Sony's PS VR2 headset has reportedly been slumping in the months since its launch, with only about 270,000 units expected to be shipped by the end of March.

These figures are estimates by market research firm IDC and are not directly from Sony. Official figures and sales figures will have to wait until Sony's financial results are announced. However, Francisco Geronimo, IDC's Vice President of Data and Analytics, did give some reasons for Sony's struggles in a comment to Bloomberg (opens in new tab). [Consumers around the world are facing higher cost of living, higher interest rates, and more layoffs. [In the current economic climate, VR headsets are not top of mind for most consumers. [Sony expects to sell about 1.5 million units by next March and had already reportedly revised that figure downward from 2 million. Sony was also confident that the second-generation PS VR would surpass lifetime sales of about 5 million units.

Sony will have to pick up the pace in the coming months to get those numbers up, but there is still time to at least turn things around.

The PS VR2 has little competition on the console. It's in head-to-head competition with Sony's first-generation PS VR headset. And it's basically no contest: the PS VR2 is superior in every way, and in many ways on par with the best VR headsets for PC that I use and love.

I can't fault Sony's hardware, but that doesn't mean the headset isn't the cheapest accessory out there: at $550 / £530 / €550, it's more than the price of the PlayStation 5 console you need to use the headset. It doesn't actually work on a PC (open in new tab) either.

"I suspect they will need to lower the price of the PSVR2 to avoid a complete flop of their new product," Geronimo said.

As I stated in my PS VR2 review (opens in new tab), "There is much to be said for the PS VR2, but even at the affordable price point of VR it faces a much tougher market than the original." There are many inexpensive VR headsets on the market today, and the Meta Quest 2 is a stand-alone device, which will greatly reduce the cost of entry.

However, I hope Sony's fortunes turn around; the PS VR2 is a very well put together piece of technology, and having the console's VR scene as strong as possible is the best way for the VR gaming industry as a whole to prosper.