Virtual reality is considered by many to be revolutionary technology that’s will likely influence future evolutions in not only gaming, but the medical field. But apparently Sony doesn’t care all that much about any of that noise. We say all this because according to Android Central, they’re “making deep cuts to funding for VR games,” among other things.
To boot, Sony isn’t responding to any journalists who reach out in regards to this sad, sad story.
So let’s backtrack some. Sony isn’t coming out of nowhere with this. VR gaming sales aren’t living up to the hype. Earlier this year, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot went the same exact path basing it on poor sales performance of one of its flagship games, Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR.
The PlayStation VR2 hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype, either, although a lot of gamers do love it. The PSVR2 is a robust headset that’s rich with features. It’s eye-tracking is crazy cool. But it’s costly and one has to own a PS5 to use it, which didn’t help matters. Multiplatform capabilities is a big deal for someone looking to spend $400 to $600. Either you’ll have to buy the PS5 also, or you just know you can’t use the darn thing with any of your other platforms, which kind of sucks.
That said, Sony is coming out with a PC adapter in August – there is a catch. It won’t have the dope eye-tracking.
Throughout 2023, the PSVR2 struggled to meet sales goals, according to Bloomberg.
And that’s led to rumors that Son is ditching the PSVR2 entirely.
The PSVR2 is a top of the line unit. Sony walking away from it is a pretty impactful deal as it will definitely slow development in that space.