The PlayStation VR2 launched a couple of weeks ago, and though VR by its very nature is still very much a niche market, Sony is expecting its new headset to be considerably successful- more so than its previous one, in fact.
The original PlayStation VR, which launches in 2016, has sold over 5 million units across its lifetime, and Sony is expecting its successor to exceed those figures. The same was stated by Sony executive deputy president and chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki at the recent Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference.
“We are very happy to launch VR2 on PS5,” he said (via VGC). “VR1, we sold over five million units, and I think we have a good chance to exceed that amount with PlayStation VR2.”
Interestingly, in January, reports emerged claiming that due to pre-orders for the PlayStation VR2 being lower than expected, Sony had slashed its shipment estimates for the device, and was now expecting to ship 1.5 million units by the end of the current fiscal year (i.e., by March 31, 2024). In response, the company issued a statement saying that it had no plans to reduce production.
The PlayStation VR2 retails at a price of $549.99, which has been viewed too high by many, while the lineup of games it launched with has also been criticized for not justifying the hardware’s price point.