(Bloomberg) — Sony Group Corp . plans to make 2 million units of the PlayStation VR2 headset by March next year, people familiar with the matter said, setting an ambitious outlook that defies global economic malaise.
Mass production of the VR glasses began in September and has not yet faced supply chain constraints, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The production figure could be adjusted depending on the sales momentum of the device once it is released early next year.
VR glasses have remained a largely untested category for several years after the widespread availability of commercial offerings from the likes of HTC Corp. and Oculus, which are now part of Meta Platforms Inc. Sony’s roadmap for the PSVR2 predicts much greater popularity than the company’s previous PlayStation VR glasses. for the PlayStation 4, which took eight months to reach one million sales. Meta’s Quest 2, today’s most popular VR headset, shipped 2.8 million units in its first quarter of availability, according to IDC figures.
Sony has yet to give an official price or release date for the PSVR2. Its current plan to start selling the headset in early 2023 will coincide with the expected easing of supply chain bottlenecks that have hampered the availability of the PlayStation 5 console since its launch in late 2020, they say the people This would give the company enough inventory of both headsets and consoles for a big marketing push. Users will need a PS5 console to use the VR headset.
A spokesman for Sony Interactive Entertainment declined to comment.
Game developers remain skeptical of the VR segment due to its relative lack of market penetration, especially on Sony’s home turf in Japan. IDC estimates that Meta’s Quest 2 has shipped 17 million units to date and is lauded as the highest mark for the industry, but it pales in comparison to other console, mobile and PC gaming products.
The economic slowdown and rising material costs following the Russian invasion of Ukraine have also affected the virtual reality sector. Meta raised the price of the Quest 2 in August in response to rising production costs.
“The rising cost of living makes many consumers wary of spending on non-essential items,” said IDC vice president of data and analytics Francisco Jeronimo. “If the economic crisis deepens, Sony may have to cut production.”
Sony’s suppliers and partners don’t know how long the Japanese company will maintain its fast-paced production schedule after launch.
Sony plans to augment the launch of the PSVR2 with new VR-designed titles from its popular in-house franchises, such as Horizon, and has said there are more than 20 titles in development for the device from in-house and third-party game developers .
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