Hopeful early adopters of the PlayStation VR2 have been able to pre-order the virtual reality headset for about a month. However, there’s been a catch — you need to sign up to get an invitation to pre-order the headset. But it seems that’s changed due to lagging demand.
According to The Verge, customers can now pre-order the PS VR2 directly from the PlayStation Direct website — no invitation required. This is great news for those hoping to have the next-generation VR headset in time for its February 22, 2023 launch date, as Sony promises “launch window delivery” at this time. While that doesn’t guarantee you’d get your PS VR2 headset on launch day, it does mean you’ll get it within about a week of the launch date.
We just tried pre-ordering a PlayStation VR 2 and all you need to do is add one to your cart. Just keep in mind that when signing in that the PlayStation Direct site may ask you to prove that you're human by performing a quick test.
This is largely good news for consumers. Previously, reporting from Bloomberg suggested that Sony would have around 2 million units available around the launch window in late February. It would appear that Sony is sitting on a fair amount of excess stock given that they’ve moved on from an invite-only pre-order system to a more traditional method.
However, the PlayStation Direct site says that "due to high demand, this product is limited to 1 per household."
There are a couple of ways to look at this news. The “glass-half-full” approach would be to say that Sony took 8 months to hit 1 million units sold for the original PlayStation VR. It’s not impossible that Sony could have excess PS VR2 stock available but still have exceeded the PS VR’s pace.
But the alternative is that the combination of a high price tag and the need to tether to a PlayStation 5 are hurting the PS VR2, and potential users are turned off. While ultimately tethering to the PS5 could provide better performance than headsets like the Meta Quest 2 and the $550 price point could be justified due to higher-quality hardware, none of that matters if consumers are scared off by the price point.
The original PS VR felt largely ignored by Sony once it was clear it wasn’t a massive hit, and it would be a shame if the same thing happened to the PS VR2. Hopefully, the launch will be more successful than the PS VR — even if below expectations — and we end up with a great contender for the best VR headset.
