Sony (SNEJF) , which has its hands in multiple industries such as gaming, music, pictures and entertainment, recently saw a significant boost in profits in its gaming business.
In the company’s third-quarter earnings report for 2024, Sony revealed that its gaming sales increased by about 14% year over year, and its operating profit in the segment spiked by roughly 37%.
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In the report, Sony, which is famous for its PlayStation gaming consoles, claimed that it specifically faced increases in its hardware sales and third-party gaming software. Also, the number of monthly active users across PlayStation platforms in December increased by 5%, compared to the same month in 2023.
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Despite these increases, it appears that Sony is continuing to struggle with selling a new PlayStation product.
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According to a new press release, Sony is slashing the price of its PlayStation VR 2 headset, a product that supports virtual reality gaming. The headset first launched in February 2023, and it originally sold for $549.
Now, starting this month, the VR2 headset will be sold for just $399.99. Regions such as Japan, Europe, UK, etc. will also see the product decrease in price.
The move from Sony comes after a report from Bloomberg last year in March revealed that the company was allegedly pausing production of the headset in an effort to clear up a backlog of unsold inventory, which was reportedly the result of the product’s lack of games.
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Consumers can so far play major titles such as “Resident Evil Village,” “Five Nights at Freddy’s Help Wanted 2,” and “Hello Neighbor: Search and Rescue” on Sony’s PlayStation VR 2.
However, the limited catalog of games at that time was suggested to have had a negative impact on sales. Also, the cost to produce virtual reality games “is substantially higher than normal titles,” said Macquarie analyst Yijia Zhai while speaking to Bloomberg.
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In an effort to expand the amount of games available to play on the headset, in August last year, Sony began selling a PC adapter for $59.99 that grants PlayStation VR 2 players access to thousands of virtual reality games on SteamVR.
Sony’s PlayStation VR 2 is facing a major threat
Sony’s alleged struggles to sell its PlayStation VR 2 headset comes during a time when it is also facing increased competition from Meta (META) , which recently saw a boost in sales of its Meta Quest VR headset.
Meta’s virtual reality headset was first introduced in 2019, its most recent version of the headset, Meta Quest 3, was released in October 2023. Meta Quest 3 sells for $499, and some popular gaming titles that are available to play on the headset include “Assassins Creed,” “Ghostbusters: Rise of the Lord,” “Among Us,” etc.
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Meta Quest 3 also has a larger library games than the PlayStation VR 2, and it doesn’t require the connection of a PC or gaming console to access games, making it function as a standalone device. Meta Quest 3 is also wireless, while the PlayStation VR 2 is not.
According to a leaked memo, which was obtained by Business Insider last month, Meta’s Reality Lab’s, which produces the Quest headsets, saw a whopping 40% year-over-year increase in sales in 2024.
“The team beat nearly all of last year’s aggressive sales and user goals, growing RL sales >40% YoY overall,” said Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth in the memo. “We are seeing massive sales growth in wearables and the Quest brand has never been stronger.”
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