Sony’s been smashing expectations with the PlayStation 5, and the console’s accompanying virtual reality headset, the PlayStation VR2, is off to a respectable start in its own right. Given its hefty price tag of $549, the sales Sony is reporting indicates that VR is persevering as a healthy niche market rather than turning into a fading fad.
The device’s performance has big implications beyond Sony and the PlayStation ecosystem: With Apple poised to introduce a questionably pricey mixed reality headset and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reaffirming his company’s commitment to a metaverse bet he’s poured tens of billions of dollars into, the VR world has needed a sign that there’s a healthy business to be found.