Sony temporarily pauses production of $550 accessory after underwhelming sales

Sony has said it will pause production of PlayStation VR2 Headsets due to inventory overstock.

In an article by Bloomberg, Sony reported that the sales of its $550 PlayStation 5 Headset aren’t meeting expectations. In turn, Sony will temporarily halt production of any additional PS VR2 Headsets until it’s moved enough existing unsold units.

The PlayStation VR2 launched Feb. 22, 2023. Sony reportedly sold 600,000 units during thefirst two months. While we don’t know the current sales numbers, it’s clear they didn’t meet Sony’s expectations.

There are several reasons why PlayStation VR2 isn’t selling as well as anticipated. Unlike most other headsets, the PS VR2 only works with the PlayStation 5 console. The device isn’t compatible with titles that worked on the previous PlayStation VR Headset, and it certainly doesn’t help that it costs a whopping $550, more than the PS5 console itself.

But the biggest problem of all is that there simply aren’t enough compelling PS VR2 titles to justify such an expensive purchase.

Sony is currently working on an update to the PS VR2 to make it compatible with PCs. While bringing the VR headset to PC certainly makes sense, this ultimately means Sony will be competing with other PC-compatible VR headsets, including Oculus Go and Oculus Quest 2, which both work even without a PC.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for PlayStation’s second attempt at Virtual Reality. Perhaps with enough new games and maybe a price cut, Sony can get back into making more VR headsets.