Another Nail For PSVR2

Sony is pausing production of its PSVR 2 device for the foreseeable future, it has been revealed. 

The report, which came from Bloomberg, says that sales of the headset had slowed and that stock had begun to build up. Sales have actually dropped every quarter since its release.

Naturally, discussion has gone to two obvious points that have plagued PSVR2 since day one. That’s a lack of compelling content and a ridiculous price for a peripheral. Early adopters defends both those things. Ultimately though, the market isn’t in a place where people will spend more than a console on something with no can’t-miss games.

This isn’t great news for anyone. Money spent here could have been spent filling in first party gaps in the PS5’s catalogue. But even that probably wouldn’t have made a huge difference. The situation is just what it is right now, and there aren’t all these layoffs, closures and cancellations because of mismanagement around one product. It’s a problem, but it’s not the problem.

It’s just more proof that nobody really knows what they’re doing when it comes to VR. Presumptions have been made about the kind of people who will invest in a headset. That largely means a certain sort of game instead of the world-changing applications we were promised.

I’m not talking anything as silly as the virtual office promised as part of the metaverse. All that changes is having to wear trousers to be around people we can barely stand.

But instead the kind of media content that is only available in VR. The one I always come back to is the idea of being at a live concert without having to leave the house.

The reason these things never really took off is because the barrier of entry is just so high.

PSVR2 – What Happens Next?

This has been especially bad for PSVR2 because it’s chained to the PlayStation 5. You must buy an expensive console to get access to an expensive headset, which then only allows you to play exactly what is on that console. That is thankfully changing, but even in that first instance you’ve created a walled garden that just isn’t that lush.

Opening up the headset to PC makes it far more attractive. It is, by all accounts, a decent bit of kit. I don’t know whether the wire will be a deal breaker for PC gamers, but at the very least it opens it up to a new market. Not to mention, it gives PS5 gamers something to play if they have a decent PC.

PSVR 2 isn’t coming back. The Vita didn’t either. My issue isn’t that – anybody could have called it from a mile away. It’s more that once again it damages the overall concept of what VR could be. Once someone has figured out a decently priced headset that works where it needs to work, with compelling enough reason to purchase, we’re going to be in a new age of gaming. But, alas, instead VR is being made to look like a premium product, available to the few who can afford it.

It’ll never ever work. And we’ll keep seeing stories like this until something changes.