, and when I say big three obviously I’m talking about Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony. Otherwise VR is not going to catch on. Now what META is doing is commendable and yes they lead that segment but when it comes to traditional hard-core gamers its going to take the big three equally getting involved to make this happen.

 

[Síriocaz]

Is the price actually all that high for what you get? It seems reasonable, goodish even. Just that you need a ps5 as well, which is rough. It's not like modern vr sets are cheap to make. Quest was both a budget option and subsisided by Facebook. Pretty much every other headset is pretty expensive. And without the Tech jump to less cables, better screen, headset and movement, its not really worth the investment in a generational jump. It's just a big investment. And then the games are sold to a smaller market. I don't really see a world where it could pay off right now.

I think it's high, tbh. No way it could've reached anything close to mass adoption with that price and the prerequisite of a PS5 to boot.