From The Verge: After producing in excess of two million units of its latest virtual reality headset, Bloomberg is reporting that Sony is hitting pause on production to try and shift its unsold inventory. The PlayStation VR2 launched last February for $549 as an accessory for the PlayStation 5, but IDC data suggests that shipments have declined each quarter since.
Bloomberg suggests that the problem is a lack of content for the headset. The PSVR2 is compatible with a handful of AAA games including Horizon Call of the Mountain, Gran Turismo 7, and entries in the Resident Evil series, as well as a range of smaller titles. But, at $549, the headset costs more than the PS5 itself, so expectations are high. Bloomberg notes that Meta and Apple have faced similar content challenges with their own headsets.
As well as pausing production on the headset, Sony’s recent layoffs impacted teams that have worked on VR titles. It closed its London Studio and the developer behind Horizon Call of the Mountain, Firesprite studio, was also impacted. In total, the layoffs are expected to affect around 900 Sony employees, or 8 percent of its overall headcount.
In an attempt to increase the amount of content available for its headset, Sony recently announced that it’s testing PC support, offering “the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC.” It’s currently unclear how widespread the headset’s support for PC titles might be, but support is planned for later this year.
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