Jim Ryan says it’s too early to judge PlayStation VR2’s popularity

Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has suggested it’s too soon to judge the popularity of PlayStation VR2.

PS5’s virtual reality headset launched in late February and retails for $549.99 / €599.99 / £529.99.

Initially it could only be bought through Sony’s PlayStation Direct online store, but it was made available at other retailers last week.

“PS VR2 has just been launched, so it may be a little early to judge its popularity, but we are happy to see many positive reactions from users and the media,” PlayStation boss Ryan told Famitsu (via Google Translate).

He said that over 40 games were released around the launch of PS VR2 and that many more are coming in 2023 and beyond.

“We will continue to push forward so that those who purchase PS VR2 can enjoy it for a long time and we can also secure profits,” Ryan added.

In late January, Bloomberg sources claimed Sony had halved its launch projections for PS VR2 following disappointing pre-order numbers.

They claimed Sony’s shipment forecasts were cut from two million to one million units in the first quarter. In response, Sony issued a statement claiming it had “not cut PlayStation VR2 production numbers”.

In March, Sony president and CFO Hiroki Totoki said he thought PS VR2 had a “good chance” of outselling its predecessor, which launched for PS4 in October 2016 and sold over five million units.

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But PS VR2 sales started slowly, according to estimates from research firm IDC, which claimed in March that Sony would likely have sold around 270,000 units by the end of the first quarter.

“I suspect a price cut on the PS VR2 will be needed to avoid a complete disaster of their new product,” IDC’s vice president of data and analytics Francisco Geronimo told Bloomberg.