It’s been six months since Sony launched PlayStation VR 2, handily one of the best pieces of consumer VR hardware we’ve laid eyes on. While the headset is undeniably great, Sony’s content strategy hasn’t been. Beyond a handful of launch titles, PSVR 2 didn’t really explode out of the gate like we hoped, and a future with high-quality content on the horizon hasn’t materialized either. This, compounded by the lack of backwards compatibility, has hobbled the platform to the point that long-term viability could be an issue if Sony doesn’t step up their game.

Like the original, PSVR 2 sports a unique selling proposition. If you own a PS5, spending that $550 to buy a shiny new PSVR 2 isn’t a bad move if you want to get into current-gen VR games right this second, making Sony’s job fairly straight forward: convert existing PS5 owners into new PSVR 2 owners. That, and keep those users coming back to the headset with new and compelling content.

The XR landscape has changed quite a bit since the OG PSVR launched in 2016 though. Meta’s standalone Quest platform has largely led the way in VR adoption in the last several years thanks to its ability to not only provide compelling experiences natively on mobile hardware, but to optionally tether to PCs, pulling double duty as capable PC VR headsets in their own right. The Quest content library spans multiple generations of devices now too, which is something PSVR 2 simply can’t say since it doesn’t support PSVR games.

What Sony needs to do is pretty simple if it wants PSVR 2 to stay relevant within PS5’s lifecycle: fund more and better content, and do it regularly so current users have something to look forward to as the competition inevitably mounts.

The Virtual Elephant in the Room

Because of the scale of Quest headsets compared to PSVR 2, most developers are building their games first and foremost to fit the limitations of the standalone headset, while maybe adapting their game for PSVR 2 as a secondary objective. Not a lot of games out there that use the headset’s built-in eye-tracking in any real way, and that’s telling.

But relying largely on visually enhanced made-for-Quest content isn’t going to give PSVR 2 a meaningful competitive edge given its other downsides (more expensive, not standalone, etc).

Quest 2 next to Quest 3 | Image courtesy Meta

While the strategy of selling PSVR 2 as an add-on to PS5 customers seems straightforward, the reality is Quest is a competing device with most of the same games and a cheaper price point. That means that even PS5 owners might see the Quest as the better value… unless PSVR 2 has a strong library of exclusive content to keep them on Sony’s turf.

This isn’t a wild idea either. Sony had actually built up an impressive set of exclusive games for the original PSVR, with some of the best games on any VR headset—like PlayStation VR Worlds (2016), Batman: Arkham VR (2016), Farpoint (2017), Astro Bot (2018), and Blood & Truth (2019). Not only not bringing these exclusives forward to PSVR 2, but not having a clear roadmap for great exclusive content in the future, is a real problem for PSVR 2 in the long run.

Great Headset Missing a Roadmap

PSVR 2 is a great headset. It’s got features that no other headset in its class has, like eye-tracking, HDR, and OLED displays. Ergonomics are on point for long gaming sessions. Eye-tracking allows developers to implement a ton of cool stuff like foveated rendering, allowing studios to push visuals that even complete with what you might see on PC VR. The addition of inside-out tracking and real VR controllers finally puts it squarely in the now of VR too. But, as we know, great hardware is nothing without games, and PSVR 2 is lagging behind in that department.

Photo by Road to VR

Sensitive readers, please avert your eyes. Exclusives. There, I said it. Exclusives are a dirty word in gaming for a reason; nobody wants to uproot from their chosen platform just for a single game. It feels excessively greedy to limit what would be good for all, but only made available to the lucky few. For all their ills though, exclusives are a pretty standard way of both attracting and keeping a platform’s playerbase happy with the promise of high-quality content which critically wouldn’t exist otherwise.

Outside of a handful of truly great VR franchises and games from medium to small studios, platform holder-funded exclusive content has been the primary way of getting most of the so-called ‘AAA’ content in VR, with standout titles including Half-Life: Alyx (2020) on PC, Lone Echo (2017) and Lone Echo 2 (2021) on Rift, the upcoming sequel to Rift exclusive Asgard’s Wrath on Quest, and Astro Bot Rescue Mission on the original PSVR.

It’s pretty rare when established studios willingly risk years of billing hours and studio resources for something that isn’t guaranteed to make cash. That’s why platform-funded exclusives are important in getting content built that wouldn’t otherwise be viable given the risk. And while Sony had been doing a pretty good job with that on their original headset, judging by the content available today on the PlayStation Store it feels like the company has been a little tighter with its purse strings.

At the time of this writing, PSVR 2 only has a scant few VR-native exclusive titles: Horizon Call of the Mountain, C-Smash VRS, The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR, Synapse, and Firewall Ultra—only one of which has the pedigree to be called ‘AAA’. To be fair, there’s also a few exclusive VR-optional ports like Resident Evil Village and Gran Turismo 7.

But looking forward, the only ostensibly Sony-funded content we’ve seen on the horizon is the Resident Evil 4 remake, which is launching exclusively on PSVR 2 sometime later this year. Not only is this not a VR-native title, but somewhat awkwardly, Resident Evil 4 VR (remastered but not remade) is already available on Quest, making this only a pseudo-exclusive non-native VR port for PSVR 2.

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Backwards Compatible or Forward Looking?

Here’s a barrage of not entirely unjustified high-pitched whining: Where is Astro Bot Rescue Mission 2? Where is the PSVR 2 upgrade for the first game, which did so famously well and was beloved by all? Sony recently renewed the Astro Bot trademark, but we already knew Team Asobi was making their “biggest [game] to date” following the release of the non-VR Astro’s Playroom (2020) on PS5, but it’s unclear if that future game means VR as well.

Where is Blood & Truth 2? Farpoint 2? A PSVR 2 upgrade for Resident Evil 7 Biohazard (2017), one of the platform’s most celebrated titles? All of these things may arrive at some point (who knows!), but in the indeterminate meantime it feels like Sony has taken a decisive step back from funding VR content, and instead has pushed VR modes in traditional games to bridge what has increasingly become obvious gaps.

You’d be rightly concerned with the lack of backwards compatibility, but I’d wager you’d be a lot less concerned if Sony was more active in communicating a future pipeline of high-quality content. The fact is that six months since launch, we only have around 100 games on PSVR 2, which pales in comparison to what you find on Quest (500+) and PC VR (thousands).

The Clock is Ticking

Six weeks after its February 2023 launch, Sony revealed that PSVR 2 outsold the original by 8% in the same time period, selling around 450,000 units in its first week. We haven’t seen recent numbers from Sony, but the adoption chart from back then tells a pretty clear story; PSVR 2 started out only marginally more successful than the original. Granted, it is significantly more successful in terms of conversion rates, which isn’t something to sneeze at. Sony sold over 117 million PS4 units since launch in 2013, and now boasts over 40 million PS5 units since launch in 2020. Still, PSVR 2 unit sales probably aren’t that far off from the number of PSVR units during the same six-month time frame.

PSVR 2 Perfomance in First Six Weeks | Image courtesy Sony

Meanwhile, like the original PSVR from 2016, every year that passes gives companies like Meta a chance to iterate on their own console-like standalones. The next generation of standalones, such as Meta Quest 3, won’t be able to reach the graphical heights that are currently capable on PSVR 2 thanks to PS5’s dedicated GPU and PSVR 2’s foveated rendering capabilities, but PS5 owners still need to think twice before jumping into the comparatively shallow pool of PSVR 2 content—especially when a bulk of that content was made for Quest first and foremost, and only marginally enhanced for PSVR 2.

And every year that passes will inevitably compound this against Sony’s favor if it doesn’t take a more active role in content funding. What happens when a hypothetical Quest 4 arrives two to three years after Quest 3, and includes the entirety of the Quest platform’s library, which by then will probably include a glut of mixed reality games? If Sony is banking on the fact that PS5 owners would only choose PSVR 2 to suit their VR needs, they may be in for a rude awakening.

To stay relevant in the long-term, PSVR 2 needs more ‘AAA’ content like Astro Bot Rescue Mission soon. But even if that’s already coming, Sony needs to more clearly communicate where the platform is going, because PSVR 2 owners looking to make good use of their $550 headset—purchased on top of their $500 console—need confirmation they made the right choice one, two, and even five years down the line of the headset’s probable lifecycle.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Keith.

    This is a nonsense article. Switchback and Synapse are great, and there’s already 100+ titles available on the store. August, Sept. and Oct. have been/are stacked with new releases. AstroBot would be nice but tired of hearing PSVR2 needs HL Alyx — it doesn’t.

    • ApocalypseShadow

      It is. It’s a BS article to promote Quest before Facebook launches Quest 3. Has there been articles written asking why Quest 2 has no big games? Just cheap indie made games that push nothing to their limits. Articles on why games like Splinter Cell were cancelled? Articles asking where GTA or Creed are since they were announced a long time ago and still not released? Is there articles asking where’s Facebook’s roadmap of games like PS VR 2 is some freaking season pass device full of micro transactions and skins. Where’s Valve’s roadmap? Bytedance? Pimax? HTC? Etc? Where’s the article on them?

      Sony launched with GT7, Horizon and RE8 right out the gate. None of these other devices launched with something like those. And Quest has no games that matches GT7 for racing and high quality.

      Sony already announced that over 100 games were coming to the device. We knew games like Firewall and Synapse were coming which aren’t on other headsets. And, we know games like RE4 Remake are coming that blow away the Quest version and most likely won’t be in PC. But the writer talks about roadmaps.

      The reality is that Sony knows that PS VR 2 isn’t a mass market or mainstream device. It’s priced out of many gamers hands. Just like high quality PC VR. The only reason Quest 2 has sold as much as it did was because of *predatory pricing* to monopolize the market and kept others from competing with that low-ball price. Problem is that even with all those supposed sales, no big games like Hitman or Skyrim or Borderlands or RE7, etc came to Quest 2 in large numbers if at all. But no articles about it. And player retention is a problem there. Most of those headsets are used as cheap PC headsets or collecting dust.

      It’s clear Sony’s going for profitability and high quality over sales at this time. Or you would see commercials plastered all over television promoting the device to sell. But we’ve seen what happens when companies do that. Kinect and Wii were heavily promoted and became fads. What happens with fads? They die out. Kinect and Wii are dead. PS Move and PSVR live on and are playable on PS5. BC is on PS5. Just not through PS VR 2. But you can play almost every PSVR game on PS5. But the article writer won’t mention that. Just as PS4 games are BC on PS5. PS5 doesn’t update the games and you have to use the previous controller. Writer doesn’t mention that.

      But if PS VR 2 is profitable like PSVR, because Sony didn’t sell PSVR at a loss. They sold it at a profit. And, they made money on the games and royalties. Then, it won’t matter if PS VR 2 doesn’t sell 50 million or 100 million. Sony knows that’s highly doubtful. They are going for profit and high quality. Let Facebook try to sell their device to casuals and mimic Apple as we know that’s what they’ll do. Just from recent actions of updating their finger tracking. Copy cats. We’ll see if stand alone gets any big games and they better be beyond PS4 quality gameplay and graphics.

    • shadow9d9

      Switchback got rancid reviews everywhere. Synapse got good reviews but they all said very limited content, which is echoes in the psvr reddit forums.

  • ViRGiN

    It’s PCVR for Sony users. Did anyone else expect anything different?
    Living off Quest ports and ancient VR games, with half-handfull exclusive/actual quality games.

    • LMAO

      Ignorant troll alert!

      • shadow9d9

        Except he is actually right here

        • LMAO

          Not at all.

    • Arno van Wingerde

      You have point, but for instance the short part of Horizon call of the Mountain with its beautiful environment easily beats my complete Quest2 library with its grainy and unrealistic graphics! I hated the cable and may other aspects, but I am sick and tired of the washed-out, grainy, unrealistic lightning of the Quest2, and Quest3 is better, but of course also lacks the graphics power and game quality of the PSVR2 games. Maybe 5 good games beat 500 bad ones?

      • ViRGiN

        Maybe, but the 5 available games aren’t interesting enough to warrant a purchase of the whole set only to sell it shortly after (no point of waiting for god knows what and when).
        Quest users who desperatly want to play Alyx or whatever else can just rent out a cloud PC for a month or two and play it that way.

        As for unrealistic lighting, idk what the developers are doing. Contractors has 50+ amazing ports of classic maps, and they are all super lit and have proper ambience. All running even on Quest 1.

        • Arno van Wingerde

          But compare Star wars games: the Quest version looks better than just about anything else I have seen on Quest 2… but lacks the highlights reflections of the PSVR2 version, simply because the Quest2 does not have the power to generate those.

          • ViRGiN

            Red Matter 2 shows it does have the power.
            Especially after recent performance unlock. But it’s an old title, and single player. The game is long done.

          • LMAO

            Ignorant troll alert!…

          • shadow9d9

            Quest players already had years to play it.. and graphics, but stuck on old fresnel lenses wit ha short wire vs wireless freedom of movement.

          • ApocalypseShadow

            Yeah. All you have to do is look at YouTube let’s plays or influencers and Quest commercials to watch all those wireless users play games from one spot and not moving around a room at all.

            Or look at how many in-house, room scale games Facebook has made since launch that equals to zero games.

            But but but that wireless freedom.

  • Nothing to see here

    Overpriced. No sweet spot at all. You have to mess with it a lot to get the center of the screen reasonably in focus. Third party vision correction lenses make the edge blur even worse. Very poor selection of games with No Man’s Sky and Gran Turismo 7 being the only ones worth playing on a regular basis. Sony has a lot of work to do to catch up with the Quest 2 and the Quest 3 is being released in about a month.

    • Arno van Wingerde

      Well, I partly agree. Focusing is harder and then there is that wire and the controllers seem to run out of power rather quickly. But the “HDR” screen, while not being true HDR leaves the Quest2 in the dust and the graphics power is comparable to a high-end PCVR setup due to foveated rending. It leaves the stand-alone Quest 2/3/… in the dust! If the display of the Quest3 is good, pairing it with a high-end PC offers the same quality – but at about double the price.
      But yes the amazing of games is limited: horizon blows away anything else in VR games I have ever seen, but once you played it to the end, there is little point in going back.

    • ApocalypseShadow

      Total nonsense. And to even add 3rd party correction lenses as if Sony made them is ridiculous. It’s why you can wear glasses if you need them. To even say it’s overpriced when it has features PC headsets don’t have and costs less. Features that even the overpriced Quest Pro doesn’t have.

      Poor selection of games is also nonsense. Racing, shooting, horror, puzzle, space adventure, sports, etc in 6 months and more coming.

      Catch up to an underpowered device that will be obsolete in less than a year as it’s phased out just like Quest 1. With a new device that will still be 2 generations behind in power potential. That will lack eye tracking, headset haptics and controllers that add nothing new. Sure buddy.

      Whoever agreed with you must have accidently clicked the wrong button.

      • polysix

        As an ex PSVR2 owner who sent 2 units back, and now a quest pro owner (that paid £700 new sealed on ebay earlier this year and uses it for wireless PCVR) I can say the QP destroys PSVR2 in almost every area… from comfort, to tracking, to LENS clarity (QP’s pancakes are best in the world right now), to ZERO MURA (a killer on PSVR2 sadly) but still DECENT blacks (in fact jet black like OLED in loading screens or big black areas with local dimming) – self tracked controllers, never loses tracking unlike PSVR2 which literally made me remap the room each time… NO CABLE.. games running twice as good with ultra settings, RT on, AA on, 1.5x super sampling etc (and again I stress all of this WIRELESSLY on wifi6e without any noticeable degredation).

        Now Quest 2 doesn’t compete really because it has awful comfort, bad grey black LCD without local dimming etc, but even so it was STILL nicer to be in vs PSVR2 because it was at least semi-comfy and had quite a big sweet spot for fresnel. I never play standalone games though as they tend to suck.

        PSVR2 needs a revision asap with MUCH better lenses, quality screens with 90% LESS MURA (it was terrible in RE VILLAGE) and much better comfort/padding on the front.

        Only things I liked about it was the PS’s trigger haptics (controllers) , the head haptics and the attempt at ‘HDR’.. the black levels were cool, just like all my old OLED HMDs were but were plagued with MURA which killed it, QPRO’s local dimming isn’t quite as good as OLED but it’s a great compromise for decent blacks with NO MURA at all, not to mention supreme edge to edge clarity on the lenses, best comfort I’ve had in a HMD and… again… wireless PCVR which runs rings around what the PS5 can put out even with foveated rendering helping (Village was running in equiv to med settings no RT no AA and was jaggy and under-sampled to run at 60fps… on PS5 while even a 3070 on PC can run it twice as well).

        Not interested in Q3 though as I don’t care about MR/AR, and QPro has much better colours/black levels and a nicer design that doesn’t drag on your face. £700 was NOT over priced for that level of VR and the flexibility it brings. If anything PSVR2 is over-priced using cheap plastic, awful screens, terrible lenses and NO on board chips, wifi or anything.

  • mirak

    This article only reflects the point of view of persons having multiple headsets and consoles.
    When you only have a PS5 you are not going to buy a Quest 2 if you want to play VR.
    Buying a Quest is only valid if you have already a gaming PC.

    • ViRGiN

      Insane pcvr apologist alert!!

      • LMAO

        Ignorant troll alert!..

    • Ben Lang

      > When you only have a PS5 you are not going to buy a Quest 2 if you want to play VR.

      You might if you realize it’s $250 cheaper and maybe has the better library. That’s literally the crux of this article.

      • Dragon Marble

        But how many of them actually do? We need more investigative journalism and less speculative opinions (which is what we readers do in the comment section). The claim that PSVR has more exclusives than PSVR2 is also unsubstantiated.

      • vancleefmustache

        > maybe has the better library

        But does it really? I would rather and probably will spend more time in No Man’s Sky now that it has the new patch than all of my time spent on the Quest. The best Quest games (Walkabout and Demeo) are already ported over and are better on PSVR2. In all seriousness, what Quest exclusive am I missing?

        • ApocalypseShadow

          We’re not missing anything. They just want you to believe there’s nothing on the new headset and Quest 2 has everything.

          All the bigger titles, including Beat Saber, are on PS VR 2 while ports look way better that Quest 2.

          They try to say Sony has no big games. Just Horizon because it was built for VR. Totally excluding GT7 and RE8 or RE4 Remake VR.

          If they want to exclude those hybrid games, then we would have to exclude RE4 ported to Quest 2 since it’s the only big game that came to Quest. But you know they won’t do that because it goes against their narrative.

          If they want to say ports are bad to have like Kayak coming to PS VR 2(and not Quest), then ports are bad on other headsets like Iron Man for Quest 2. If making a game play better like Iron Man VR does for Quest 2 over PS Move controllers, then all the games that were ported to PS VR 2 like Star Wars or Saints and Sinners, that look better and play better on Sony’s headset is just as fine.

          They write this BS when they’re supposed to be journalists. I can clearly target other headsets about big releases just as they are for Sony. Or this roadmap nonsense. I bet you they won’t write an article about Facebook’s roadmap. And it’s been out longer and supposedly sold 20 million.

          • shadow9d9

            A 7 year old game that quest users have had access to since the beginning is an impressive feat for a brand new headset to you>?

          • ApocalypseShadow

            There are other games that are new that aren’t on Quest. Don’t lie to yourself. Who cares if Quest users had access to it. A good game is a good game. Hypocrites like you won’t mind when Quest gets ports as well like Iron Man huh? Hypocrite.

            Article writer says games are made first for Quest, then ported. So, that means I should be able to go to the Quest store and purchase Synapse or Switchback or Kayak or many other games not on Quest.

            Article writer showed his bias by saying a VR headset connected to one of the most powerful consoles is a downside. I could say an old, underpowered stand alone that lacks PS VR 2 features, is a downside. Even Quest 3 will be underpowered in comparison and still lack features Sony has built in.

          • Ben Lang

            Ask any VR game dev, most games right now are made for Quest first, maybe to be ported to PC VR and/or PSVR 2. It’s the unfortunate reality of the market right now.

        • shadow9d9

          Quest gives access to NMS..and that game is 7 years old now…

          • ApocalypseShadow

            Yeah. If you spend more money than what PS5 and PS VR 2 cost. And at the moment, the PS VR 2 version is better than the PC version.

            That’s from eye tracking PC doesn’t have as standard. All that money for headsets that lack features that a lesser priced console VR headset has. Lol

    • J. B. Bost

      Considering the PSVR2 has no media playback, you might would buy a Quest 2 just to have normal VR experiences

    • MeowMix

      I have a PS5 and purchased a QuestPro afterwards.

      Frensel lenses – yuck, lack of top tier games – yuck

      And the most ironic of them all – why feature Eye Tracking and say it will deliver Uber performance ! when PSVR2 is using Reprojection on the majority of their titles (and let’s not forget SONY has the worst reprojection tech out of everyone (rotational only)). The whole point of the Eye Tracked Foveated Render (by Tobii) should be to deliver a high fidelity experience WITHOUT reprojection. JFC.

      Bring on the Next gen of headsets – which include Pancake Lenses at the minimum.

    • Arno van Wingerde

      I disagree: if you have a PS5 there are good reasons to buy both an PSVR2 for high quality games PLUS an Quest2 for many and cable-free casual games.

    • shadow9d9

      Nope. I have a quest and psvr 2. No reason to limit yourself. Wireless freedom of movement is the way of the future.

      • gothicvillas

        yes it will be in the future. But as we right now live in present, I’ll take wire over butchered graphics. But as you said, future looks wireless thats for sure. Ok, back to present times now, i mean back to wire.

        • ViRGiN

          Will be in the future? Valve has solved this problem already back in 2017.

          “Wireless is a solved problem at this point,” Valve founder Gabe Newell told a roundtable of developers at the company’s headquarters in Bellevue, Wash. “So, my expectation is that it will be an add-on in 2017, and it will be an integrated feature in 2018.”

  • Chris

    the ‘other’ elephant in the room is Piracy.

    Meta users can easily download full release PCVR games from Pirate sites and play them for free on PC, wirelessly.

    The PC Virtual desktop software is so good now, that you can play everything, even titles like Alyx on highest settings, wirelessly at 90fps, with just a midrange GPU, and once you’ve gone wireless you just can’t go back. The new 10 Bit HEVC Codec / h264++ provides incredible wireless performance and you don’t need Oculus software at all.

    Any new headset that is corded is totally missing the point. Sony is no different

    • VrSLuT

      Where do full release PCVR games from Pirate sites originate from? If it was from Valve one would think the troll with an axe to grind be griping about it!

  • Dragon Marble

    How many exclusive did PSVR have in its first six months? I don’t know how well PSVR2 selling, but “no PSVR2 games” is a click-bait false narrative, and it’s sad to see a VR publication jumping on.

    • shadow9d9

      PSVR 1 sold 5 million over 5 years vs 20 million in 2.5 years by facebook.

      • ApocalypseShadow

        Yeah. 20 million but no big games. Maybe Medal of Honor as a franchise name. Then RE4. Nothing else.

        PSVR got Hitman, Borderlands, Skyrim, Batman, RE7, GT Sport, LA Noire, Dirt Rally, etc.

        If you sell supposedly 20 million, you should be getting big games. Nope. Too underpowered. PSVR sells 5 million and gets more big name franchises.

        PS VR 2 is only out 6 months and already has 2 big name franchises of GT7 and RE8. What’s the problem there buddy on why Quest isn’t getting big name games? Lol

        “But but but Quest has access to PC.” Lol that’s not the same as getting them. It isn’t. Because I can say PSVR has access to all those games on PC through Ivry. Lol

  • kool

    A clear roadmap would help, it’s telling that Sony hasn’t laid out 2024 yet. But I think they are holding the best games to announce at the end of the year to generate sales.

    • ApocalypseShadow

      Where’s Facebook’s roadmap? Where’s their big releases? Haven’t they been out longer? Haven’t they sold more headsets?

      Beyond indies and Beat Saber micro transactions, where’s the big name games?

      You can’t target one headset that just released but not target all the other headsets that have been out longer but aren’t getting any. Or try to ignore that big games like RE8, RE4 and GT7 are only on PS VR 2.

      • kool

        I’m not really checking on what metA is doing. Im more interested in what Sony and PC are doing. If a AAA dev is interested in vr this is where they will enter the market. I haven’t seen a lot of hybrid games being announced for psvr2, I want to know what Ubisoft has planned for VR and why aren’t PC games being made with VR modes. It can’t be impossible to officially add vr to some hit games from the past decade on pc and PS4.

        • ApocalypseShadow

          So, why are you not wondering where Valve’s, HTC, Bytedance and Pimax roadmaps are? Aren’t they high-end headsets?

          Why does Sony need to announce all their games right now? Or release all their games right now that would cannibalize sales of each other? How does that make business sense?

          If you’ve been around long enough, you know Sony doesn’t release multiple games at once. They space them out. Gamers are giving companies like Facebook the benefit of the doubt of games future games coming but forget that Sony specializes in making games that Facebook, Bytedance, Valve and HTC can’t compete with. Sony’s studios run rings around all of them put together.

          If you’re wondering what Ubisoft is doing for VR, email them. Don’t expect Sony to announce an Ubisoft game. It’s not as easy as it looks to add VR to flat games. You have to change things like camera placement or actions that don’t give VR gamers nausea.

          This isn’t rocket science.

          • Sonyboy

            Cause they sold PC headsets not a system

          • ApocalypseShadow

            That’s right. Correct a Mundo. Except for Valve. And what has Valve made besides Half Life or Counter Strike? Barely any VR games. What good is all those PC headsets but no big games made for them consistently or in large quantity? Early Access tech demos aren’t games. And waiting for one guy to mod games is so laughable.

            Sony’s studios have made adventure games, action games, RPGs, puzzle games, platformers, etc. Sony’s studios are award winning. They have a huge back catalog of games they can draw from to put in VR from Syphon Filter to Ape escape. Sony also has television and movies properties they can make games from. A Spider-Man game would make all the rest of the VR community drool.

            But we’re supposed to think Sony has no games. That Sony isn’t making any more VR games or publishing any in the future.

            It’s so silly seeing this ridiculous narrative the article writer is trying to pull. Just compare studios alone and Facebook doesn’t compare either. But we got gamers believing this nonsense.

          • shadow9d9

            Actually, Pimax is a semi scam company that is meaningless. Bytedance is a Chinese government backed corp that doesn’t even have products in North America. HTC died a long time ago and gave up on VR. Valve makes money by doing nothing and has fun doing side projects. They haven’t released a headset in well over 4 years no.

            Sony releases a brand new headset along with a climbing game and some ports and then went silent for 6 months.

          • ApocalypseShadow

            Let’s see, they released GT7, they released a VR built game based on a hot property you want to downplay, and they published Firewall Ultra. What VR games has Valve made in the last 6 months? What VR games has Facebook released in the last year? Beat Saber micro transactions don’t count.

            But we want to play this game that Sony doesn’t have any. Lol

          • kool

            I don’t think you understand. Every year Sony shows you upcoming games for the year or trailers for games more than a year out. They have a lot of internal studios that give updates during Sony state of play. They have one or two more shows for the year and they haven’t announced what’s coming next year or even studios that are making hybrid games. None of the companies you named has the information pipeline Sony does, so I’m wondering what the hold is. Is there a difficulties getting games ported, are devs not interested or more likely has Sony put out another product left to fend for itself. The second year is when Sony really pushes their products and I want to know why, idc about the lesser players with no studios or annual roadmaps.

          • ApocalypseShadow

            I don’t think you understand. Sony has backed off showing games too early. If you want to know what VR games are coming, go to the PlayStation Blog because obviously you won’t see it from a biased article on a VR website. And they don’t release multiple at the same time which is why you won’t see Wolverine releasing the same time as Spider-Man 2. Don’t be naive.

            Is it the second year yet? It’s not even past the first the headset has been on the market yet over 100 games are already there to play. Exclusives and better versions from ports.

            Every time we see the game thing, Doom and gloom and Sony has no games. Then Sony comes out with award winning, game after game that sells millions. And the cycle starts all over again when they release a new console.

            Aren’t you tired of being brainwashed to believe Sony doesn’t have any games or aren’t making any? Then, Sony comes out and makes games like Horizon or Ghost of Tsushima? Or in VR, creates GT7, Blood and Truth, Astrobot and publishes games like Farpoint, Firewall, etc that shuts your mouths every time? Aren’t you tired of that? Why do you think certain biased individuals and media are trying to downplay and shut down Sony? Agendas perhaps?

          • kool

            Did you watch the state of play, I’m excited for Ghostbusters but Sony has one more show at the end of the year and 2 things need to happen. They need to show a AAA game coming next year and they need to show more hybrid games letting us know their putting in footwork within the industry. The last show of the year usually does give a better picture of next year but they usually drop announcements from summer to the winter. So I’m guessing they don’t have as many games.

        • shadow9d9

          PC is doing? It died years ago. Sony has been silent for 6 months. Enjoy!

          Ubi is making Quest game.

          • ApocalypseShadow

            So silent that they published Firewall not even a week or so ago. Just like they published the PSVR Zero Hour. But hey. Who’s looking? You’re sure not.

            Answer the question: What games has Facebook released in the last year on Quest?

            Ubisoft also canceled a Quest game called Splinter Cell. No release date yet for Creed. Which doesn’t seem exclusive anymore unless Zuck is pulling out the big bucks to keep it.

      • shadow9d9

        Asgard’s Wrath 2 has had multiple announcements and gameplay videos and interviews.

        Resident Evil number 7036 is just another boring rehash in a tired genre in a tired series.

        • ApocalypseShadow

          So, RE4 that released on Quest 2 was just number 7035 right? It’s so tired that millions still play or look forward to Resident Evil like the well received RE2 Remake, RE7, RE8 and RE4 Remake in and out of VR. It’s funny seeing you try to fool yourself when these big games aren’t possible on Quest 2 without a huge downgrade.

          Asgard’s Rath can’t even compare to Skyrim that came out on PSVR in 2016 that Quest 2 still can’t play in 2023 without an expensive PC. That negates all the stand alone price garbage. And AR will be pushed more as a Quest 3 game than it will for 2. So, that means $500+ more dollars out your pocket.

          When does GTA release? When does Creed release? What other big games are coming to Quest? Tell us this roadmap you got?

          Tell you what? What big games has Facebook made themselves for Quest 2 that match GT7, Wipeout VR, Blood and Truth, Astrobot, Horizon, etc? Name them.

          If you can’t, then I’d suggest running right along.

          • shadow9d9

            Absolutely. I skipped the RE 4 on quest. Millions of people watch the same tired Marvel and Star Wars that are pumped out for the masses. Is your argument that popularity equals greatness? Were you a huge fan of Brittany Spears then?

            Skyrim is just another in an assembly line of bethesda games.. they only make the same game over and over. Endless chores in an empty world.

            Quest 3 hasn’t arrived yet and they have 8 studios making exclusives. If there is nothing 6 months after quest 3 in the way of a roadmap or announcements, then yes, FB will have failed just as much as Sony has.

            Quest is not only a native wireless ecosystem for huge VR rooms with no breakable objects and complete wireless freedom of movement, but you also have2different ways to have wireless PCVR. A wire is by FAR a bigger downgrade than graphics.

          • ApocalypseShadow

            Just because you skipped it doesn’t mean others didn’t play it. Lol. You think gaming revolves around you? Lol.

            Gamers are looking for bigger VR games. Not just great indie games because I like them too. But Quest isn’t getting any or you would have named them. Brittney was alright. Cute even. But that’s like saying you wouldn’t want someone like Michael Jackson headlining when he was alive and rather here some garage band. Sure buddy.

            You can easily smash and crash in a room with a wireless headset. To even assume that that only happens with a wired headset is so idiotic. It only works on PC VR because Valve allows it and doesn’t lock Facebook out for Steam. Because they don’t care who makes them money or what headset.

            Skyrim is still bigger and better in VR than Asgard’s Rath will ever be. And it’s an old game.

            Yes. They all fund games. What Facebook made, created, in-house games has Facebook made for Quest in the last year? Two years? If we remove publishing from both sides, Facebook hasn’t made anything for Quest. But you want to downplay Sony.

            You say Facebook is making games for Quest 3. But assume Sony isn’t making games for PS VR 2. Even though Sony is more a game company than Facebook. And to even try to compare Facebook studios to Sony studios is so funny.

    • shadow9d9

      That is the same nonsense people said before psvr 2 came out. No, holding onto hype doesn’t make any sense for business. You tell people BEFORE, in order to hype… you don’t go absolutely silent for 6 months post headset release.

  • Leisure Suit Barry

    If Sony release a revised version with better lenses and reduce the price then I might pick one up.

    But as it stands it’s DOA.

  • Totally agree. Maybe one problem is budget. Currently all companies are very tight on budget, and maybe Sony is not having enough money to fund content

    • XRC

      Economy suffering wintery chills, civilians starting to notice…lots of consolidation, studio closure (Embracer Group mega-deal failure has already shuttered Volition)

      But Fitch’s POV on Sony group going into 2024, rated as ‘A-‘ Stable

      “Steady Margin: We forecast a steady operating margin for Sony’s non-financial business in the financial year ending March 2024 (FY24) (FY23: 9.5%), driven by a rising share of recurring revenue, including from game software and music streaming. We believe weak consumer demand for electronic products and poor performance at Sony’s image sensor segment could weigh on the margin in the short term, but the expansion of the company’s PlayStation 5 instalment base, the accompanying increase in software sales and strong streaming revenue should support overall earnings.

      Solid Game Business: The game business, which we forecast to generate 35%-40% of revenue for Sony’s non-financial business, is a key support for the company’s growth, driven by rising software sales of its PlayStation 5 consoles. We expect software sales for the console to reach 25 million units by FY24, a stronger result than for the PlayStation 4.

      Full game downloads of first and third-party titles as well as add-on content, such as in-game currency and items, are also increasing. We expect further growth to be supported by the company’s efforts to develop its own game titles, either through acquisitions or internal development via collaboration within Sony group, leveraging its extensive intellectual property.”

  • J. B. Bost

    This is why the PSVR2 is failing:

    – no support for VR Chat. Sorry, it’s one of the most downloaded programs for VR, you have to support it
    – no support for media playback. Seriously, this should be basic.
    – no access to flat to VR mods. There’s a whole world out there of free games. The PSVR2’s library just can’t compete
    – No access to mods on games like Pavlov.
    – The total cost of the PSVR2 library. All these people who say they buy every game will have dropped well over a thousand dollars by this point.
    – Linear gameplay experiences, which come off as cheap and devoid of creativity.
    – You can’t buy replacement controllers?!

    And you can tell the PSVR2 is failing because currently the secondary market is FLOODED with used headsets going for around $380 with the box. Granted, there are a lot of reasons why people wouldn’t want to purchase a used headset — damage, hardware issues, sweat which is gross — but if a PSVR2 to PC adapter came out tomorrow, what do you think the price of these headsets would do overnight? They would go up. There’s nothing wrong with the PSVR2 it’s great hardware, but there’s so much that it can’t do, I legit wish I wouldn’t of bought mine at launch and instead of would’ve went with a more traditional PCVR headset

    • ViRGiN

      You’re an insufferable PCVR fanboy.

      • LMAO

        Ignorant troll alert!.

        • ViRGiN

          Chinese government shill alert!

    • ApocalypseShadow

      Yeah. Because Quest 2 isn’t on craigslist or Facebook marketplace./S

      Gamers like to play games. Not sit in chat rooms catfish-ing others that they are gamer girls dressed like anime.

      Media playback for 3D video came later to PSVR as I suspect it will for PS VR 2. Just as Dolby Atmos came later to PS5 even though Sony already had great 3D sound with Tempest Audio. But I know you’re hoping porn comes to Sony’s headset.

      Sony doesn’t need “complete games” competing against early access, unfinished demos. Mods are on PC. No one cares about it on Quest 2.

      Lol. Linear gameplay. As if Quest 2 doesn’t have linear games. While ignoring that PS VR 2 has rogue like games. Totally ridiculous.

      There’s nothing wrong with Quest 2. But there’s only so much it can do. It still can’t play games that came out on PSVR back in 2016 like Skyrim. Or games like RE7 or Hitman. I would have bought a stand alone but it’s connected to Facebook and is underpowered needing a PC for anything bigger and better.

      • J. B. Bost

        “But I know you’re hoping porn comes to Sony’s headset”

        If I meant porn, I would’ve said porn. Also, it’s my headset, not Sony’s. They should have no say what I can do with it after I purchase it.

        “Gamers like to play games”

        Gamers aren’t monolithic. And also, why would you be proud that you only consume one type of media? Go read a book or something.

        • ApocalypseShadow

          Seems you need a couple of books yourself.

          Did Blu-ray 3D playback come at launch or later for PSVR? Did Dolby Atmos come at launch for PS5 or did it come later? Keep up if I’m losing you. Your mind doesn’t seem to be that quick. Sony could be working on it as we speak. But you’re like a kid asking, “Are we there yet?” from the back seat.

          It’s obvious Sony is concentrating on games first over media. Sony would rather you buy and play games than sit in a chat room since you have no life that you need that.

          It’ll come when it comes. Some gamers are so impatient, entitled and spoiled. If not, then go enjoy yourself in Horizon worlds where Facebook wants you so that they can collect your data and sell it. It’s pretty pathetic that they need to lower the age requirement to kids because no one cares to be there chatting.

          • J. B. Bost

            Talk down like that to me in public and I’ll punch you in the throat

          • ApocalypseShadow

            From videos, Rec room was full of kids screaming.You must have been there.

            And trust me, you wouldn’t want to meet me in public.

            That’s how I know you lost the debate child. You couldn’t think of any intelligent comeback because you know I’m right.

            Facebook is allowed to update their software over time and has done so for over two years. But Sony is supposed to have it right now. Right now because JB said so. Hypocrite much?

          • J. B. Bost

            Did you just accuse me of trying to hook up with children online? I will legitimately fuck you up you piece of trash

          • ApocalypseShadow

            Actually, I called you a kid yourself idiot.

            You’re not too bright. And took the conversation way off. Go have recess or take a nap. You lack the intelligence for me to continue having conversation with.

  • Peter vasseur

    Yeah quest fanboy article. Quest has 500 vs 100 for psvr2. 100 in 6 months vs 500 in 3-4 yrs?

    • ViRGiN

      You’re so out of touch with reality. Anyone who listens to anything you say loses brain cells. You’re a cancer and need to just go away.

    • MeowMix

      most of those ‘100 titles’ are Quest ports; lmfao

      • ApocalypseShadow

        You mean : most of those 100 titles are better looking than Quest 2 ports. Because Quest 2 is underpowered and about to be obsolete like Quest 1 and Oculus Go.. LMFAO.

        • shadow9d9

          And stuck on a tiny wire, in a room with breakable objects..or have forced 60 hz with reprojection blur.

          • ApocalypseShadow

            A tiny wire that makes Quest 2 games look embarrassing.

            Reprojection is an option. Still embarrasses Quest.

            You do know that many Quest games use asynchronous space warp right? Lol

  • Rupert Jung

    I just can’t wrap my head around Sony’s strategy here. They did appearently not even talk to Meta to port their PC titles to PSVR like Asgard’s Wrath, Stormland, Lone Echo 1/2 etc. – would be a ease win-win for both sides

    They didn’t talk to Valve to port HL: Alyx.

    They didn’t even port their own PSVR1 backlog, not even the best titles of it

    And they didn’t even release plans for new AAA titles which actually make use of all that power + eye tracking.

    It’s like they never believed a bit in the success of the system. But why did they release it at all then?

    • ViRGiN

      I mean… there is zero reason for Meta to “give” their games to PSVR2.
      Alyx was designed to lock you into Steam ecosystem, so that’s obviosuly also is not happening.

      But yeah, they haven’t even tried to deliver a quality product. Tethered headset, with no audio, fresnel lenses, most games run at 60 fps upscaled to 120.
      They simply do not care about VR which was apparent from their rushed out PSVR1 which was outdated on day 1. Now they are focusing on their next project – tablet for streaming from PS5.

    • MeowMix

      Ya, I still have a handful of PSVR1 1st party games that will never make their way to PSVR2; it’s quite baffling.

    • shadow9d9

      Facebook wants exclusives to build an ecosystem, so they wouldn’t allow ports. Valve doesn’t care. They make money by doing nothing. They haven’t released a headset in over 4 years and only made 1/3 of their promised games. They DO NOT CARE.

      • ApocalypseShadow

        This is actually correct. Valve doesn’t care one bit unless the Steam machine stops making money.

    • ApocalypseShadow

      Why would Sony ask Facebook to port their games to PS VR 2? This makes no sense at all.

      How do you know Sony haven’t talk to Valve? It’s like asking why Microsoft hasn’t ported their 1st party games to PlayStation.

      PSVR games are BC on PS5. If they decide to update their VR games to PS VR 2, it’s not going to be just a quick port.

      Name all the companies that announce all their games early so that you know what’s coming for the next 4 years. This is such a ridiculous expectation. Is education still a thing? Some of these comments are ridiculous.

      PS VR 2 exists because PSVR made a profit for Sony even if it only sold around 6 million. They want to make more money. Not take losses like Facebook of billions of dollars and fired thousands of their employees because they thought the economy was going to tank. The reality is Facebook fired those people to make up for their losses.

      Yeah. They never believed in VR so much that they added eye tracking, HDR, headset haptics and controller haptics that no other headset has as standard. Including built in SSD that not all PCs have.

      PC gets almost nothing big from AAA developers and can only hope for “do it yourself” mods which is pathetic. And Quest 2 has got nothing even though it’s supposedly sold 20 million. But got no Skyrim, Borderlands, RE7, RE8, Hitman, LA Noire, etc. But we got individuals who want to sit here and target Sony.

      • shadow9d9

        Quest 2 has tons of exclusives, since everything is backwards compatible, all the way back to the rift days.

        • ApocalypseShadow

          Now you’re lying. Oculus rift games aren’t on Quest. I guess I can go to the Quest store and purchase Echo VR or the first Asgard’s Rath right now? You’re lying.

          No. Quest stand alone has none of those games. And, you would need an expensive PC to even play those games with good quality. You’re lying again.

          If haptics are a gimmick, why do Quest controllers have it? I guess Facebook and its base loves gimmicks. It helps with immersion. But you know this and are just trying to be ignorant about it.

          Who wants built in audio when PS5 handles it all? Tempest runs rings around Quest audio. You also get a choice of how you want to hear instead of being forced like Facebook. Some like earbuds. Some like headphones. Choice buddy.

          Sony didn’t fire theirs because they keep breaking records with PlayStation. Only companies like Microsoft and Facebook did. Trying to say the economy was going to tank. The reality is that they were firing because of losses or like Microsoft, to make up for their acquisitions. Guess you were fooled.

  • Garhert

    I think it is still too early for exclusives and even bad for vr.. Developers should be paid and motivated for whatever they do, as long as it is promising. Sure, PCVR might be dead (right ViRGiN?), but it is still not set where VR will go. Wireless, mobile gaming with possible future cloud solution or powerful, wired ones. Articles like that should be avoided, there shoud be no such negative posts as long as VR is not part of the mass market.

    • shadow9d9

      Exclusives are literally the only reason to fund expensive games.. to build a brand. it is the only reason to do so, outside of Valve, who sits there and makes money hand over fist by doing nothing..so they can afford not to care. But even they only made 1/3 promised games.

      • Garhert

        Haha, I see why I got downvotes, was a bit drunk when I wrote it. Yeah, good point shadow9d9, guess this is how it works. Still wish there would be more big game studios that release expensive games on all platforms. And I didn’t mean to critisize the author of the article. But I think titles with “VR is missing/lacking” or similar should be avoided as long as we all want to push VR.

    • ViRGiN

      I disagree. PCVR not “might” be dead, but it has already died. Long time ago.
      Just look at Vertigo 2 stats. Or the recent Crossfire game.

  • Gabriel Cash

    PSVR2 doesn’t need exclusives, just titles the Quest couldn’t currently cope with, since there is no other consumer-friendly competition. The Quest 3 will not be able to run Gran Turismo 7, No Man’s Sky or any other conversions of current gen console titles. It doesn’t have the power. That is the PSVR2’s advantage and they should make use of it. It’s good to also have Quest ports but it can’t survive on those only.
    If I were Sony, I would make a list of current gen console games that would be well suited to VR. Open world action games like GTA and Far Cry would be top of my list. Then I’d offer to pay the publishers their development costs to convert them to VR if they put them on PSVR2. Announce GTA V for PSVR2 and see what a difference that makes. The Quest’s answer will be San Andreas, if they can even pull that off.

    • ApocalypseShadow

      A lot of gamers are going to find out what exactly PS5 and PS VR 2 can do for VR. And be surprised what games get announced. And then complain that Sony will keep many as exclusive.

      They would cry an ocean if Insomniac announces a Spider-Man VR game only for PS VR 2. Look at how they were all falling over themselves when Sony Pictures, not even Sony’s game arm, created Far From Home VR. A full production game would have them pulling their hair out.

    • Christian Schildwaechter

      That seems to have been Sony’s strategy from the start. Some of the first things we heard about the PSVR2 was that Sony recommended developers to go for hybrid games. And the most likely reason is that even the successful PSVR titles like Astro Bot, Farpoint or Blood & Truth didn’t do financially well compared to regular titles, simply because the audience was 1/20th the total size of the PS4 user base.

      I still think the PSVR2 is too expensive due to, coming out of a shortage where scalpers charged insane numbers for the few available PS5, Sony overestimating how much people were willing to pay, and that the PSVR2 hardware is probably cheaper to produce than a Quest 2, so there should be some room for cheap holiday bundles. But no matter the price, VR still has very many comfort and usability issues that will keep away most potential users, and these issues won’t easily go away due to people having very varying eyes, head shapes and living room arrangements. So even at half the price, the PSVR 2 would most likely reach no more than 20% of the total PS5 install base, still causing similar financial problems for VR developers due to the smaller audience.

      If Sony anticipated something like that, their current strategy makes a lot of sense:
      – Don’t subsidize the hardware in hope of catching a large user base and making back the money from software, because the limited technology sets an upper ceiling for how many will ever buy a HMD.
      – Don’t subsidize a lot of content developed specially for PSVR2, as the limited audience will make it very hard to make back the money.
      – Instead utilize what will be produced anyway, AAA titles targeting the regular PS5 base, but make it easy for developers to integrate a VR mode.

      The most elaborate advantage the PSVR2 has in comparison to all other available HMDs is a working eye tracking/ETFR solution that can significantly boost performance. And the main purpose of that may be to allow regular PS5 titles like RE8 to run at usable speed when rendered in stereo at much higher resolutions and frame rates, without forcing Konami to significantly change or optimize the code. This encourages more AAA developers to even consider offering VR options, and these games will all be at a visual level neither the Quest 3 or 4 will be able to compete with. It’s basically what we see in PCVR, where due to a lack of native titles mods have become very important. Those mods can be done by very few developers, meaning the cost for adding VR is only a very tiny fraction of what the development of an actual game costs. The big difference is that PCVR mods usually require rather fast/expensive hardware, while Sony’s ETFR implementation plus designing those titles as hybrid games right from the start allows current AAA games to run reasonably well in VR on what is technically mid range gaming PC hardware.

      So maybe Sony is actually doing the right/smartest thing here: considering the PSVR 2 as an expensive niche accessory instead of a separate platform, and consequently focus on games that enhance the experience with said expensive accessory, but not actually limit the audience by requiring it, like VR only titles would. That is of course not what VR enthusiasts want, but may be a much better match to what the typical PS5 gamer is looking for: something that gives the PS5 experience an extra value, but if you occasionally don’t want to rearrange the furniture or be isolated from your peers, you can play RE8 or GT7 just as well lying on the couch with a game pad. That will probably draw in more regular PS5 users that VR-only titles like Astro Bot or Lone Echo that may be well loved by VR enthusiasts, but that barely anybody outside the VR bubble even knows of.

    • That would be a legitimate statement… if wireless PCVR wasn’t a thing. So I’m going to reject it outright as invalid.

      Outside of a few children, most people who own a Quest also own a powerful PC for gaming.

  • Are they selling PS5 anywhere? Scumbag beggars in my town still keep buying them up, shilling them for whatever they can get. If anyone within earshot of my ever mentioned flipping PS5’s, I’m going to get an Assault Charge added to my record, because that @#%#@ is going to get BEAT!

    (deep breaths, calming down)

    Not that it matters, I suppose. I’d rather get a Quest Pro then spend the same money on a PS5 and PSVR2. I’d miss out on a couple of PSVR originals, but I’d have a MUCH more useful and powerful headset.

    • CrusaderCaracal

      This was painful to read

  • FloridaOJ

    As someone who owns all of the headsets… I’m really disappointed with Sony and hope that they correct course. It’d be odd to “take” my money once… instead of locking me in for life. Provide content.