(Bloomberg) — Sony Group has suspended production of its PSVR2 headset until it runs out of unsold units, according to people familiar with the group’s plans, further raising doubts about the appeal of virtual reality gadgets.
Sales of the $550 wearable accessory for the PlayStation 5 have gradually slowed since its launch, and inventories of the device have built up, said the people, who requested anonymity because the information is private. According to sources, Sony has produced well over 2 million units of the product launched in February last year.
IDC, which tracks deliveries to retailers rather than consumers, says PSVR 2 shipments have declined every quarter since its launch. There is a surplus of pre-assembled devices throughout Sony’s supply chain, the people said. Still, IDC’s Francisco Geronimo believes Apple’s entry will help the product category recover in the coming years. He said, “The VR market is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 31.5% from 2023 to 2028.”
Sony is one of the leading suppliers of virtual reality equipment, along with Meta Platforms Inc., but both companies have struggled to attract enough content and entertainment creators to make their platforms attractive. are doing. Apple’s more expensive Vision Pro headset suffers from similar issues, as it debuted without dedicated apps from major entertainment platforms Netflix and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube.
Sony did not respond to a request for comment.
Tokyo-based Sony announced last month that it would close its PlayStation London division, which focused on creating virtual reality games. The move is part of broader layoffs and will also impact in-house studios like Guerilla Games, which was working on Horizon Call of the Mountain, a PSVR 2 exclusive game in the popular Horizon series. Ta.
Macquarie analyst Yijia Zhai said, “The high price of VR hardware is the main impediment to its expansion.” “Currently, there are only a limited number of games that are compatible with VR devices, which reduces players’ desire to purchase VR hardware.There is a reason for this limited content.The cost of developing a VR game is It’s significantly more expensive than a regular title.”
Sony is still working on expanding the range of materials available on the headset, and announced in February that it was testing the ability for PSVR2 players to access PC titles.
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