Over two years after launch, the PlayStation VR2 is getting a price cut: starting in March, the VR headset will permanently retail for $399.99 in North America, €449.99 in Europe, £399.99 in the UK, and ¥66,980 (or $447.19) in Japan.
This is the first sale for the peripheral, which was originally $550 when it launched in February 2023. Sony has bragged about it outselling the original PlayStation VR, but there were reports not long after release claiming the console maker halted production until it sold more of its initial stock.
Price cuts for PlayStation hardware has been somewhat infrequent and short-lived this console generation. Typically, prices have been raised—an initial response to a component shortage that reverberated across several territories, including Japan—or the hardware, like the PlayStation 5 Pro, came out with a steep price tag.
At launch, the PSVR2 had around 20 games, several of which were ports of pre-existing titles like Resident Evil Village or No Man’s Sky. Pre-release, Sony revealed the headset was not backwards compatible with the original PlayStation VR’s library.
Last year, Sony added PC support for the PSVR2 through a wired adapter, which made it viable to any curious parties. As of its latest financial report from mid-February, Sony hasn’t disclosed specific sales milestones for the device.
What’s next for VR games?
The upcoming price slash for the PSVR2 comes as the game industry’s VR sector has taken several recent blows. Recent months have seen reductions or closures at several VR-focused developers, from XR Games to Toast Interactive.
Other times, developers like FuturLab have pulled back their support for the VR versions of their games. Last year, Meta simultaneously released a new version of its Quest 3 headset while discontinuing three older devices: the Quest 2, Quest Pro, and an earlier iteration of the original Quest 3.
A late 2024 survey revealed 56 percent of developers think the VR game market is in either active decline or stagnation. With the PSVR2 now at a lower price, perhaps it can help renew interest in the medium.