According to new market research, Meta's Quest 2 sold 2021 million units in XNUMX, nearly double the number of VR headsets sold the previous year.
The report, by International Data Corporation (IDC) (via Android Central), shows that the Quest 2 was by far the most popular headset, accounting for 5 percent of all sales for the year. past. Far behind was DPVR, which snagged XNUMX% of all sales, and ByteDance's Pico VR devices came in third at XNUMX%. HTC and iQIYI round out the top XNUMX, leaving Sony and Valve nowhere to be found.
Looking at market trends (and which companies performed best in 2021), there's no doubt that the vast majority of users want affordable all-in-one headsets and want VR headsets that don't require an external computer to get going. . If this trend continues in 2 (and we suspect it will), it could spell the end of PSVR XNUMX and Apple's presumed MR headset.
(*2*)Review: PSVR 2 is going to be Sony's Wii UVR enthusiasts have been waiting for quite some time for Sony to announce the follow-up to its beloved PSVR headset, and earlier this year they finally got their wish. With greatly improved tracking, beautiful OLED screens, and a design focused on comfort, the PSVR 2 sounds like a worthy successor to the XNUMX Sony headset.
However, while the original PSVR headset was popular back then, the industry has now moved on.
Contrary to general market trends, Sony has decided to connect its PSVR 2 headset to the PS5 via a single USB-C cable. That might not seem like a huge drawback, but it does come with a number of restrictions that you won't get with opponents like Meta's Quest 2.
To start, users will be limited to playing wherever their PS5 is. If your home theater setup is in a room with enough space (about 2m in each direction), you're good to go; Otherwise, you'll need to take your PS5 to another room in your house to use your new headset.
On top of that, you're going to be spending considerably more on your PSVR 2. While the cost of the headset is yet to be confirmed, while we suspect it's going to cost around €5 (€XNUMX, around AU € six hundred and fifty) like the original. PSVR did it at launch; now we know that you will also need to purchase a PSXNUMX.
Assuming you can get your hands on one, look to spend at least $99 / $5 / AU$2 for a PS2. With our PSVR XNUMX cost estimates, you'd be looking at around €XNUMX / €XNUMX / AU$XNUMX for the entire configuration, which is roughly triple the cost of Quest XNUMX.
If that wasn't enough, Quest 2 has a huge advantage. As we saw in Sony's console wars, early popularity acts as an unstoppable feedback loop that encourages more and more gamers to enter the ecosystem, but this time Sony is likely to lose.
We'll have to wait and see what PSVR 2 has in store when it launches, but don't be surprised if it ends up gathering dust like your PSVR headset before the end of next year.