‘PS4 VR’ Is Both A Success And Potential Sign Of Future Failure For Sony

Sony is raking in the applause for its “PlayStation 4 VR” offering, with reviewers saying and writing good things about the hardware and software features even as they point out certain weaknesses. However, storm clouds loom over the horizon for the Japanese giant, with brand’s first foray into VR territory also being a potential sign of its downfall.

Right now, Sony is relying on its PlayStation products for the majority of its revenue, Business Insider reports. The company’s quarterly earnings report in July indicated that the $546 million it made was mostly from its video game sector at 78 percent. This is the clearest example of how the console is now Sony’s golden goose, which now puts the company in very real danger when facing off against Microsoft.

In terms of the number of game boxes sold for this generation, Sony has the clear lead with a total of over 40 million units of the “PS4” sold. In comparison, Microsoft has only sold about 20 million “Xbox One” units, though the company has stopped posting its numbers a while ago.

This result is reminiscent of the “PS2’s” golden days, which made it the best-selling video game console generation in history. When the “PS3” came out, however, Sony suffered a huge defeat in the hands of its main console competitor.

Now, the Windows OS seller is consolidating its might in the video game industry by attempting to merge two powerful sectors together; the “Xbox One” console and the PC. One of the ways it is doing this is through cross-play and shared saves via Xbox Live, and it seems to work based on how well the transition is when playing “Gears of War 4” on both console and PC.

In order to head off the oncoming tidal wave that threatens to make it obsolete, Sony is gambling on the new frontier that is VR and it is marketing the innovation hard. Some of its tactics for really pushing the technology on consumers can be a bit overwhelming as well, which includes users immersing themselves completely in the virtual world that they forget everything else, The Verge notes.

Only time will tell if VR will even take off as companies are promising. Right now, Sony has the challenging task of figuring out what its place will be in the video game market down the road.