2023 will be very challenging for hardware sales. Some shipment numbers that appear to be plummeting have been joined by a recent increase Sony, which has decided to lower its PlayStation VR2 shipment forecasts after seeing that the booking results were disappointing. In other words, PlayStation VR2 pre-orders are well below Sony’s estimates, which forced it to scale back its forecasts.

Sony had expected to ship 1.5 million units of the PlayStation VR2 between April 2023 and March 2024, but that number suggests it will drop significantly after pre-order sales fail. According to Bloomberg, the reason for the drop is the price of 599.99 euros for the Eurozone.. The fact that the VR headset is more expensive than the console itself would deter many people from purchasing it.

On the other hand, we find that virtual reality, although it has gained a following in recent years, is still not something mainstream and widespread at all. Some joined in prices that are often out of the pockets of the majority, to which is added the current context of the crisis in which we live. Another possible reason for the low demand for the PlayStation VR2 is the fact that it is not compatible with games developed for the first generation of the helmet, which forces the second generation of the device to have a good catalog that justifies its purchase if Sony manages to mark its own Half-Life: Alyx.

The currently dominating device in the virtual reality market is the Quest 2 from Meta with an 85% share and a base price of 449.99 euros. The failure of PlayStation VR2 bookings seems to strengthen John Carmack’s position, as the legendary ex-Id Software member emphasized before leaving Meta that the Metaverse was spread by selling cheaper virtual reality devices that cost around $250.

We’ll see if the PlayStation VR2 can make a comeback, but everything indicates that Sony will not only have to feed the helmet with an interesting game catalog, but also lower the price of the device to make it really attractive to PlayStation 5 users.