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元宇宙“虚火”烧尽 索尼(SONY.US)PSVR2头显恐迎惨淡销量

The metaverse “false fire” burnt out Sony (SONY.US) PSVR 2 headsets feared disastrous sales

Zhitong Finance ·  Mar 30, 2023 15:01

The Zhitong Finance App learned that some research institutes expect that the PlayStation VR2 headsets owned by Sony Group (SONY.US) will sell less than 300,000 units in the first few weeks after launch, and this is a very slow start for the company's vision of playing a leading role in metaverse development. Now, after the advent of ChatGPT, the generative AI craze that has taken the world by storm has caused the hugely popular metaverse to appear “out of date”. The “false fire” of the metaverse can be described as gradually burning out, and the market has returned to rationality.

According to forecast data from IDC, a well-known research institute, the Tokyo-based game console manufacturer is expected to sell about 270,000 PSVR 2 units from sale on February 22 to the end of March. Some media reported last year that Sony had set a high target of about 2 million units for the PSVR 2 release window. A Sony spokesperson declined to comment.

This head-mounted VR headset is a fundamental part of Sony's strategy to build a metaverse. In this strategy, people can do far more than just play video games. Sony's president and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida has made the metaverse a pillar of Sony's growth, just as Meta has done, and the company's in-house game studio has been developing games tailored for VR headsets to help this new headset launch quickly, but it hasn't been fully realized yet.

The conceptual 3D virtual environment led by Meta Platforms (META.US) CEO Mark Zuckerberg has yet to pay off. Meta has invested heavily in hardware and software in the metaverse industry, but has not received substantial returns. Meta has taken control of the huge expenses of its metaverse division Reality Labs through layoffs and cuts on non-essential project expenses.

Francisco Jeronimo, IDC's vice president of data and analytics, said: “Consumers around the world are facing issues such as rising cost of living, rising interest rates, and rising unemployment.” “In the current economic environment, VR headsets don't seem to be the topic most consumers are most concerned about.”

Sony Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki recently said at a conference at Morgan Stanley that Sony has reason to believe that during the PSVR 2 launch period, the sales volume of headsets will exceed PlayStation VR sales of about 5 million. Comparable performance with previous devices doesn't make the current device a success, as Meta's more accessible and affordable Quest has sold more than 20 million units so far, according to a report this month.

“PSVR 2 requires a PlayStation 5 console to play. It costs $549. As the economic situation worsens, this price only becomes more expensive,” Jeronimo said. “Meta has announced a price reduction for the Quest 2, which will also affect Sony's sales data for this device.” “I doubt PSVR 2 needs to be reduced in price to avoid a complete disaster with their new product,” Jeronimo said.

Consumer acceptance of PSVR 2 has been low, indicating that metaverse product vendors, including Meta, are facing greater challenges. Over the past year, the hype surrounding metaverse products has gradually disappeared, as tech companies cut huge spending on projects that are not immediately profitable, and as some tech industry companies, such as gaming hardware providers, get into trouble during the Fed's aggressive interest rate hike cycle, support from some tech industries has largely disappeared.

Zuckerberg said Meta will cut the size of its investments as part of an “efficient year.” According to reports, the Walt Disney Company (DIS.US) cut the size of the division developing the metaverse strategy this week as part of a broader business restructuring.

The translation is provided by third-party software.


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