Soapbox: PSVR2 Already Feels Like It's on Course for Failure

I get the worry but I think it is too early to have it.

I dont think it is the lack of software or the lack of marketing that is causing the issue. Its the price. And that is the risk with a high end product.

Eventually manufacturing costs catch up and that price comes down. By that time there will be a lot more content and it may hit its stride.

I think this is pretty unfair thinking tbh. Sony doesnt have anything announced for ps5 either, so unless you actually know what titles they are working on, your just making a bleak assumption based on a hunch.
Once we've had a showcase and get hints of whats coming, you might be able to make such calls but till then this is the sort of article that completely turns me off Pushsquare.com. Ive no idea why you are so down all the time on playstation. Seeing as you play all your titles on xbox anyway, why not go and write for them? They look like they need some articles...

@AdamNovice agree. I also think they knew the price would have a slow adoption rate along with it.

Astro bot and Blood and truth sequels, ports or collections of both would be needed, the sooner the better. Not convinced a Spider-Man VR complete game would be a success apart for motion sickness but maybe it's feasible. If they can reveal and release games (exclusive, hybrid games or recent VR ports) at a mostly steady rate, it would be the best. And give me the VR mode for the recent RE4 remake and RE7 ps5 version, I know that latter has never been confirmed but they can't forget about that, could they?

I got using mine about 6 or 7 hours before the screens went faulty. Refund and not ordering again. Was fun though when it did work.

Calm down lol

The thing is it doesn’t make games more fun. Like Kinect it’s cool tech not fun game. So the install base will kill it.

State of play needs to be announced soon soon

@Mega-Gazz on the contrary. It completely transforms games to a whole new medium

I think the problem Sony is having with this headset is that the market they are trying to corner is almost non-existent. Console gaming is already budget gaming vs. PC gaming, which costs 3 to 4 times more for the cost of entry. To charge more than the console itself for a headset without a single game included has got to be one of the most asinine marketing moves they could have made, especially with the state of the worldwide economy. Why in the actual hell would someone buy a $550 headset when most people are struggling to put food on the table?

Man im really getting tired of the medias constant doom and gloom articles around the headset...its been a little over a month, it has a great launch line up and the 'report' numbers are from a source that has been proven inaccurate not once...but twice, about sony manufactoring. Im not saying lets pop the champagne, but at least give the thing a chance...stop chasing clicks pls.

"These may seem like drastic questions to be asking just one month after a hardware launch, but they already feel pretty legitimate." 🤦‍♂️

Rubbish clickbait. Not even a good analysis. Really disappointed, either in the deliberate attempt to drive controversy and get clicks over the weekend, or just an extreme lack of knowledge and critical thinking skills. Either way.

I voted it will be a success in time. The games are already there for the rest of the year. We don’t know what Sony are doing further out, because their messaging and publicity is awful, as we all know; as it has been since 2018, even through the PS5 launch.

I can’t even be bothered explaining all the ways Liam is wrong. He should really inform himself when it comes to third party games that are being worked on, confirmed by devs.

Then again, it’s Liam, if it hasn’t got an accurate game time counter he doesn’t care about it, lol.

Excuse me while I go enjoy VR2. I wont be back to give them clicks and comments for a while. Perhaps by the time I do they would have decided such uniformed drivel is not the way to get people to support them. I was considering paying before Liam’s article, now it’s clear to me the site isn’t worth it. Not with such clickbait excuses for journalism.

@NeonPizza Yeah, It's fantastic, and I expect RE4 will be an even better experience when the vr version launches.

Have a little bit of a different story.

I finally jumped the guy and ordered a PSVR 2 on Wednesday. Then found out it was coming Thursday. I was SO excited. It came and even my wife who is a non-gamer was really interested to see it and maybe try it out.

The next 2+ hours were filled with me trying to get into even one game. I couldn't get a demo to work. No problem, I installed Moss already, let's give that a go. Couldn't get to the title screen beyond the prompts. Loaded Horizon. No go.

Figured out I have a rare issue where the Right sense controller works in menus but does not work in games. I literally can't play anything. PS customer service was no help (it's a known issue, we'll fix it but who knows when) and PS direct said it could take 10 business days to even process it.

I'm so discouraged. I was so excited and now I'm debating whether I want to get it replaced or if I should just return it.

I feel like that feeds into the article - I was the first of my friends to try it and I had a good platform to sell it to them but now they're just seeing my disappointment. If it was in-store, I could probably get it replaced right away.

@thefourfoldroot1 what games? genuinely want to know. Nobody could name any yesterday.

It's an overly expensive accessory at a time where most people have less and less money to spend on such things. The world is full of uncertainty and unrest; especially when we see banks failing.

They came out of the gates with strength

Hate to agree with the article but they don’t have much on the horizon the next several months. Granted people play non VR games too, but still

What bothers me is the lack of app support. YouTube VR is gone, there’s seemingly nothing non game wise you’d think they’d have at least a few apps ready to take advantage of it.

Also gimme an update for Dreams!

More than a couple of years down the line and I don't think the PS5 itself has had any more exclusives than the games mentioned in your article has it? Demon's Souls, Miles Morales, Ratchet & Clank and returnal

Oh Liam,
Don't worry, be happy!

Make it work with PCVR and you'll get many, many more sales as there's no truly great PCVR-only headset at the price of the PSVR 2.

All they need to do is open up PC support and the PS VR2 would be a definite success. However, two years after the DualSense controller launched, they don't have official DualSense PC drivers and are relying on Steam's controller support and individual games (like first party ones) supporting the DualSense. It's a huge missed opportunity and makes me not want to hold my breath about PS VR2 PC support.

This is why hybrid titles like re village need to be a thing going forward as making a game already in development for flat gaming work in vr is much easier than building a whole new vr only game.There's also a plethora of old titles which could be given the vr treatment and a whole new life so what's stopping Sony as it seems an obvious route to take!Imo re village is the best game on psvr2 and an obvious example of hybrid games working really well and adding new sales for publishers.

I do not think it needs a price cut, I think it needs to implement backward compatibility with the existing PSVR titles. I believe that would increase it sales, thereby increasing the sales of the PSVR2 titles.

If it was fully backwards compatible I would have jumped in as there's lots of PSVR games I still want to play, but now I have to wait till there's a sizeable library.

Also it needs more games from big established ips not just indie games! from a casual point of view there's only like two games, Horizon and RE Village!

@Mega-Gazz totally disagree,I think vr makes most games better as being in the game rather than watching it takes immersion to a whole different level and we're all trying to be immersed in our games

I don't plan on buying one unless things change drastically.

For as much as I loved astro bot rescue mission, a sequel would not motivate me to spend $620 to play it. I would rather the sequel just be a normal ps5 game. Maybe I am just not that into vr but most games feel shovelwareish where they are just quick 3-4 hour gimmicks. Horizon call of the mountain and the popular kayak game seem to fit that bill perfectly from what ive seen. My favorite psvr1 experience might have been skyrim and even then it didnt seem to enhance the experience but just provided a gimmicky excuse to replay one of my favorite games.

I also feel burned that all those games I bought for psvr1 are not available in any capacity. The thought of building a new library seems like a foolish thing to do especially now that it seems like Sony might jump ship on this thing at any time.

@thefourfoldroot1 Thanks for reading!

As a PSVR owner with over 100 downloaded titles I think it was a major tactical error by Sony not to make the controller (not move) games backwards compatible. I get the move games would be very difficult to convert due to tech differences but they should have gotten the controller games working.

Many of the best PSVR games use the controller (Wipeout Omega, Astrobot, RE7, and many others. These should have been ready to go at headset launch. Other “move” exclusives like blood and truth and iron man should have been remastered at launch for the new inside out tracking or at least announced for the near future.

The way Sony launched this was a slap on the face to those of that that financially supported PSVR. I have now purchased a valve index and will be supporting that platform for VR. Many of my PSVR games are available there for $10 or less and I don’t have yo be concerned that there will no longer be playable when a new PCVR headset is released.

Seeing all of this makes me wish Sony had taken all of that money they put into the PSVR2 and had instead created a handheld version of the PS5 that allows you to take your PS4 and PS5 games natively on the go. Nintendo, Steam, and smartphones are showing us that the gaming industry is going in the direction of convenience, not luxury.

The beginning of the article says Sony has been silent on the PSVR2…hell, Sony is silent period. It’s not just VR news, I think they’ve forgotten the PS5 exists.

It could go either way. Price and VR itself was always going to be a hurdle, and Sony surely planned for that.

My biggest worry has been, from Day zero that Jim HATES PSVR, and Jim has wanted to kill PSVR from before the start. In the pre-PS5 launch we had that infamous "will it happen someday, we believe that" non-committal quote that many of us in the thread took to believe was him saying PSVR2 wasn't going to happen. Then 2 days later Sony JAPAN posted a on twitter or PS blog or something pictures of PSVR2. It has felt since 2020 like there's a war between Sony Japan that wants to entrench in VR, and Jim that sees it as nothing but an expensive inconvenience in his quest to merge SIE with Sony Pictures. I don't think all hope is lost, but if Jim is at war with his own product, then all hope is lost so long as nobody throws him out an airlock.

At the same time though, the silence on the future of games from Sony doesn't mean that much, does it? As His Highness @TinTin The Exalted said, we know next to nothing about games from Sony at all. They've adopted the Nintendo Cone of Silence. We know HFW:BS exists, and they only bothered saying anything in the weeks pre launch. We know Spiderman 2 exists and will be out in September. Beyond that we know absolutely nothing. Wolverine "exists", TLoU GaaS Online exists and is years late. And we know absolutely nothing else. That's hurting the impression of PSVR2, that's not hurting the impression of PS5 itself because it sells itself, but that's just Sony's policy as a whole it seems, for better or worse. It doesn't mean there's nothing big coming from Sony for PSVR2 any more than it means Wolverine is the last PS5 exclusive.

We're a month in on a product that in the biggest markets still is not even available at retail....why are we hand-wringing low sales when it's literally not even available for purchase where most people purchase things? Now that could mean Sony is trying to kill it in the key markets. In which case, yes, it's doomed. Or it could mean Sony hasn't really launched it yet and is saving that for some time of their own choosing for their own strategic reasons. I'm hoping it's the latter, but I know it could be the former.

I will say, having been burned on Vita, if Sony burns me again with PSVR2 and it dies not due to inevitability but due to their own lack of attempt to make it succeed, I will be exceedingly wary of ever buying anything Sony again, and it would severely impact my likelihood of even buying a PS6 when the time comes.

I don't know if the article is going for sensationalism, but assuming that PSVR2 was never planned to be mass market, I think it was always going to look like a fumble because a niche will be a slow burn.

You should probably view it as a service which builds up over time. It reviewed well, so I would think that's a good foundation to be on at this point.

I read a post on the wildly successful, genuinely very good console that PS5 is and the comments are negative and gloomy, I read a post on this extravagantly aimless VR push from Sony and the comments sing the headset’s praises.
We like to play devil’s advocate, don’t we? 🩷

@ztpayne7
I would get an exchange and try again.
I completely understand your disappointment but I don’t think you’ll regret it.
I’m a first time VR user in my mid 40’s and it’s a real blast (when I’ve the energy to game that way)
Your choice obviously but I’d give it one more go.

@Somebody gt7,re village,walking dead s&s 1&2,no man's sky,song in the smoke are 6 examples of longish games ranging from 12 hours all the way to 100s of hours

@ztpayne7 I had the same problem. Before you start an exchange, google “psvr2 right controller not working in game” and click through to the Reddit post

@Feena have you tried vr?

I agree with the worry on what has been said.

I had some hype into buying it at launch then cancelled near launch and decided to wait since then I haven't really felt the urge to buy it anymore.

Edit: that being said I could buy it and change my whole view on it but who knows.

@NEStalgia I totally agree with you as I've always been of the opinion psvr2 is a final gift from sony Japan to us vr lovers what jim and sony of the western hemisphere have no time for and are willing to let die as it doesn't make money money money!

Same old narrative. Remember when the 3DS was doomed? And even a time when Switch (NX) was doomed? Give it time. Its been out a month.

Personally i think Sony has a fight on their hands. They have made the same mistake as they did with PS Vita by front loading so many titles for launch - this has meant there has been a relative drought of new game releases since launch, and those that did drop on launch day will have been suffocated by other releases spreading the spending power too thinly.

With a lack of obvious new releases, and a concerning lack of promotion from Sony, i dont see how the more casual gamer is aware this even launched - not helped by the decision to exclusively launch through Playstation Direct.

I've not heard of Sony doing any roadshows to promote the system either - and launching such a premium device at a time when people's finances are stretched isnt going to help either.

I don't think its game over however. I think Sony need to treat this as a soft launch and then go big on VR later in the year with a dedicated showcase effectively relaunching it in time for black friday / Christmas. I think they have - as always - developed a fantastic piece of hardware - so if they stick by it and secure some killer apps for the system then they have a fighting chance of making a success out of this

Speaking of the absolute and total failure that is PSVR2, reminder to everyone The Last Worker launched yesterday and is still 20% off for Plus members which hasn't been covered in the news here....

I haven't got too far into it because I can't put down NMS, GT7, Light Brigade, and Cities VR for long periods or I get rashes, but it's pretty good from what I've played so far.

.....just saying....

@ROTTIEMAN16 Truly the PSVR2 launch and it's suite of current and upcoming titles reminds me of the PS1, PS2, PS3 launches in ways I forgot I missed. One last visit to when it was run in Japan and was about fun rather than concurrent player metrics, CPIs, engagement ratios, and other casino parlor tricks. It may be the last PSVR, or the last fun PlayStation product ever, but it's a true joy ride while it's here.

@Hurblyburbly I'm probably going to do that, especially because I've bought a VR game or two that I know won't get refunded. It's just annoying

@Hoodie718 do you know what ultimately fixed it for you? I went up and down that thread trying fixes for 2+ hours and nothing suggested worked.

Sony was never going to pour money into AAA exclusives for VR. They didn’t do it last gen either. It will never make sense to do so, because the install base will always be a fraction of the console’s. Luckily a VR game doesn’t need to have AAA production values to be extremely engaging.

I think Sony is investing in VR because it is something that they offer that Microsoft doesn’t have. As a PSVR2 owner, I will be happy to play top-quality versions of multi-platform VR games, VR-enabled flat games (GT7 & RE Village are amazing), and whatever exclusives Sony throws our way (even if it’s just Astro Bot). The experiences I’ve had so far have been unlike anything else I’ve experienced in gaming, and I had PSVR1. I hope more people will jump in!

@ztpayne7 I compiled the thread myself, and I indicated what seemed to work for me (basically turning on the controllers while in a game – not see through mode – to achieve a temporary fix, then turning the console completely off and leaving it unplugged for at least 15 mins). But rather than go off of that, I would say start at the top of the list and make sure you pay attention to the details of the instructions. The weirdest things end up making the difference!

i honestly think the key to PVSR2s success is in hybrid games like resident evil 8, then once the user base is there make a full AAA VR game.

Insomniac have experience in VR games; the brillaint Stormlands(which i hope comes to PSVR2)

I understand the concern because an add-on that's more expensive than the console needed to use it doesn't seem like one being set up for success. However, it is only one month, think we need a bit more time before hitting the panic button.

failure 100% for the time being. if sony is looking long term — 15 or 20 years, then sure, it might have a chance. but is sony willing to take a loss on the tech for that long? boggles the mind as to why sony did not work out a deal with valve for half life alyx... vr continues to have a chicken and egg problem where there aren't enough adopters of the hardware to justify software development, and not enough notable software to justify hardware adoption. we've got ways to go...

The big selling point of the PSVR2 is that it's the first headset that can play up to date games like Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon without requiring a well-spec'd PC plus technical knowledge. Sony should concentrate on getting as many AAA titles onto PSVR2 as possible. I like my Quest 2 but it can't do anything approaching GT7 and it's highly unlikely the Quest 3 will either. Sony should sell it on the basis of that and I think they will find plenty of appreciative gamers.

This is timely. I literally just ordered mine yesterday.

I don' think this will ever replace my normal flat-screen gaming hobby. It's just a supplemental to that. The fact that it can provide experiences that a simple 2D setup cant do gives it viability for me regardless as to whether or not it's supported in the long term. I hope to at least see some updates to past PS4 titles to round the system out a bit better, but either way I'm still going to be glad to have something like this on hand.

Long ball. Took OG psvr a while to reach that 5 million milestone. Also lots of people are just getting their hands on the console itself. Hard to double dip at over $1k combined in these craptacular economic times. I'm pretty sure it'll be just was the first one was. A mild success that will continue to get better and cheaper with better iterations and R&D.

@Mega-Gazz you sir,don't have a clue what youre on about,playing a game in vr, is totally different to a standard game on tv

I love the demand of immediacy as it relates to the PSVR. Let me break down a few games for you

Santa Monica studios took 4 and a half years to release Ragnarok after God Of War .

Naughty dog took 4 years to release the last of us two after uncharted a thieves end. Almost 8 years between the last of us 1 and the last of us 2.

Sucker punch had 6 years between infamous second son and ghost of Tsushima.

Guerilla games took 5 years between horizon and horizon 2.

Days gone came out in 2019 and I don't even know what bend studios is working on?

Dreams took media molecule forever

Let's stop acting like first party titles are just falling out of the sky... Games take a long time to make. I remember just as bad a drought of software for literally every console I've ever bought at release.

@NeonPizza I would encourage you to read the comments section on the article about the Bloomberg report. Just a bunch of people that don't have or understand the platform saying it's a failure. I really thought common sense would prevail but it's evidently not common on this site.

It's been a month. If it was August time and the landscape was the same, no upcoming releases, typical Sony silence then I'd say all this panic is warranted but whatever happened to letting time move forward.

It's like if you had a newborn baby and after a month you're complaining because it can't walk yet or play basketball. Just breathe and go touch grass, damn.

@LeeHarveyOzgod games started this gen are said to take around 4 - 8 years to complete 🤯

But on a real I thought technology advances this gen would speed things along but I guess the scope gets bigger and everything takes longer

I'd love to buy one, but I suspect like most people, at least here in the UK, I need to prioritise all my bills that have skyrocketed.
(Throw into the mix I was recently laid off just two weeks into a new job, and I'm still looking for a new one, so it's now very low on my to do list).

@theMEGAniggle Less truly awful games too...

It is absolutely superior a headset to many out there. But people throw out how Oculus sold 10-20 million units, etc... well, yes. But how many of those get used even once a month in 2023? PSVR1 road the VR headset hype wave. But I don't know anyone with an Oculus or Steam headset that even uses it weekly anymore.

I don't think there exists a market for this stuff outside of these waves of hype--like so many things. You sure don't see a lot of digital guitar and drum kits sold now but in their prime those could not be kept on store shelves.

Get Half-Life Alyx on it and you can take my money all day long, I am interested in the current line up but HLA is the killer app for me.

@NeonPizza I would agree but having all those things in one headset at this moment in time would rocket the price to something more like £1,000

@LeeHarveyOzgod some seriously mind bendingly awful games 🤣

@Mega-Gazz sounds like you've not actually used it! It takes games to another level, everytime i load up one of the games im still dumbfounded at how amazing it looks, and grabbing a zombies head and plunging a knife into it vs pressing x to attack? Come on

Like I said before, there's no hype anymore for vr, either it's on console or pc. People already know what to expect from vr and in the end, they prefer playing games on couch in the front of their tv.

I already tried psvr1 back then, really hyped for it and bought it on launch day, but after 2-3 weeks I'm already back playing games on tv.

@NeonPizza A lot of your suggestions are just pie-in-the-sky stuff that is either unrealistic (wireless play) or would make the headset prohibitively expensive (a display bright enough to come close to the quality of OLED but with pancake lenses). But I think losing the rings is just a plain bad idea. If I didn’t have the rings, I could’ve broken my hand the other night when I stabbed a walker in Saints & Sinners. I felt something that was far beyond the capabilities of the (excellent) controller haptics – I had punched the wall. Luckily the controller’s fine, but I would rather have replaced it than injured my hand. Anyway, this is the headset we have. It’s fantastic, if a bit expensive. We’re not getting another anytime soon.

You’re right about the interface though, and that shouldn’t be too hard for Sony to pull off.

Honestly the PS5 hasn't got much announced either. Only Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine (this one could be like 2025). So I don't think we need to worry right now

@Hoodie718 ok gotcha! I tried to be as thorough as possible but I couldn’t get anything to work. 😔 I’m probably going to have to go through the long exchange process. I really wish I could have bought it in a store so I could just swap it out.

I personally prefer Move games on PS3 than VR games as the gameplay was similar as Wii style games with motion control.

Holy faeces, it's been out a month, people. We don't even know for sure how many have been sold yet. It's a step in the right direction and a lot of people are enjoying it.

Clickbait thread title. I'm really disappointed.

@NeonPizza buy a £2000 pc headset if it matters that much?

@Anti-Matter have you actually tried vr?

@ROTTIEMAN16
Nope, but judging from VR Gameplay on YouTube, just looking at the camera movements like that it made me dizzy and uncomfortable.
And I prefer 3rd person view looking than 1st person view looking.

Tbh this is a pretty disappointing article from pushsquare....its been out a month ffs, there's enough games on there I want to play to keep me going for the rest of this year in which time I'm sure there will be more games....stop with all these doom and gloom articles!!!!!!

You do realise you are in the game not looking at the screen in front of you?you can physically look in every direction and you see it as if your in the middle of the game

@NEStalgia Just curious, how does Jim Ryan hate VR?

Honestly, I never considered VR gaming to have mass appeal. I've tried it many times, it's nice, but not a must have. I'm perfectly happy looking at my OLED tv. I just don't see how it's going to gain the type of popularity it needs to get the proper software developed for it. I know that the immersion is higher with a VR set, but until they develop some superslim goggles or come up with VR contacts or something this thing is never going to take off. And it's not even about the price. I have five friends who are hard-core gamers, both PC and PS5. They spend insane amount of money upgrading their rigs. None of them have any interest in VR. My nephews the same thing. Big gamers already, tried and thought vr was cool, but nothing they'd shown any interest of saving up for. If you can't convince a 15 year old that says it all really.

It’s worth it for GT7 alone

I think it’ll largely be abandoned by both Sony and 3rd party developers. The interest just isn’t there. Even Meta is quietly pivoting away from VR.

The poll results just kind of show what a bubble this site is, it’s not a realistic representation of the wider market. The real Sony heads will buy it and wish it well, but everyone else is a bad combo of low on cash and uninterested.

I recall someone here in the comments section being berated for suggesting that the PSVR2 might be subject to a price cut in a year or so. Of course this is a possibility, and, given the current predictions, perhaps likely.

I had a pre-order for the unit, but cancelled it shortly before release, purely for financial reasons. The price is not justifiable right now in order to play the few great experiences currently available.

The unavoidable situation regarding lack of backwards compatibility has arguably harmed the popularity of the headset. There just isn’t enough available in terms of must-have software right now. Upgrades from first-gen software will help to bolster the catalogue, but these are unlikely to be numerous.

PSVR had a long-life for a niche product and the software was released on a slow and steady basis, with a number of bigger titles still releasing later in the product’s cycle. The same may well happen with its successor, but as of now, the price and lack of software is harming PSVR2.

Speaking of advertising, I’ve just seen the bizarre advert with Ozzy Osborne, full of bleeped-out swearing, promoting the device. Whilst mildly amusing, it’s a woeful attempt to promote the product that shows little gameplay, choosing to focus on the celebrity tie-in (although I’m now remembering the wonderful Rick Mayall Nintendo adverts).

I’d like to pick up PSVR2 at some point, and would have loved to at launch, ideally. I feel that a price drop may come, by which time hopefully more older titles will have been updated and transitioned to the new system, along with, hopefully, some worthwhile, enticing, AAA offerings.

This device features unique technology which provides lots of room for innovation from developers, which is something the device has in its favour. The first unit was behind its competitors in terms of specs, but held on due to strong software. This system absolutely needs to do the same and needs continued support from both developers and Sony in order to deliver a product that is appealing to consumers.

@NeonPizza global VR/AR equipment sales shrunk by 12% in 2022, there’s a lot of indications this is a downward trend. Time will tell, though. I think it’s too early to write PSVR2 off just yet, but my prediction is that this corner of the market will continue to decline.

I think people are underestimating the actual living crisis.
Psvr2 is just to expensive.

I'm living proof this crisis is effecting everything. My mortgage has gone up. My energy bills have gone up 200. My wage hasn't gone up. My food bill for essentials have gone up drastically.

I am normally first in line for the next big thing from Sony but I just cannot justify spending that sort of money with 0 big huge exclusives or even a demo disc like psvr1.

Back when psvr came out i could get away with dropping 500, and I may scrape by that month but I could save up and be OK.

Now I am on my ar*e, if I make one wrong move with my spending my in trouble. I cant be the only one.

Simply put;

It's overpriced massively. Number one aspect that affects whether or not someone makes a purchase of pretty much anything.

At this price point you don't get anything that is particularly ground breaking anyway, so failure is inevitable.

It hasn't got backwards compatability. Sony are you joking? This is such a major drawback, and limits the already small games library even more.

I do honestly wonder about Sony sometimes.

I play games to relax, the last thing I want is a hunk of plastic hanging off my face. It's fun or interesting for a short period, but until they can get it to something akin to wearing a pair of glasses it'll never become mainstream.

@NeonPizza that would be an amazing headset but compared to this "slow" 300k unit sales in the first month, I'm afraid that £2k headset you've outlined would move about 5k unit sales.

I guess they're just not at the point in sales projection that they feel the need to make an even more superior product to what they've released. I do love the VR 2 headset though. See it lasting a very long time

@NeonPizza yeah loading times are just way beyond what I was expecting with that Mark Cerny GDC presentation in 2020. Leaps and bounds, that is what you call a generational leap

I’ve had mine since launch day and since then I have only played in VR. Im quite happy with the line up at launch, slowly working my way through the games.

It’s an amazing piece of kit. It transforms the gaming experience. I really don’t want to go back to 2D, how limiting!

I do believe sony released in February knowing the psvr2 will be a long term project. I don’t expect they are expecting big sales immediately. The games will come. Christmas will come.

I think patience is required.

@Sam_ATLUS Not so much "hate VR" as much as being strongly opposed to consuming resources he wants to spend on going another direction, viewing it as nothing but a waste foisted upon him by other elements in the company, that he'd much, much, much rather be able to dispose of and help it reach the bottom of the stairs a little bit more quickly so he can be free of it and move faster in the direction he'd rather go. So if he can set it up for failure faster, the sooner he can dispose of it.

@NeonPizza Pancake and fresnel are much more expensive. And if this headset's sold a quarter mil at launch what would a $1.2k+ pro have sold.... it would be like watching xbox numbers in Japan, lol.

@Hoodie718 I have you beat. I've smacked a steel pole. More than once. I'm kind of fond of the rings. Neon didn't believe me though.

I have seen the Ozzy Osborne ad many times while watching sports events/coverage actually.

The biggest issue is there just isn't anything coming to get very excited about that has been announced. Plus there is just such a slew of big normal TV games coming out for the next few months that it's difficult to draw that attention away for a peripheral that doesn't have much in the pipeline yet.

The other contributing factor is the fact that folks are only just now in the last few months able to get a PS5 easily. Asking to then pluck down another $550-600 on top of the $500 PS5 is quite the ask right off the bat.

Personally? I doubt it will be a huge success in any way but time will tell. It might be a bit too early to hit the panic button just yet.

I really hope this isn’t the case. I pre-ordered one for my niece’s birthday, and now I’m worried that this thing will be dead by the time we give it to her near the end of May.

I feel especially guilty because I talked her out of buying a Meta Quest 2 and waiting to see the price of PSVR2. Not long after, the price of the Quest went up. I think it was still a good choice in some ways — it would probably be better to wait for the Quest 3. And we ended up splitting the cost of PSVR2 three ways, between me, my sister, and mom, so the financial impact won’t be too severe.

But I’m having flashbacks of the Vita. Which — to be fair — did last for multiple years after launch, despite Sony ignoring it for most of those years. But if support for the PSVR2 dries up, it will seem like a big waste of money, and not the amazing gift I hoped it would be when my niece opens her birthday present.

@Impossibilium the games are so much better on psvr2 than the quest,once its library builds up it won't even be close!

Not only is this concern trolling clickbait at its finest, it's even clearly the result of that earlier article from Bloomberg based on a so-called "leak" about sales projections that came from a proven liar.

I mean, Car & Driver just published a drooling review of GT7 in PSVR2 that should drive some new sales, too. At the price point — which is substantial but appropriate for the tech — Sony is smart enough to understand that PSVR2 is a marathon that will last, and have new games emerging, for quite awhile. I would also note in passing that the same thing was said about OG PSVR, and new games were getting published for that right up until the new iteration hit the shelves. There are a number of upcoming PSVR2 games that look freaking fire, too.

I think the PSVR2 will stick around for a long while. But I don't think it'll put a dent into PCVR or the Quest, which is understandable since it's not being marketed as a way to sway those users over to it.
It's just that PCVR has so much going for it in the way of releases and mods and the Quest has ease of entry for being standalone and not requiring a PC/PS5.

Sony would be better off to let it be as useful on PC as on console. If they stopped neglecting it's use on PC,the market would be so much more open for it. Especially since it's ahead of competition right now and for that price.

@Wormwood23

Takashi Mochizuki is a proven liar? is the first time hearing of this guy so I don't know of him. However if the sales numbers were decent enough you can bet Sony would be gloating about them so his numbers don't seem so far off.

@Bez87 can't argue with what you've said. Was an early adopter of psvr1 but can no way justify it this time around. Tough at the moment and April is just a horrid month for bill rises

Hopefully the low sales will encourage Sony to patch it for PC usage. Then that would be an excellent deal/value.

Well, the headset did introduce me to VR... until I got bored with the weak line-up of actually worthwhile games, (no, I'm not gonna pay 25€ for fking kayak) sold off the headset and bought a Quest 2 with that money, as my computer is decent enough for VR. Not regretting it at all, the selection of games might not be that much larger but at least there are mods, VRChat etc.

It's mightily unfair to say that there is no PSVR2 first party roadmap. There is no public Sony first party roadmap, period. Apart from Spider-Man and Wolverine, of course.

People need to chill a little bit. It's been a month, for God's sake. This is clearly a soft launch all things considered. And a great launch for the few of us enthusiasts, that's for sure.

The Quest 3 and Apple's headset will surely raise a lot of awareness for VR by the year's end, and that could also help. The next holiday season is what will make or break PSVR2.

Brave opinion piece given the prevalent "Sony can do no wrong" attitude that's often here in the comments.

I say that as someone who loves my PS so extinguish those torches and step away from the pitchforks.

It's going to go the same way as the first headset. Unremarkable sales, mediocre games, largely ignored.

It's far too expensive, too niche and VR isn't anywhere near compelling enough yet.

And I've owned a psvr and occulus quest.

Sorry, just doesn't add anything other than novelty to the gaming experience.

I'd have rather have seen Sony put the effort and expense into a new handheld. A properly supported one. With full cross save capabilities with the PS5.

Handheld on the go and pick up at home with none of the graphical compromises of a docked switch.

PSVR2 is going to be a pale pachyderm.

@Mega-Gazz tell me you haven’t played psvr2 without saying you haven’t played psvr2

@Vacuumator that may have been me (?) from Push Square article "Will You Pay the PSVR2 Launch Price?" (2nd Nov 2022)

"That price is going to come down pretty fast and if it doesn't, PSVR2 will fail and then the price will drop anyway and end up on the rather large pile of other hardware Sony has abandoned. I do wonder if these companies live in the real world. This isn't an instrument/tool for carrying out medical procedures. It's peripheral that doesn't work stand alone or with other hardware but above all, it's a gimmick."

I got some rather passive aggressive comments from that.

VR is amazing. The best experience I have had in gaming in 20 years came from the original psvr. Love you Astrobot.

But

It's too intense, it's too immersive and it's more of an event as you are away from the outside world. We all have responsibilities and kicking back on a sofa with a game on TV is relaxing (most of the time). Once you are locked in to VR, as good as it is, you disconnect from reality and its isolating.

Everyone should try VR, no one has any excuse, especially now you can grab og psvr on the cheap. But it's hard to recommend to people with kids. People with housemates. People. Well people in general unless you live alone.

I at times, genuinely felt part of the gaming worlds I entered. It's truly mesmeric. Anyone saying it's a gimmick is a charlatan. However, VR done correct also alters why we the general public love games. It's not about immersion and being locked away. It's about experiencing a win, a cool level, getting a high score, finishing a boss story. Immersion isn't necessary to enjoy all those things. Immersion has been the media buzzword since last generation, it's cool when you feel part of things. But really being part of things is sharing the gaming experience with a friend online, a partner at home, your kids after school. Not being locked away with a potentially eye sight ruining screen attached to your swede, alone.

And that's why VR won't be a success in any variation.

Sony seems a bit confused. Cross-gen needs to die, if they want more PS5s in households, they need to have more PS5 exclusives to help drive hardware sales.

Then they release an accessory, to the console they don't seem to be pushing very hard, that costs more than the console itself. Of course sales are going to have a bad time. Most average gamers aren't prepared to drop $1k on a console and VR headset, and most PSVR owners aren't going to be too excited about having to rebuy all their PSVR games for the PSVR2.

@ROTTIEMAN16 I hope that’s true! I knew what the specs were beforehand — that’s why I thought it would be the better device.

But the highest hardware specs in the world are meaningless if you don’t have the software. And developers are not going to make games for a device that doesn’t have a large userbase. And Sony are not going to sell headsets if they don’t have compelling first-party exclusives. And Sony has proven in the past — with the way they treated the Vita — that if not enough people buy the extremely expensive equipment within the first year, they will stop supporting it.

That’s what has me worried. All I can do is hope that Sony wakes up and starts really marketing the crap out of it. If they don’t, the headset will just be another dust collector under my niece’s TV.

Until you can reduce the price, add out of the box pc support, boom, more customers.

People went on how the first psvr was a failure, but it had good support and held it's ground. Nobody was expecting to see vr headsets in every living room.

Honestly, this doesn't surprise me one bit. I think the first PSVR was sort of successful because it was A: relatively cheap and accessible as far as VR went, and B: it was on sale during the peak of the VR craze when everyone was interested in checking it out.

By now I think most people who had an interest in VR have checked it out already, and with PSVR2 being as expensive as it is, I think it's only going to appeal to the VR enthusiast market, which is not only a niche market but one where a great deal of the people who are into it will most likely prefer something made for PC.

Then there is people like me, who bought the original PSVR because it was relatively cheap and accessible, that wanted to check out VR, that just really didn't care much for it at all. I wound up hardly using it, and it seemed to give me nausea most of the time. That and I simply didn't like all the VR gear, it's too much to deal with a lot of the time, kind of finicky, and way too isolating for anyone who can't just block out everything around them. That and I simply found it hard to relax while playing VR as well. In the end it's just not for me so I have zero interest in PSVR2.

This is the PSVitaR2

I returned mine. Not for me. I would rather developers focus on PS5 anyways.

@themcnoisy I've always played games explicitly for the immersion since the Atari 2600. Never cared much about scores. I think a lot of people do, it's why big screen tvs sell for film and games.

@Treestar Liam's doing what he's paid to do. Look at the amount of comments on this article when many others have barely a few. The article did what it was intended to do. Whether that's something to celebrate is a different question. But it's not on Liam personally.

When Sony pulled support for multiplayer psvr1 games, just because only several hundred people were playing on the servers (even though the were paying PSN customers), that's when it said to the gamers that Sony Don't Care.
So nothing much has really changed. No support again, so more casual gamers don't invest this time round.
It's never for the gamers.

@NeonPizza
I can barely tolerate "flat" horror games, you expect me to play one in VR? Don't feel like dying early. As for COTM, I did complete it and it was a nice experience... but to pay 680€ for just that, No Man's Sky and Zenith seemed very excessive. Admittedly didn't buy Moss, but I somehow feel I could get them cheaper on PC anyway. Or I could just pay multiple other things for much cheaper than what the VR2 cost.

So, in summary:
It's too expensive.
The hardwares not good enough.
One month on the conclusion is there won't be enough support for it.
Should be made PC compatible, Sony should subsidise the PC VR market.
Sony haven't invested in it enough.
Sony invested too much, should have created another handheld.
VR is dead.
VR is not dead.
Not worth buying until there's more software.
Some people don't like VR and therefore don't see why anyone else should.
Some people can't afford VR and therefore think it shouldn't exist .
Informed debate is dead.

Have I missed anything?

Just did a PSVR2 search on Google. Once again clickbait doom and gloom articles are right up there. Congrats!

This article needs an editing job badly.

VR will never be a massive success until someone solves motion/immersion sickness, and that may not even be possible.

Seems odd to compare the ps5 launch to psvr2. One is the new seminal console that will last a decade, the other is an Uber expensive fringe peripheral that makes a decent percentage of the population sick.

I think it’s a bit premature to call it a failure already.

I say always give a platform a year. At the one year mark you have enough data available to determine whether it’s on a permanent downhill trajectory (Wii U and Vita) or if a bad launch can be recovered (PS3).

Look, it's been what, a month since launch? To declare PSVR2 a failure after such a small sample size is jumping the gun.

Now, I do believe that one major thing Sony should do to boost sales numbers is to make it more visible to the public; sorry, but limiting it strictly to their own webstore is a recipe for failure. They need to get units to retailers, along with kiosks at stores like Best Buy and GameStop for people to be able to experience the headset and games in person, because let's face it, YouTube trailers on your smartphone just don't cut it.

Another key issue, as with any piece of gaming hardware, is the GAMES. Sony needs to do whatever it takes to strengthen the PSVR2's library going forward. Get the Beat Sabers, the Half Life: Alyxes, every system seller they can signed on for it. And beyond that, shore up its overall functionality; if 3D movies or sporting events could be done on the PSVR, then absolutely make them happen on PSVR2; it makes zero sense to have reduced functionality on their "superior" headset.

For anyone who hasn't tried the PSVR2 or VR, it truly is a remarkable experience. I was personally wowed when I first tried Kayak VR Mirage and Gran Turismo 5 PSVR2; the potential is absolutely there for it to succeed (although I certainly understand some folks' concerns regarding the current price point). But its success ultimately rides on how Sony chooses to market it as well as how much effort goes into games and app support. They can't afford to handle this thing like they did the first two COVID-impeded years of the PS5, where most of the public doesn't even know where to buy one. If it fails, one thing is certain: it's all on Sony.

Games. It's all about Games. Everything so far has seemed like a proof of concept. Unless you get big studios pumping out serious AAA titles, it may not die quickly, but it will just wither on the vine. I just don't foresee that amount of R&D going into this niche of a product. That's not saying it's a bad product, just not going to be mainstream until maybe this becomes an at launch in box peripheral one day. I hope they prove me wrong, I just don't see it... yet.

@AtlanteanMan Don't disagree with your main point. It's GAMES and I don't think there'll be enough continued production of great games to make this a success. It's as niche as 3D and will be for a while. VR has to become as user accessible as a phone, a handheld, laptop, or tablet, and it just isn't there yet. I don't doubt it will be someday, just not any day soon.

This strikes me as a “the sky is falling!” kind of article. I don’t get it.

Personally, I think it’s about managing expectations. The PS5 has only just now become readily available for a lot of folks. It’s a lot harder for them to pull the trigger on a PSVR2 than it is someone like me, who’s had the system since launch.

I think anyone who was expecting this to be some kind of crazy huge launch were deluded in thinking so.

Personally, I’ve played nothing but PSVR2 since it launched. It’s a blast. I have like a dozen games to play that I like and a lot of them weren’t even on this site’s “best of” list, so I have plenty to keep me busy.

I can’t think of a single positive thing that this article accomplishes. If you want this peripheral to succeed, helping convince folks on the fence about it that it’s some kind of disaster certainly isn’t to going to help.

@NeonPizza Wireless and extremely portable is when VR will ever takeoff in any meaningful capacity. It should be as easy to play as as a smart phone or most of the popular portables, easy to put down, and have the same type of library. Unfortunately, like any product, success is going to breed success and failure the opposite. I don't know if the PSVR2 is going to be a failure per se, but calling it a success is probably going to be a stretch. VR is currently transitioning from landline mode to portable brick phone mode, without the necessity a phone has. This isn't just a PSVR2 issue, it's VR in general. VR will be a "must-have" success one day, just when that will be, nobody knows.

I'm still baffled as to how poorly marketed this was compared to the girst PSVR. Hell, PSVR1 even got the attention of chinese developers, which were all the rage for Sony asia back in 2016. But as years went on and with PSVR2 already on the horizon, I've barely seen any chinese game coming to the new platform. Not even ports atleast. I'm convinced the hype for the vr machine went down as time went by, but that's just me.

Also, lack of backward compatibility. The fact that previous psvr games need to be ported to PSVR2 instead of simply just playing them on it like with the ps5 is a huge downside. Not to mention not all of the psvr games will get ported. Highly doubt games like loading human, mini mech mayhem or dying reborn will get ported to VR2 at all, so don't hold your breat on playing them on a newer hardware.

@tselliot I feel like by the time VR would maybe become a "must have" accessory, the entire content would have been replaced by something like advanced AR.

After reading the article and the comments I get the impression that people expect hundreds of games in just a few months from the launch. Also we as humans are not patient enough, we want to know all. Sony invested tome and money and I don't think they will back down so easily. Also don't forget that E3 is no more, not because games are not made, but because no one wants to announce them. The industry is changing in this regard. I think that in 2 -3 years people will say PSVR 2 is a good accessory to buy with a good number if games.
Still Sony we wait for Youtube VR or something similar for PSVR 2, only thing I miss from this headset.

I dont care much about VR in general. I got the first one with a crazy deal from a friend. Enjoyed it for sure.
The main problem is locomotion, and unless you got a setup like in ready player one, i dont see how it can replace standard gaming setups. Right now, it still feels like those carnival/arcade gimmick machines.

Chill bro, give it a year, at least. lmao

It's just way too expensive and there are too many competitors out there, some with even larger libraries to choose from.

@Feena Exactly.. Thank you.

It needs to be in retailers and not a PlayStation direct exclusive. That has seriously affected sales. People need to see it in shops, when they go to Amazon. If you don’t see it everywhere you won’t have people wanting to buy it. I’m waiting for it to come to other retailers as I have vouchers to use. I’m disappointed in Sony in how they’ve handled the release.

And they need to open it up to PC as well

@Samholy What about the locomotion killed the experience for you with vr1?

@tselliot The idea that portable is the only route to success is kind of like saying PS5 is obsolete without switch's form factor. It's a different product for a different customer. And, Oculus already occupies that market. On one hand the argument is small casual games on low power concenient hardware is the future. On the other we have "not enough 4k aaa games." I don't think either market will be satisfied by the other.

The problem I see for psvr2 though, business wise, is the modern economy. A piece of retail wisdom is that being in the middle is now doomed. Stores like dollar stores targeting the bottom market are fine because the bottom market is huge. Gucci is fine at the high end because rich people won't even think twice about paying 800% margin. The mid tier is doomed because the poor can't afford it and the rich won't downgrade to it, and the middle barely exists and needs high value. Psvr2 targets the middle. There's quest and Google cardboard on one side and $5500 pc rigs on the other. It's the right product for me, but I fear I'm just not a viable market.

Whoever didn't see this happening, even before launch, must of had their eyes and ears closed. It was about as obvious as it gets. They won't release it on PC, as they are loosing money on the HMD and make it up with software sales. Making it work on PC means they wouldn't make that money back, so it won't happen

I would say that it really depends on the games being released for it from here on out.

Many reviewers have pointed out that the tech is very good and the comfort is great but that the headset expensive and has a weak launch line-up of games. And as a PSVR2 owner I would have to agree with that.

It's really very similar criticism that we saw with the 3DS when it was first launched.

But in the case of the 3DS, Nintendo were able to turn it around with more games and a decent price drop.

I don't think it will be as easy for the PSVR2 due to the fact that it's VR, It's just not as popular as traditional gaming.

But we'll see, I doubt Sony will just sit on their asses and do nothing while sales are continuing to decline.

WTF is this article even about? The ***** thing JUST launched? How shortsighted. Got me to comment though, which was probably the ultimate goal. Well played.

@TrickyDicky99 Maybe by concentrating on their core audience and not releasing their games on PC?

It's not like they're legally obliged to carry on doing so.

It's all pie in the sky talk anyway as Sony has surrendered the handheld stage to Nintendo which, for me, is a bloody shame.

Quite simply, it needs to be sold in the places people usually buy things. I’ve got one and I’ve enjoyed it. However, by not allowing Amazon to sell it (for example) is cutting a lot of people out. People may buy it if they could use their six month payment plan etc. But I also think that if Sony does reduce it, then they need to offer the same discount back somehow to those early adopters. I am sure they would.

I also think the name choice was poor - PSVR2 sounds similar to the Wii U. Would have been better to just call it PS5 Virtual Reality experience. Something disconnecting it from the other one, which it also looks similar to!

The Xbox series x is doomed compared to PS5 given the sales increase and game outlook, let alone to PS5 VR.

Completely disagree with this view of psvr2. Sure it's a lot of money but playing GT7, Village or the totally excellent Pistol Whip justifies the price. I can't explain how blown away I am with the accuracy of pistol whip, John Wick style totally rocks on psvr2. The future is bright!

This article is extremely premature.
I’ve bought the PSVR2 (my first VR experience) and it’s great fun.
Do I want to play it after a hard days work? No
I’d rather relax and game on the sofa.
But with for someone with no VR experience it’s got a great game base to start off with.
We can’t expect everything to be announced right now.
Give it time and if by Xmas we’re in the same position then maybe start to worry.
I think they'll be announcements in the summer games shows personally or state of plays

@Rob_230 "by front loading so many titles for launch"

Your comment kinda made me realize that there's a point to spreading out titles to frustrate the audience; the resultant anticipation is a momentum generator. I suppose it's generally a positive to keep the beast hungry, and serve him another platter JUST in time before he starves to death.

Six months time it'll be one of those things that sit in the corner of the room or a cupboard somewhere, you know, like food processors, weights, sandwich toasters.

Nothing wrong with any of them per se, they all seem like good ideas at the time.

Half Life Alyx needs to join the lineup already. Oh and if they can release the VR mode of The Forest for PSVR2 that would be great too.

I find it weird to compare a headset launch with a console launch in terms of sales and lineup (at least I have the impression that is what is kind of done in the article). Yes, psvr2 is more expensive than the ps5, but VR will still remain a niche market. If psvr2 sells better than psvr1 e.g. 10M lifetime sales. That would already be an achievement.

Since the VR market will remain relatively small, one cannot expect as much budget for psvr2 titles as for the ps5 titles. The best one can hope for are indie titles similar to the psvr1 catalogue and more AAA ps5 titles which also provide a VR mode. I think it is illusionary to expect more vr only titles like call of the mountain or even bigger ones. But who knows maybe the new unreal or unity tools allow for such titles even within a relatively small budget.

Concerning announced titles: there are also very few playstation titles announced for ps5. Why would you expect that bigger hitters are announced for psvr2 than for ps5 ?

Anyway, I hope PSVR2 will be a success. I think like always success will depend on the catalogue. The hardware is good enough, there are good demonstrators. Now, developers have to follow suite. I could imagine that it takes a bit longer than everybody is hoping, because AAA game development takes longer and longer it seems, and it will take some time until bigger developers jump on the VR wagon.

I enjoy VR much more than playing flat games. So if VR dies off I might stop playing games. Also, when ever I was playing a VR game, I was thinking that it would be so much better in VR (even if it is the exact same dual sense game in third person. I guess a lot of people will disagree, but personally, I preferred to play in VR pretty much every single dreams game which allowed to be played in VR, even if it was a bit janky).

PSVR2 = Kinect 2 of Sony.

I was going to say PS Vita but then I remembered that the good old Vita was actually supported by Sony for the first 18 months or so.

things be too expensive nowadays man , make psvr2 cheap and it’ll sell and be a vibe

VR is super niche anyway so I don't think you can call any of them a 'failure'.

Sony made a decent kit but I'm still waiting on something better if I ever buy into VR. PS5 isn't powerful enough to push it. Open it up to PC and maybe but even still; VR is niche at best. It will need glasses size/weight devices running much much faster/higher res if it ever becomes mainstream. Bulky headsets just won't cut it.

Maybe if Sony can get HL:Alex on the thing (hah; I guess Gabe really still hates Sony) or some other big VR game then it would sell more but the price is also just out of the scope. 500 for the console and another 500 for glasses? That's a big ask. You're almost into a class of PC that would blow away these toys.

I have yet to see or experience anything that would change my own lukewarm perception of the technology itself. At the end of the day, VR is what you see in fiction like .hack, SAO and BoFuri, not anything this side of the screen yet. Headmounted camera controllers with mini screens perched on your nose can ultimately struggle to live up to the lofty promise of sensory immersion in an interactive fictionverse, and mental/emotional immersion is routinely achieved without paying through the nose for such peripherals.

@Microbius I was looking at that myself, nice specs at an initial glance and an incremental improvement on the Quest 2. Good price too.
I like the lenses Display resolution is good but you need to be tethered to a decent spec PC to benefit from it, so not having one put me off a bit.
Software library wise it's basically the Quest 2 library. Extensive but mediocre quality. Reviews also quite subdued
For me PSVR2 was the better fit. Easy for everyone in the household to use, great controller haptics and beautiful, if slightly flawed, display. Library will keep growing and best of the Quest games will get improved ports.

It's good to have options, though and the more VR owners the better!

One wire… if it was wireless, I think they would’ve done much better!

@sword_9mm I hear a lot of folks talk about HL Alyx but I'm not convinced releasing it on PSVR2 would make the blindest bit of difference in the long run. It's actually quite sad a three year old game is the poster boy for VR when you think about it. It's not going to mean anything to anyone who's not been a PC VR gamer.
And you're still not going to get a decent PC VR experience for £1000 if you're starting from scratch. £1500, maybe, and you still have a wired experience and one you can't realistically share amongst the family.

@zeppray57 Not from reading the views expressed on this thread. It would have cost even more. To do much better it would seem we need a wireless headset, with PC compatibility, backward compatibility with PSVR1, pancake lenses, an instant increase in software and cost £300.

Tough crowd!

Is it fantastic when you use it? Yes. Does it make games better? Yes. Is this a console release? No. So why is it being compared to console releases? Is it expensive? Only if you can’t afford it. Does it have a lot of people who fervently want it to fail? Yes, very much so, what with the rival console fanboys who don’t have VR and the aforementioned people who can’t afford it, you have a mob of people who strongly desire it to fail. What does Sony need to do? Invest in more mainstream games and market them effectively, I’m thinking Spiderman, Returnal, the Last of Us, Uncharted…heck throw Killzone in there as well. However, let’s remember something very important here…it’s been two fricking months! There are 50 odd games on the store. Who are these people who have played all these games in two months and need more games???? Once again, this is what happens when you listen to people who want it to fail.

It'd be nice if I could actually buy it here in India. While the PS5 was officially launched, the PSVR 2 hasn't been yet. Regardless, I think the decision not to port over PSVR 1 games is a huge mistake. I know..."technical reasons"... but given the slim launch line-up, why not at least bother to port over at least some of the PSVR 1's best sellers? I was so looking forward to playing so many of them at higher resolutions, quick loading, and having an actual analog stick to move about.

@ArcticSin spot on Arctic. If they made it compatible with PC they’d get a giant slice of pie real quick.

@SJBUK I can agree with that!

"There's an incredibly stark difference when you compare the leadup to the release of the PS5 to its more expensive peripheral PSVR2. Well before launch, we knew Sony's first-party studios would have titles like Demon's Souls and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales ready for day one, while Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Returnal waited in the wings."

That just about covers every first party PS5 exclusive so far, 2+ years later. Not a very good example.

You're right about the marketing though. Seems like Sony didn't want to advertise it at all.

What a hugely disappointing article - I really didn’t expect this site to jump on the “let’s kick psvr2 when it’s only just flipping launched” bandwagon.
I’ve unsubscribed from the YouTube channel in protest!!

For me the lack of backwards compatibility or upgrade programs in addition to the high price really stung.
Resident Evil Village VR and GT7 might be real draws for me but like most I wanted (and still want) to see Half Life Alyx on the platform.

Games like REV and GT7 are probably the way forward for PSVR 2 as those games are already made for regular play and therefore would be cheaper to adapt to VR than create new games from scratch.

I hope we see Insomniac do something with it as Wolverine VR and Resistance or Spiderman VR games would be stunning.
Same goes for Naughty Dog, I know they're 'done' with Uncharted but an Uncharted themed game in the vein of Blood and Truth would be amazing.

Speaking which BaT with some graphical upgrades would be fantastic, as would Astro Bot.

As a new owner of VR with this device and not at all a Sony apologist, I think it's an overreaction. I believe Sony always intended for this to be a soft launch, as it was barely advertised. It does have a decent supply currently, but it's nothing different. Most of it is available elsewhere, despite being good. I'm not sure what their plan is but it's not very evident. I'm pretty content with Synth Riders, Pistol Whip, Saints and Sinners, and No Man's Sky, but I have basically nothing big to look forward to. That's a real failing of Sony but also something I'm fairly used to. I hope we get a State of Play to really speak directly to PSVR 2 adopters and give us something to look forward to

I never understood the cost complaint. If you have a VR headset, even if it's standalone, in order for it to run well, it needs a PC anyways. That's more expensive than a PS5. And the PSVR2 already outperforms basically everything else on the market. It won't be mass market. It's just not feasible. However, VR is really the only "new" thing being done in games these days. It's one of the only things that can be exciting and hope Sony can continue to push for it.

@NEStalgia I think it's just going to have to be casual to work. Again, I hope I'm wrong. I'm not a married to any technology and will play anything with a good game. PlayStation is different because you know this iteration and the next are going to have massive R&D for development. Guess time will tell, like anything else, I just don't see VR being successful until there's at least one in every 3 out of 5 households. Maybe mainstream is more the definition I'm thinking of. How many AAA production companies are actually working on a new VR game, how many of those are working on a new PSVR2 game?

@tselliot I think that's just two different markets really. More people watch boxing on TV casually then will ever wear gloves and get punched in the face... But the companies making the ring ropes and the gloves are doing just fine for their smaller market than TV manufacturers. VR will never be as big as console which will never be as big as mobile. But whether that's a problem or not depends on what the companies expect and budget for. VR isn't really any smaller than consoles were in the SNES era, it's just were used to gaming being a much bigger maket now than it was then.

But yeah I think you're thinking mainstream. 60% of households? That's a lot. VR gaming won't have that kind of penetration, but I don't think it needs it. It needs to do better than it is, but, there's enough potential customers to make it a solid market.

Again think maybe racing parts. There's not that many people souping up their Honda civics, but those spoiler and muffler mfrs do ok! It'll never look like the standard parts market though, ever.

I don’t get much time to play these days but I have psvr2 and have read that it gives the equivalent of higher end pcvr. The convenience of it is great. For me the Horizon intro was one of those game changing moments like Starfox, Mario 64, GTA3 and whichever pro evo had the new ball control. And GT7 is another level. Wish I wasn’t too scared to play RE. So I’m very glad it has been released. Given the price, which is needed because of the tech, but trades off against the size of audience, I don’t think they will release lots of AAA games but as long as there are a few and great indies I’m very happy. If they had released a lower quality, cheaper headset people would have complained it’s not next-gen.

I think PSVR2 needs:
-PSVR1 backwards compatibility
-A price drop to around £350
-More high end PCVR ports, rather than lots of upgraded Quest ports
-A wireless dongle and battery

Ah, the power of words spoken by the almighty analyst: “…270,000 units…PSVR2 will fail…!” The analyst knows all!

The analysts has spoken so it is irrelevant that the original PSVR only sold around 228,000 in the first month (averaged from the reported 915,000 sold in the first four months) even though it launched later in the console’s lifecycle (2y 11m vs 2y 3m for PSVR2 launch), into larger install base, with a lower retail price during a better economic climate.

Sure, all of those facts may be completely irrelevant but should data analysis like this be done in a vacuum?

Also, a word on analysts and data: analysts find and write the story told by the data. The data can hold a multitude of stories but generally the analyst only writes the story that meets a particular need or goal. The problem is, the audience only reads this one story and is rarely aware of the need/goal that motivated the analyst to write it. To complicate the matter, data is a premium commodity: audience members do not usually have access to the resources needed to discover their own version of the story.

The analyst has had many titles throughout history: oracle, soothsayer, prognosticator, fortune teller, seer, prophet, diviner, astrologist. Almost certainly, the only thing that differentiates between them is the technology used to gather and store the data. History also shows us what can happen when people put too much faith in these “analysts.”

I only hope that big name companies stop placing emphasis on virtual reality. It seems to work best in socially and community driven environments, for simulations and education, medicine, research, etc. I don't think VR is all that good for games, and in general I don't think it's going to be a success (this includes all iterations of VR). It works on PC because you can employ it in a number of situations, like development and simulators. On console, I think it's always destined to fail.

@NeonPizza I’m definitely rooting for it, or any VR device, to become mainstream. Mainstream means more AAA games, more support. I hope I’m wrong, and just like 3D, I love the concept but you got to get your Aunt and second cousin to love it, as well. If not this will remain a niche, but awesome, proof of concept.

@NeonPizza LOL. I still jump out of my skin when NMS egg sac creature things pop out of the ground, and it's not even meant as a jump scare, I'm just jumpy

However "Guillmero Del Toro/Disney" is a crossover I never quite concocted in my head lol.

IDK, maybe I'll cave. I know the game is NOT for me though....yet, you really talk it and make it tempting. Maybe next time it's half price or less I'll cave Though TBH, even if PSVR2 becomes nothing but an NMS machine it was worth the price, because that's just addictive in VR. I started in on Moss Book 2 but haven't played too far into it yet. I finished Moss 1 first (funny I was at the end back in PSVR1 and never knew it, so I played the whole thing again.) Star tenders is fun, Light Brigade is just awesome. They still haven't released the foveated rendering patch. It looks good as is, but it's still going to be improved, they're working on it. They released it for Quest Pro but not VR2 yet. The graphics are simple but the GAME is so good.

I really like Cosmonious too. I think the actual game is a step ahead of the prior Owlchemy games. I haven't finished it yet, but I've really enjoyed what I've played.

Star Wars IMO is way better than reviews give credit for, it's a really sound shooter, really atmospheric. And in terms of utilzing OLED blacks, one of the "hidden" missions in the Jedi Temple is 5 minutes of the kind of joy you're getting from RE8. It's not the newest game but I absolutely enjoyed that, visually, and mechanically. Holding L1/R1 all the time kind of sucks, but I got used to it. it's better when you can buy the shoulder holsters.

Garden of the Sea was disappointing, personally. Last Clockwinder I really like, though I haven't played it recently, as the puzzles got more complicated with a lot of throwing a lot of things I kind of zoned out, but I should do it again!

One game I'm really hyped for is Firmament. I think it's still slated for 2023. Pretty much the spiritual sequel to Riven, except in VR! (Made by the same people. Minus Rand Miller who left a long time ago.)

BTW, it may not be enough for you with your high sensitivity to it, but even though it wasn't in the patch notes I'm pretty sure they fixed at least some of what was "off" about Horizon's graphics! I'm using smooth turning and kind of speed running levels to try to find all the beacons and collectables I missed and that "weird" sensation I used to experience with it seems to be gone. I think it was a "glare shader" of some sort and I think they may have removed that. Everything seems sharper/clearer where that weird glare would cause a holographic effect before. Areas without sun reflection always seemed better than those with, and now the areas with seem much more "solid" in appearance. IDK if it'll ever really work for you but it might be a good time to give it a try again.

GT7 may have made a similar improvement in that latest patch. Distant cars are still soft, but everything just feels a bit more "solid" now.

The current poor sales and chatter which has fallen off a cliff speak for themselves. As it stands it's been a failure. Either a price drop or showcase promoting upcoming games is needed. Will it happen 🤔