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Sony Slashes PlayStation VR2 Headset Output After Pre-Orders Disappoint

Sony Group Corp. reduced projections for the initial launch of its PlayStation VR2 headset dramatically after early pre-orders disappointed, signaling little improvement for the hyped-but-unproven virtual reality sector.

www.bloomberg.com

Sony Group Corp. reduced projections for the initial launch of its PlayStation VR2 headset dramatically after early pre-orders disappointed, signaling little improvement for the hyped-but-unproven virtual reality sector.

The company halved its forecast for shipments of the PSVR2, which is set for a Feb. 22 release, this quarter to about a million units, said people familiar with its deliberations. Sony had previously aimed to have 2 million headsets ready for the launch quarter and leverage its second-generation headset to drive user growth and adoption for VR.

 

[Unknown?]

Eh hasn't Bloomberg been wrong on stuff like this, like a lot lately? Not sure I can trust this source.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

that price point is insane and they haven't show mind blowing AAA games.

 

[graywolf323]

Eh hasn't Bloomberg been wrong on stuff like this, like a lot lately? Not sure I can trust this source.

it is Takashi Mochizuki who if I recall correctly is the one that’s been wrong about a lot of stuff with Sony

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

sony better move earth, wind and fire to make a VR port of Cyberpunk 2077.

 

[Sakura]

Wouldn't be surprising. High price point and lack of software. People were doubting the original projections here iirc.

 

[baphomet]

Make it worth buying and then it'll sell

 

[NonPhixion]

Said people

Must be a Takashi article?

 

[diffusionx]

If I recall they introduced a ticketing system and not soon afterwards you could get a ticket immediately.

 

[Mikey Jr.]

At the end of the day, these vr manufacturers keep pumping out higher and higher quality headsets, and this shit keep getting more and more expensive.

Just make one that is decent quality, not bleeding edge, and price it at $299 or 399 at the absolute most. And that's it.

You need adoption. You need people to make this an impulse purchase.
Not fucking $600. I mean, jesus. This industry is never gonna get anywhere with these headsets that crack $1000.

I think sony made the wrong move going with the best of the best of the best.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

At the end of the day, these vr manufacturers keep pumping out higher and higher quality headsets, and this shit keep getting more and more expensive.

Just make one that is decent quality, not bleeding edge, and price it at $299 or 399 at the absolute most. And that's it.

You need adoption. You need people to make this an impulse purchase.
Not fucking $600. I mean, jesus. This industry is never gonna get anywhere with these headsets that crack $1000.

I think sony made the wrong move going with the best of the best of the best.

is not that simple

 

[splattered]

If it were this price point and somehow wireless i think that would have made a big difference

 

[johnjohn]

I'm not really sure why they'd expect it to do any better than PSVR1, they're selling to a much smaller userbase with no killer apps, at a super high price. They'll be lucky to hit PSVR1 numbers in the long run.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

it is Takashi Mochizuki who if I recall correctly is the one that’s been wrong about a lot of stuff with Sony

What has he been wrong about?

 

[ZehDon]

Bloomberg have been wrong on this stuff before, so it'll be interesting to see the launch numbers.

With that said, AUD$799.00 for a wired headset that requires another AUD$799.00 device to power it? That's a hard sell given the current economy.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Here's the thing - PSVR2 has been in production since last summer. Orders are locked in many months in advance. You don't just suddenly cut "production" based on pre-order demand that first started in November. If you are aiming for a Feb 22 release with an expected initial shipment of 2 million units, those units are mostly already produced by November of the year prior so they're ready to go for launch.

I'm inclined to think this article is pure nonsense.

 

[DaGwaphics]

Just make one that is decent quality, not bleeding edge, and price it at $299 or 399 at the absolute most. And that's it.

That's probably the biggest issue with the headsets so far. Too much focus on getting existing users to upgrade units (which leads to spec chasing and the high prices) vs. offering something that just maintains Quest 2 visual quality but tries to reduce the cost of entry as much as possible (especially when you are talking about a tethered headset). Plus the obvious need for more high quality games.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Here's the thing - PSVR2 has been in production since last summer. Orders are locked in many months in advance. You don't just suddenly cut "production" based on pre-order demand that first started in November. If you are aiming for a Feb 22 release with an expected initial shipment of 2 million units, those units are mostly already produced by November of the year prior so they're ready to go for launch.

I'm inclined to think this article is pure nonsense.

production ≠ projections

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

That's probably the biggest issue with the headsets so far. Too much focus on getting existing users to upgrade units (which leads to spec chasing and the high prices) vs. offering something that just maintains Quest 2 visual quality but tries to reduce the cost of entry as much as possible (especially when you are talking about a tethered headset). Plus the obvious need for more high quality games.

Quest 2 is eating a much bigger loss than many imagine, Sony isn't going to do that.

All the stuff they put in the Quest 2 is expensive compared to a PSVR2. I suspect Sony wants to be profitable day 1 on the unit.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

production ≠ projections

I can't read the full extent of the article because its under a paywall, but I thought I read it as they were now only going to supply 1 million units for launch

 

[demigod]

Here's the thing - PSVR2 has been in production since last summer. Orders are locked in many months in advance. You don't just suddenly cut "production" based on pre-order demand that first started in November. If you are aiming for a Feb 22 release with an expected initial shipment of 2 million units, those units are mostly already produced by November of the year prior so they're ready to go for launch.

I'm inclined to think this article is pure nonsense.

It is, this dude is a sony hater.

Wouldn’t surprise me if sony didn’t make many though. At that price point it’ll hit $399 for the holidays, book it.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

It is, this dude is a sony hater.

Wouldn’t surprise me if sony didn’t make many though. At that price point it’ll hit $399 for the holidays, book it.

Can you list the things he's been wrong about?

 

[DaGwaphics]

Quest 2 is eating a much bigger loss than many imagine, Sony isn't going to do that.

All the stuff they put in the Quest 2 is expensive compared to a PSVR2. I suspect Sony wants to be profitable day 1 on the unit.

That's why I signaled out the tethered units, you are dropping a good bit of the costs out of the device when you drop the SoC, memory, battery and all that. But even with the Quest 2, the point still stands. Better to work on getting the costs down than worrying about tech upgrades.

 

[demigod]

Can you list the things he's been wrong about?

I can’t remember, didn’t he lowball the ps4 production numbers?

Edit: what about the switch pro? Or switch with dlss.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

That's why I signaled out the tethered units, you are dropping a good bit of the costs out of the device when you drop the SoC, memory, battery and all that. But even with the Quest 2, the point still stands. Better to work on getting the costs down than worrying about tech upgrades.

If Sony released a headset that was tethered, didn't have a mobile APU/Battery, didn't include eye tracking, didn't include OLED screens, didn't include haptics....and shaved off $100 I don't think it would be nearly as exciting to the type of consumer they are marketing this towards.

Going high end tethered makes sense for their strategy. I think the price is a little higher than many expected, but not insanely so. Which tells me Sony is okay with sacrificing pure sales in favor of profitability.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I can’t remember, didn’t he lowball the ps4 production numbers?

Edit: what about the switch pro? Or switch with dlss.

Sounds like the multiple people familiar with the matter is his asshole

 

[kazuyamishima]

Things that Bloomberg made threads before that were possibly false:

- Sony cut the production of PS5 by 4 million units for the launch date due to Yield Issues.
- Sony will ship 22.2m units of the ps5 console in FY2022
- Sony will ship 30m. units of the ps5 console in FY2023
- Nintendo will increase the production of The Nintendo Switch for FY2023 compared to FY2022.

And many many more.

And some people still believe them.

 

[Kilau]

I don’t think PSVR2 is overpriced but it’s probably too expensive to be successful.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

That youtube channel has become quite a mouthpiece for console war favoritism. Not sure why his opinion is worth listening to.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

Like I've said before, a peripheral that costs more than the console powering it is simply not a viable product for the wider market. VR will continue to be a niche product as long as the price point is this high, among other issues.

 

[Three]

Eh hasn't Bloomberg been wrong on stuff like this, like a lot lately? Not sure I can trust this source.

I doubt they are wrong here. Sony had projected to make 2M by March but they had said it would depend on preorders so it makes sense.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

That youtube channel has become quite a mouthpiece for console war favoritism. Not sure why his opinion is worth listening to.

no he is not. if you actually listen to him.

 

[Salz01]

sony better move earth, wind and fire to make a VR port of Half Life Alyx.

Corrected the post.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I doubt they are wrong here. Sony had projected to make 2M by March but they had said it would depend on preorders so it makes sense.

When did they say it depended on pre orders?

I think the production numbers were all speculation

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Like I've said before, a peripheral that costs more than the console powering it is simply not a viable product for the wider market. VR will continue to be a niche product as long as the price point is this high, among other issues.

I think Sony is OK with a Niche product to start. They hope word of mouth sells the thing so they don't have to spend any marketing on it.

Seems like they are fine as long as the platform is profitable (low marketing spend, no loss leading on hardware, etc). They get the benefit of also having the cheapest path to High End VR, and their platform will get plenty of third party ports from PC/Quest, so even if they don't support it with first party as much as they should it will never be a financial failure since they don't need high volumes to be profitable and the platform can remain self sufficient with third parties.

PSVR1 sold 1 million in 8 months, PSVR2 should do a lot better than that.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

i dont remember where i saw the BOM for PSVR2....i remember thinking Sony is not willing to lose money for each PSVR2; in fact making a healthy profit on each unit.

if that is their play they better have some asses under their sleeve.

 

[Punished Miku]

Its not even out yet. That said this 100% wouldn't surprise me. Guess we'll see. I have no idea how many people are interested. Haven't heard much buzz.

 

[Silver Wattle]

The source is questionable, but I can see it being the, the price and lack of software are pretty big concerns.

The device being over 300 means it will never sell well enough to justify AAA software development.

 

[Gobjuduck]

Weak software lineup + Overpriced + Wired + ps5 supply problems

makes sense really.

 

[THE DUCK]

Told you GT7 announcement was last minute attempt to boost the vr2 weak pre sales.......but no, nobody would listen.......

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Corrected the post.

cyberpunk(the genre)...VR.......c'mon, it would be the biggest miss opportunity.

cyberpunk 2077 (the IP) is way bigger that the other game you mentioned. (which also needs to be on PSVR2)

 

[FalsettoVibe]

Wait....so they don't expect it to sell anymore after launch? This article doesn't make sense unless they mean Sony revised projected sales numbers for launch......not decreasing actual hardware production.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

The source is questionable, but I can see it being the, the price and lack of software are pretty big concerns.

The device being over 300 means it will never sell well enough to justify AAA software development.

This is sadly the case for VR in general

BUT the silver lining is that you can still get AAA games in VR (see: RE8 and GT7) by having VR modes. This is the strategy that Sony is allegedly pursuing.

 

[Three]

That youtube channel has become quite a mouthpiece for console war favoritism. Not sure why his opinion is worth listening to.

Yeah I'm not sure what that has to do with his field.

When did they say it depended on pre orders?

I think the production numbers were all speculation

The same bloomberg reporter Takashi Mochizuki said 2M and said that figure will depend on sales momentum. Maybe he is just setting up for why his information was wrong with a new article.

He said it in 2022 in this article

"Sony Group Corp. plans to make 2 million units of the PlayStation VR2 headset by March next year, people familiar with the matter said, setting an ambitious outlook that defies the global economic malaise.

Mass production of the virtual reality goggles began in September and hasn’t yet faced supply chain constraints, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The production figure could be adjusted depending on the device’s sales momentum once it’s released early next year."

So he is basically saying it was adjusted already based on preorders. Or his initial article may have been bullshit. Who knows.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Told you GT7 announcement was last minute attempt to boost the vr2 weak pre sales.......but no, nobody would listen.......

people made me feel unsafe just by questioning that announcement.

 

[Punished Miku]

cyberpunk(the genre)...VR.......c'mon, it would be the biggest miss opportunity.

cyberpunk 2077 (the IP) is way bigger that the other game you mentioned. (which also needs to be on PSVR2)

75% of people would get sick playing any vr game that long.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

75% of people would get sick playing any vr game that long.

fantastic.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Told you GT7 announcement was last minute attempt to boost the vr2 weak pre sales.......but no, nobody would listen.......

GT7 VR has to be in development way longer than just a few weeks dude....that theory is bullocks lol

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Weak software lineup + Overpriced + Wired + ps5 supply problems

makes sense really.

One of the better lineups in launch history + A great Value + a wire being better than a brick attached to your head.

PSVR2 gonna do a lot better than many people think in a few years....Sony has plenty of runway to drop the price and release more killer app content