PlayStation is reportedly halting production after a disastrous hardware launch

PLAYSTATION is known as one of the top three players in the home console market, but the popularity of its hardware varies widely.

The PS5 and PlayStation Portal were so popular at launch that supply couldn’t keep up with demand, leaving consumers without the hardware they wanted.

However, not all PlayStation hardware has fared as well as the two mentioned above, and a disastrous launch reportedly led to Sony ceasing production.

According to a report from BloombergSony has paused production of the PS VR2 until the company can clear its unsold inventory.

Sony announced that it would produce 2 million units of the VR headset ahead of its February 2023 launch.

Despite the large number of headsets produced, fewer than 300,000 units were reportedly sold by the end of March.

According to data on units shipped to retailers, sales have fallen quarter-over-quarter.

Approximately 1.7 million units have been shipped to date, which is less than the number of units produced before launch.

If 2 million units had been produced before launch, as Sony had initially planned, many more units would have been produced by this point.

The poor sales of the PS VR2 do not reflect the sales of the VR headset industry across the board.

Meta Quest is one of the most popular VR headset brands, reportedly shipping around 4 million units last year.

One of the disadvantages of the PS VR2 compared to headsets like the Meta Quest is that it requires a PS5 to use.

Another downside is that the PS VR2’s impeccable visual quality comes with the trade-off of always having to run a cable from the headset to the console.

Other, less powerful, untethered headsets are free of cables and can work independently or via a wireless connection to a PC.

The PS VR2 is also quite expensive, selling for more than the PS5 console it’s connected to, at £529.99 / $549.99.

PS VR2’s reportedly poor sales may have contributed to the recent closure of PlayStation’s London Studio, which was developing games for VR.

If you want to read more about PlayStation, check out our PS VR2 review.

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