PlayStation VR2 will soon reach local retailers, ending PlayStation Direct sales exclusivity on May 12.
Since launching in February, PSVR 2 was only available through PlayStation Direct, excluding countries where Sony's not yet opened Direct, but that looks set to change. Spotted across two UK retailers, GAME is offering pre-registration to confirm your interest, while ShopTo provides a more general page highlighting hardware specs and available games. It's not appearing with online US retailers yet, but that could soon change.
PlayStation VR2 will soon be in stock at local retailers, in addition to https://t.co/y9oEB5aBse. Check your local retailer for availability.
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) April 27, 2023
More on PS VR2: https://t.co/TiSFxroszM pic.twitter.com/79g8PsDCye
Making VR headsets more widely available is always welcome news. However, this could be a response to Direct exclusivity criticism, which some believe hampered sales when there was already speculation about PSVR 2's success. Last October, Bloomberg claimed Sony was producing 2 million units for launch before reporting in January that sales projections were cut, citing internal disappointment with pre-orders. Sony stated, “we have not cut PlayStation VR2 production numbers”.
Come mid-March, Sony's chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki offered a more positive outlook. Stating "we are very happy to launch VR2 on PS5,” he said there’s a “good chance” PSVR 2 can outsell the original PSVR headset, which reached 5 million units before Sony stopped reporting PSVR sales figures in 2019. Two weeks later, analyst firm IDC (International Data Corporation) then told Bloomberg that Sony “likely” sold around 270,000 PSVR 2 units, leading to contested suggestions that it's selling poorly.
Without direct sales figures, it's hard to objectively judge how well PSVR 2 is doing. Sony's hosting its latest earnings call for FY2022 tomorrow at 3am ET, so could learn more about its current status.
Henry Stockdale
via Mint VR