Analysts have revised down expected sales of Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY)’s PlayStation VR2 headset following disappointing sales in the first weeks since launching on February 22.
The Japanese tech multinational is expected to sell 270,000 of the originally estimated 300,000 units according to projects from the research firm IDC, predominantly due to reduced customer spending on discretionary items.
Speaking to Bloomberg, IDC’s vice president of data and analytics said: “Consumers around the world are facing rising costs of living, rising interest rates and rising layoffs… VR headsets are not top of mind for most consumers under the current economic climate.”
Sony initially had an output target of two-million units until disappointing pre-order numbers forced output reducing to be slashed in half, to one-million units, in January.
Sony has yet to release any official post-launch sales numbers, but Proactive has requested them via email.
VR2 has a prohibitive launch price of US$549 (£529 in the UK), which is US$50 more than the PlayStation 5 gaming console required to use the device.
Individual games go for as high as US$70 each.
Reception to VR2’s range of launch games has also been mixed. AAA titles including Resident Evil: Village VR and Horizon: Call of the Mountain have been met with positive reviews, but the library available to gamers remains relatively sparse.
However, reception to the headset and controllers themselves has been strong, with IGN calling it “a quantum leap in console VR gaming and Wired calling it “as impressive as it is expensive”.