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PlayStation VR2 launches on February 22nd, 2023 | $549,99 / €599,99 / £529,99 / ¥74.980

VR is inherently limited by its socially isolating nature. Games are things that most people want to share and experience together (yes, even single player games), so the idea of blocking yourself out from the world and people around you is inherently unappealing to most people.

AR is the future of wearable tech, not VR.
 
VR is inherently limited by its socially isolating nature. Games are things that most people want to share and experience together (yes, even single player games), so the idea of blocking yourself out from the world and people around you is inherently unappealing to most people.

AR is the future of wearable tech, not VR.
And yet regular video games have been called "isolating" for decades. It's just on a different tier for VR.

There's many isolating hobbies, I wouldn't agree that it is what holds VR mainstream success back. Again: If the software was there, people would flock to it.
 
If the Meta Quest 2 can sell as many units as the Xbox Series,

Quest 2 is somewhere like 10-15M sold. Nowhere close to the 45-55M XBS will likely sell.

VR is inherently limited by its socially isolating nature. Games are things that most people want to share and experience together (yes, even single player games), so the idea of blocking yourself out from the world and people around you is inherently unappealing to most people.

AR is the future of wearable tech, not VR.

The most popular, and most played games are online multiplayer games. VR makes things online even more sociable.
 


I think even a "must-play" experience isn't enough to make VR mainstream. Being wireless, smaller, and less prone to inducing motion sickness are prerequisites for even just the potential to be a success.

We're getting closer but we're not quite there yet.



I think the way forward in a mainstream sense is closer to this; mixed AR/VR, wearable, self contained, intuitive and multipurpose.

As a gaming device for it to succeed it'll need to be the primary platform; a wired console subplatform loaded with recycled indies and a couple farmed out 1st party spinoffs won't do anything and frankly feels antiquated (and it should, this is second time in a row we've seen it). It won't need just a killer app, it'll need all of them and from everyone.
 
Speaking about VR. Meta Quest has sold nearly 20.000.000 units:

With regards to the VR roadmap, employees were told that Meta's flagship Quest 3 headset coming later this year will be two times thinner, at least twice as powerful, and cost slightly more than the $400 Quest 2. Like the recently announced Quest Pro, it will prominently feature mixed reality experiences that don't fully immerse the wearer, thanks to front-facing cameras that pass through video of the real world. Meta has sold nearly 20 million Quest headsets to date, Mark Rabkin, the company's vice president for VR, told employees during the presentation.
 
Quest 2 is somewhere like 10-15M sold. Nowhere close to the 45-55M XBS will likely sell.



The most popular, and most played games are online multiplayer games. VR makes things online even more sociable.
Quest has nearly sold 20m units. XBS is at 18.5m units. Both launched fall 2020. Same sales velocity. Now imagine a PlayStation Quest headset with much more robust 1st and 3rd party support.


Speaking about VR. Meta Quest has sold nearly 20.000.000 units:
 
Quest launched in May 2019, it's nearly four years now that's it's taken to get to 20m. That's about as well as the Gamecube.
 
Quest launched in May 2019, it's nearly four years now that's it's taken to get to 20m. That's about as well as the Gamecube.
These numbers are for Quest 2, which launched in fall 2020, a few weeks away from XBS launch. It's selling as fast as the XBS. It's very impressive.
 
These numbers are for Quest 2, which launched in fall 2020, a few weeks away from XBS launch. It's selling as fast as the XBS. It's very impressive.
It's all headsets according to the article you linked.

"Meta has sold nearly 20 million Quest headsets to date, Mark Rabkin, the company’s vice president for VR, told employees during the presentation."
 
Can't find the presentation, but yeah The Verge quotes it as Quest headsets. Though its pretty much all Quest 2, guessing 18M.

Quest 1 sold est. <1M and lasted 1 year and the Quest Pro does not seem to have done well at all. I think that's the entire Quest lineup (1,2,Pro).
 
Quest 1 is likely over 1m but maybe not by much. It did 430k Q4 2019 and was pretty much sold out most of the time.
 

Quest 3 supposedly will cost only slightly more than Quest 2, so that basically rules out Eye Tracking. Real bummer as it means the Quest 3 is less a nextgen-VR headset and more like a comfort-upgrade to the Quest 2.
 

Quest 3 supposedly will cost only slightly more than Quest 2, so that basically rules out Eye Tracking. Real bummer as it means the Quest 3 is less a nextgen-VR headset and more like a comfort-upgrade to the Quest 2.
There are leaked schematics with and without eye tracking, wouldn't rule it out until it's officially announced. Plus I'm not sure exactly what they'd cut from that cheaper 2024 model if not for things like eye tracking.
 
The biggest missed opportunity has been Meta focusing on the nonsense Metaverse and not just setting up studios for VR games.
Agreed, however I think if they reveal GTA San Andreas VR to be a launch title for Quest 3, that could be pretty huge.
 
Related to this they have announced a $70 price cut for the 256GB Quest 2, down to $429, and a massive $500 off the Quest Pro which is now 'only' $999. Seems as though the higher prices were not working out for them.
 
Agreed, however I think if they reveal GTA San Andreas VR to be a launch title for Quest 3, that could be pretty huge.
I doubt it. This is an entirely different demographic (very young) - AAA immersive experiences are not what is making it - it’s social games primarily that succeed on the platform.
 
Quest 2 is somewhere like 10-15M sold. Nowhere close to the 45-55M XBS will likely sell.



The most popular, and most played games are online multiplayer games. VR makes things online even more sociable.
We just had leaks that Quest2 sold 20M+ and you can read on many sites that it sold better than XBS. But sadly no hard data.

People who use VR Chat and online multiplayer games tend to spend a lot of time in VR. So such games are high up in the activity charts. But most people play single player games.
 
We just had leaks that Quest2 sold 20M+ and you can read on many sites that it sold better than XBS. But sadly no hard data.

People who use VR Chat and online multiplayer games tend to spend a lot of time in VR. So such games are high up in the activity charts. But most people play single player games.
Officially the entire Quest line passed 20m this year.
 


Doesn’t sound like a good launch. Link to article.

While that doesn't sound great, Mochizuku is still using the two million figure that has never been verified and would honestly be absurd for Sony to have ever anticipated. Sony spent almost nothing on advertising the system, so I doubt their expectations were ever that high.
 
With the current price it's hardly surprising.

Hopefully in a few years, with a more interesting catalog of games and a significantly cheaper price, it becomes a more enticing product.
 
I wonder how long until they stop selling it all together? Maybe they'll just make it only available on order from them directly.
 
For comparison's sake, PSVR sold 915K by mid-Feb 2017, about 4 months after launch.

If that IDC figure of 270K is accurate, then it means PSVR2 is probably selling at 50-60% of the rate of its predecessor.
 


Doesn’t sound like a good launch. Link to article.

I was about to write something, but then remembered that I just have to quote myself. The following still rings true imo:


Tl;dr: Now was the worst time to launch a new VR-decide, especially for a console manufacturer who natural is more static in terms of hardware. Other manufacturers can just move on to the next better version that fixes any current shortcoming, but Sony is now stuck with PSVR2 for the foreseeable future. With Apple being days from revealing their VR-solution (based on recent rumors), Valve's Deckard probably waiting in the dark to make huge splace like they did with the Valve Index, and Meta betting it all on Quest 3, also with other manufacturers getting closer to the perfect VR-headset with every iteration, I feel like 2024/2025 will be the time for the 3rd generation of VR (1st-gen: VR exists, 2nd-gen: It functions well enough, also standalone!, 3rd-gen: Wireless, EyeTracking, diopter settings, affordable) and the first generation that will offer a reliable base standard for VR-game developers to spend more resources on VR-games.
 
While that doesn't sound great, Mochizuku is still using the two million figure that has never been verified and would honestly be absurd for Sony to have ever anticipated. Sony spent almost nothing on advertising the system, so I doubt their expectations were ever that high.


I agree, but here the "price cut" and "disaster" are not Mochizuki quotes, if I read that correctly
 
PS5 only just recently started having supply that could keep up with demand. PSVR2 feels like it was either sent to die, or Sony accepted selling to a small marker then PSVR1 reached.
 
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