Sony Playstation VR2 has sold nearly 600,000 units since launch, including hefty preorders totaling over 400,000 units. The numbers exceeded that of the original PS VR, despite the latter having had a larger base of users to pull from.
As of April, the PS5 was on the fast track to 40 million units sold. With that install base, the PS VR2, a $549 accessory aimed squarely at PS5 owners, managed to outpace the original PS VR ($399 and aimed at PS4 owners, which were a larger user base at the time of the accessory’s debut) in terms of launch sales.
According to a recent report from Sony, the more expensive headset was approaching just under 600,000 units sold in the sixth week since its February debut, compared to the PS VR that hovered around 550,000 units in the six weeks following its October 2016 launch. And again, the sales feat was achieved despite the sequel accessory having a higher price point and fewer customers to sell to than its predecessor.
There are caveats to the numbers, including the fact that over 400,000 of the PS VR2’s sales were preorders and that continual sales across the six weeks disclosed by Sony indicate a drop-off in consumer interest with a curve approaching a plateau, one seemingly not far off based on the report’s trajectory. But that’s speculation and, furthermore, would be a natural outcome of an expensive headset selling what it already has against a small (relative to the PS4) user base.
It tracks that early adopters of the PS5 would also be the sort of consumers to gravitate toward its expensive peripherals, given that acquiring a PS5 hasn’t been the easiest task since its 2020 launch.
The console arrived right around the time the global chip shortage was approaching catastrophic proportions, leading to incredible demand and severely limited supply, meaning many of the current PS5 owners out there had to fight hard to get a hold of their system. These dedicated fans are the same types to pre-order and purchase pieces of fancy auxiliary tech, so it remains to be seen whether PS VR2 can outrun PS VR in the longterm or if it’s destined for the same overall sales.
Sony Interactive did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
