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Sony: We have not cut PS VR 2 production numbers The platform holder refutes Bloomberg report

jm89

Member

PlayStation says it has not cut production numbers for its upcoming VR headset, following a report from Bloomberg.
The firm told GamesIndustry.biz that it is "seeing enthusiasm from PlayStation fans for the upcoming launch, which includes more than 30 titles such as Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Call of the Mountain, and Resident Evil Village."
The initial report said that Sony was making a significant reduction in its projections for PlayStation VR 2, and even warned supply partners that manufacturing could decrease as well.
The outlet stated that Sony had halved its original forecast for PSVR 2 shipments from two million units for the headset's launch quarter to one million.
PlayStation VR 2 is due to launch on February 22. It will be priced at $550, with 37 titles set for release during its launch window.
Source: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sony-we-have-not-cut-ps-vr-2-production-numbers
 
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Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Jurassic Park Ian Malcom GIF
 
Oh, bollocks! Why do publishers do this. Refute corroborated reports like this, it's just silly. Well, we know the reason, I guess. They have their plan for their financial targets for this quarter, and they won't waver from the target until after it's over and they settle on the actual numbers. Sony will confirm lower-than-expected demand, and thus fewer units shipped, in April after the financials hit, 3 months after the rest of us already found out :messenger_tears_of_joy:

I loved Iwata as much as the next guy, but he used to be probably *the most bold-face when reports like this came out about Nintendo. He would literally go out and make a public statement completely opposite of the report, no matter how true it was. And the reason is same as what Sony is doing now. Hold your ground, don't admit to anything. He refuted Wii Fit Plus, he refuted New 3DS launching in the west outside of Japan, on and on and on. All of which were completely true, of course. He just didn't want the information to be made public ahead of when Nintendo wanted it to be public. It's normal practice, it's just comical to me.
 
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Chukhopops

Member
« PS VR2 is here to stay. We will continue to see enthusiasm for it now and in the future with epic stories, cables and all of what makes VR great »
 
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I sure hope so, VR still has untapped potential. But companies refute statements like these all the time and then it turns out the reports were right all along.
it's a $550 device, in a recession, and clearly buzz for the device is low. This report is fairly low-hanging fruit, in all honesty.
 
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tmlDan

Member
I think the obvious part about this is that they wouldn't pull back on feb/march production a month prior to launch....if they saw less than ideal numbers for preorders they would have pulled back 3 months or more prior.

They clearly have an idea of what numbers will be like.
 
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I think the obvious part about this is that they wouldn't pull back on feb/march production a month prior to launch....if they saw less than ideal numbers for preorders they would have pulled back 6 months prior
How would they know the pre-order numbers 6 months ahead of launch? That's absolutely not true. Pre-order numbers have very little, if anything to do with launch shipments for hardware. Unit targets are decided months and months in advance, Pre-order numbers on the hardware/ supply chain end really only help with predicting future demand. That's why you hope you can predict launch demand fairly accurately, because whether the hardware sells below expectations or above expectations, it's a headache either way, and takes months to either sell excess stock, which impacts supply chain, retailer orders, etc. Or if launch sells above expectations, it's a panic to try and figure out a way to produce more but not way too much more.
 
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tmlDan

Member
How would they know the pre-order numbers 6 months ahead of launch? That's absolutely not true. Pre-order numbers have very little, if anything to do with launch shipments for hardware. Unit targets are decided months and months in advance, Pre-order numbers on the hardware/ supply chain end really only help with trying to assess future demand.
I edited by post, but regardless, they wouldn't slow production when these were planned for march - they would slow it after the initial planned 2 million (which they didn't even say themselves)

We're clearly on the same page here.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
They're making few to begin with, the consoles themselves have a pretty slow adoption rate with the price and the shortages and all that, how would anyone think they expect a niche accessory to do gangbusters right off the bat? Just like the consoles themselves VR adoption will be slow & steady. VR games will keep coming but also slow when it comes to actual new high production value titles vs ports, just as most flat games are still crossgen because the current consoles simply haven't sold enough to make them able to give up on the previous ones without leaving money on the table 🤷‍♂️
 
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I edited by post, but regardless, they wouldn't slow production when these were planned for march - they would slow it after the initial planned 2 million (which they didn't even say themselves)

We're clearly on the same page here.
We are! Yeah, that's exactly my point. Like, it's too late to change anything this close to launch. Whether you think the device is gonna do well or not, the plan is the plan, and it's not changing for launch. But for sure, if the device is tanking at launch or selling way under plan, they will make changes as soon as they are able, coming off of launch. It's not a good position to be in. While it also comes with it's own challenges, it would ideally be more optimal to run out due to excessive demand and have a shortage rather than the market being flooded with excess product. Retailers do not want to be stuck with $550 hardware that sits there for 2-3 months. Then when Sony is trying to figure out how many more to produce in Q2, Q3, Q4, retailers are hesitant to order more because they don't want to be stuck with excess stock all over again, and then you have supply chain issues with not needing the factories to produce what you were planning on them producing, and it's just a domino effect disaster, on down the line.
 
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So, who are lying?... Sony or Bloomberg?

We need a poll. :messenger_beaming:
It really doesn't need a poll. Sony has literally nothing to gain by responding to a report like this, true or not. Best thing to do from a PR perspective is ignore it or try to shoot it down. Iwata used to do it all the time when Nikkei or Bloomberg would leak something way ahead of Nintendo's plan to publicly disclose things. It's common practice.
 
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