According to those in the know, Sony Group Corp. has ambitious ambitions to produce 2 million copies of the PlayStation VR2 headgear by March of next year, despite the global economic doldrums.
People familiar with the matter claimed mass production of the VR eyewear began in September and hasn’t run into any supply chain difficulties as of now. The sales momentum of the gadget when it is introduced early next year will determine if the manufacturing target has to be changed.
Despite the widespread availability of commercial options from companies like HTC Corp. and Oculus, now a part of Meta Platforms Inc., VR eyewear remains mostly unproven after many years on the market.
Sony’s previous PlayStation VR goggles for the PlayStation 4 took eight months to sell one million units, but the company’s plan for the PSVR2 anticipated significantly more appeal. IDC estimates that in its first quarter of availability, Meta’s Quest 2, the most popular VR headset currently available, delivered 2.8 million units.
Sony has not yet announced the PSVR2, and the company has not announced a release date or pricing. The company reportedly plans to begin selling the headset in early 2023, which will coincide with the anticipated alleviation of supply chain constraints that have delayed the availability of the PlayStation 5 system since its introduction in late 2020.
To make a major marketing effort, the corporation needs a large supply of headsets and consoles. For the virtual reality headset to work, a PlayStation 5 system is required.
A representative from Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., declined to provide an interview.
Analyst Serkan Toto of Kantan Games in Tokyo stated that Sony’s ability to create high-quality games was crucial to the company’s future success. For certain customers, the PSVR2 is expected to cost as much as a PS5 because of its powerful specifications.
Game designers are still wary of the virtual reality industry due to its small size, especially in Sony’s native country of Japan. IDC predicts that Meta’s Quest 2 will ship 17 million units by the end of this year and that it will be heralded as the industry standard, but it will still pale in comparison to other goods in the console, mobile, and PC gaming arenas.
The virtual reality industry has been impacted by the global economic recession and rising material costs as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meta increased the price of the Quest 2 in August due to increases in the company’s manufacturing costs.
According to Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of data and analytics at IDC, “the rising cost of living is making many customers apprehensive of spending on non-essential things.” It’s possible that Sony will have to reduce output if the current economic situation continues to worsen
It is unclear how long after launch Sony will keep up its current rapid pace of manufacturing, which has caused concern among Sony’s vendors and business partners.
Sony has stated that more than 20 titles are in development for the PSVR2 by internal and third-party game developers and hopes to utilize these games to help promote the debut of the system.