The "iVRy VR" community-backed project has slowly chipped away at unlocking the PlayStation VR2's full potential—Sony's $550 (MSRP) virtual reality headset is locked into the PlayStation 5 ecosystem, but many gamers have requested that it become compatible with PC platforms. iVRy's progress on this front could be surpassed by first-party efforts—a month ago, Sony indicated that it was exploring new avenues: "we're pleased to share that we are currently testing the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC to offer even more game variety in addition to the PS VR2 titles available through PS5. We hope to make this support available in 2024, so stay tuned for more updates." Reports suggest that Sony's second generation product has not met sales expectations—insiders posit that company leadership has requested a pause of production. An entry into the PC market could boost the PS VR2's popularity, but it will face plenty of competition within an already "niche" segment.

iVRy has monitored Sony's progress with great interest—the former's social media account has disclosed the discovery of a new development milestone: "(their) latest firmware update enables PC access! This means it's no longer necessary to use driver/hardware workarounds to make it work on Windows. Still to be confirmed whether this update enables NVIDIA use, but all indications are that Sony's 'PC games' plans involve direct connection." The iVRy VR project has—so far—managed to (successfully) connect the PS VR2 to AMD GPU-based systems. Sony is expected to produce an official means of hooking up their headset to PCs. iVRy discussed this provision in their follow-up post: "a 'VirtualLink' adapter of some kind is still required due to PS VR2 hardware design. If Sony does intend to make 'official' PC drivers, they would need to provide this adapter to end-users."

The International Data Corporation (IDC) has been tracking sales of Sony's PlayStation VR2 virtual reality headset since launch time (February 2023)—a new report claims that a backlog of unsold units has accumulated. Bloomberg's analysis of IDC data reveals that PS VR2 sales have consistently declined each quarter, despite promising early numbers—the publication alleges that Sony Group Corporation has paused production of its ($550 MSRP) PS VR2 headset: "until it clears a backlog of unsold units, according to people familiar with its plans, adding to doubts about the appeal of virtual reality gadgets." Anonymous industry moles reckon that manufacturing facilities have pumped out over two million examples since launch time. Sony is unlikely to admit, publicly, that it is having a tough time shifting its second generation virtual reality headset—Bloomberg's network of insiders believe that "stocks of the device are building up."

The lack of AAA content, developed exclusively for the PS VR2's ecosystem, is cited as big stumbling block—Bloomberg (alongside numerous publications) reckons that sales have suffered due to an absence of system-selling titles. Horizon: Call of the Mountain (2023) was an impactful launch title, but the headset's software portfolio contains a lot of "novelty" items, casual experiences and glorified tech demos (according to community feedback). Late last month, Sony admitted that it was exploring options beyond the VR2's normal mode of operation (PS5 acting as host): "We're pleased to share that we are currently testing the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC to offer even more game variety in addition to the PS VR2 titles available through PS5. We hope to make this support available in 2024, so stay tuned for more updates." This surprising announcement arrived mere days before the firing of (around) 900 PlayStation employees. Company leadership revealed that Firesprite's headcount would be reduced. This VR-oriented studio collaborated with Guerrilla Games on the development of Horizon: Call of the Mountain. Sony's London Studio will be closed down—its team had previously worked on PlayStation VR Worlds (2016) and Blood & Truth (2019)—compatible with Sony's first generation headset.

HTC VIVE is taking interactivity, utility, and expressiveness in XR experiences to the next level with the new VIVE Ultimate Tracker. Whether it's gaming, sports training, motion capture, or industrial use, VIVE Ultimate Tracker can do it all.

VIVE Ultimate Tracker is compact, versatile, and with new technology which essentially makes it "self-tracking". This makes it perfect for HTC VIVE's standalone headsets VIVE XR Elite and VIVE Focus 3, with support coming for OpenXR, SteamVR based PC VR setups in the near future. VIVE Ultimate Tracker is available starting today at vive.com with a range of limited-time bundle deals.

When PlayStation VR2 released earlier this year, it offered players a chance to experience virtual game worlds bristling with detail and immersive features. PS VR2 was the culmination of several years of development, which included multiple prototypes and testing approaches. To learn more, we asked PS VR2's Product Manager Yasuo Takahashi about the development process of the innovative headset and PlayStation VR2 Sense Controller, and also gained insight into the various prototypes that were created as part of this process.

PlayStation Blog: When did development for the PS VR2 headset start?
Yasuo Takahashi: Research on future VR technology was being conducted even prior to the launch of the original PlayStation VR as part of our R&D efforts. After PS VR's launch in 2016, discussion around what the next generation of VR would look like began in earnest. We went back and reviewed those R&D findings and we started prototyping various technologies at the beginning of 2017. Early that same year, we began detailed conversations on what features should be implemented in the new product, and which specific technologies we should explore further.

Self-described mixed reality nerd, Brad Lynch, has tweeted out several interesting details about Apple's yet-to-be announced VR/AR headset. He has managed to compile information from several sources - mostly reports produced by hardware analysts based in China. His summation of the leaked info states: "The Apple HMD's Bill of Materials (BoM) cost to be about $1500-1600 (USD). This is about double the reported BoM for the (Meta) Quest Pro (which was 800 dollars including the controllers and charging pad)."

Minsheng Electronics's article suggests that 400,000 - 500,000 headset units are set for production in the second half of this year. An operating system with the codename "rOS" is reportedly clashing with Apple's traditional iOS mobile platform, but the author does not provide further information about these compatibility issues. The headset's operating system is supposedly capable of supporting a wide range of games, productivity applications and methods of video communication.

Industry analysts have been busy with reviews of the PlayStation VR2 headset's launch sales figures, and have concluded that the numbers are a big disappointment according to findings published in a Bloomberg article. The research firm IDC is predicting that the PS VR2 is unlikely to break above 270,000 unit sales - timed from its launch this year on February 22 to the end of March. This is a substantial shortfall when lined up against the expected sales figures - Sony was reported to have an estimate of 2 million units sold going into the next financial year, but it was cutback to 1.5 million in the recent past. Francisco Jeronimo, IDC's Vice President of data and analytics cites a number of factors for the sluggish start: "Consumers around the world are facing rising costs of living, rising interest rates and rising layoffs - VR headsets are not top of mind for most consumers under the current economic climate."

Gamers were surprised by the higher than expected pricing for the PlayStation VR2 headset - at an MSRP of $550 it exceeds the asking price of the PlayStation 5 - and the home console is a necessary component in hosting the VR2's functionality. The virtual reality device has been a critical darling, although reviewers have been quick to question the price tag. It has been praised for an impressive specification and feature set, which includes dual 2,000 x 2,040 OLED displays, class leading eye-tracking tech and innovative Move wand controllers. The analysts share similar views about the high MSRP - Jeronimo predicts that Sony will need to take drastic action in order to right its sales ship: "I suspect a price cut on the PS VR2 will be needed to avoid a complete disaster of their new product." A price cut would perhaps appeal to a more mainstream buyer, coupled with the PlayStation VR2 being part of an ultra familiar gaming brand, but VR headset manufacturers as a whole are experiencing a slowdown in sales. Gamers were slow to adopt the first iteration of Sony's virtual headset, and that pattern appears to be repeating for the new model.

Apple's yet to be announced hybrid VR/AR headset is facing another setback and industry insiders are reckoning that the first iteration of the device will not be unveiled at the WWDC 2023 keynote - starting June 5. An industry analyst has been posting their theories via social media, and based on insider information believes that Apple is delaying production of the hybrid headset to late 2023. Ming-Chi Kuo's proposes this situation: "Apple isn't very optimistic about the AR/MR headset announcement recreating the astounding "iPhone moment," the mass production schedule for assembly has been pushed back by another 1-2 months to mid-to-late 3Q23. The delay also adds uncertainty to whether the new device will appear at WWDC 2023, as the market widely expects. Furthermore, due to the delay in mass production for assembly, the shipment forecast this year is only 200,000 to 300,000 units, lower than the market consensus of 500,000 units or more."

Internal hands-on sessions at Apple HQ have apparently brought to light major user issues with the mixed reality headset, and that feedback has caused a loss in confidence in launching the product in a "ready enough" state, especially in time for summer. Kuo concludes his theory: "The main concerns for Apple not being very optimistic regarding the market feedback to the AR/MR headset announcement include the economic downturn, compromises on some hardware specifications for mass production (such as weight), the readiness of the ecosystem and applications, a high selling price (USD 3,000-4,000 or even higher)."

Apple CEO Tim Cook has reportedly set an ambitious end of the year launch window for the company's mixed reality headset. Operations Chief Jeff Williams has also pushed in favor of a late 2023 debut of the much delayed VR/AR hybrid product. According to anonymous insider sources who have divulged juicy details to the Financial Times, the decision to launch in 2023 has caused an internal clash with the Apple Design team at its Cupertino, California headquarters.

The Apple Park design team has called for additional development time, this would push the headset's launch back by several years. Insiders claim that the design team would prefer to have more time to refine the product's aesthetics and functionality, with emphasis on creating a sleek and more lightweight visor. Doubts about the efficacy of the headset's proposed internal technology were also expressed, the designers would prefer to delay until Augmented Reality development reaches a satisfying level of maturity.

Meta has announced a price cut for its Quest 2 256 GB and Quest Pro VR headsets, reducing the price by $80 and $500, respectively. The latest price cut puts the Meta Quest 2 256 GB at $429 and the Quest Pro at $999.99.

Unfortunately, Meta is still keeping the price of the Quest 2 128 GB VR headset at $399.99, which now puts it in a rather difficult position. Bear in mind that the Meta Quest 2 VR headset does not feature support for microSD cards, so $30 gets you double the storage, making the slightly more expensive model a better deal.