Sony's virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 5, the PlayStation VR2, is a beautiful device, but it has a few drawbacks. It only works on this system, there aren't many great VR games on it, and it's just as expensive as the base console. As sales declined, Sony temporarily halted production to prevent warehouses from becoming clogged with unsold inventory.
The report from Bloomberg The company cites IDC's delivery figures and “sources familiar with the plan” as the main evidence for this. While Sony may not outright say it's doing exactly that, the number of PSVR2 devices shipped per quarter pales in comparison to the number pushed by Meta. Its current favorite, the Quest 3, is just as expensive, but the Quest 2 is half the price of the PSVR2 and is an excellent budget VR headset.
However, the most important information behind the report for me is the fact that Sony has already stated that it wants to offer PC support for the PSVR2. The tech giant has taken a particular interest in the low-end PC lately, porting a number of games, with many more to come.
Hopefully Sony will work with Valve to make the PSVR2 work properly with all VR content on that platform. However, given that it took quite a while for Dualsense controller support to be fully implemented on PC, it may take some time before everything becomes clear. But that's okay, because all Sony really needs to do is just get the ball rolling, and then of course the modding crew will take over to fix any bugs.
The important question at this point is whether Sony's headset is worth buying instead of the Meta. Right now the PlayStation is VR2 $549 at Amazonwhile the Quest 3 costs $499. Not only is the latter cheaper, it's also completely wireless and if you have a great Wi-Fi 6E router, you can easily enjoy your Steam VR games without any lag.
However, the PSVR2 requires a cable and the headset itself is bulkier than the Meta Quest 3. The saving grace is the hand controllers, which have haptic feedback and adaptive triggers and feel much more comfortable than the included Metaquest 3.
Given that VR gaming on PC is a relatively niche affair, which headset is worth buying will depend on your personal preferences. Personally, I'd get the Quest 3 because wired VR experiences aren't nearly as fun as fully wireless ones, even though I really like Sony's controllers.
Once PC support is available for the PlayStation VR2 headset, we'll be sure to let you know how well all of your favorite PC VR games work on it. But until then, be sure of one thing: don't expect Sony to cut the price of the PSVR2 at all to move inventory.
As long as enough PC gamers buy the headset to increase shipments by, say, a few hundred thousand, the bean counters won't be too worried about all the pretty white boxes stacked high, like in the final scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
