Meta, alias Facebook, It may be one of the most influential and ambitious companies in the world, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t untouched by broader economic woes. On the same day, a series of news articles were revealed Meta .’s recent belt tighteningThe company says it is increasing the price of its Quest VR headset.
It’s a notable update in an industry that often sees the prices of devices drop as technology advances. The higher price tag on one of the world’s most popular VR headsets also creates another potential roadblock in Meta’s quest to attract more consumers to virtual reality.
Starting in August, two configurations are available Meta Quest 2 VR Headset both will increase in price by $100. The 128 gigabyte model will cost $400 and the version with 256 GB of storage will cost $500. Popular free download Defeat Saber The game, usually $30, will ship with the headset until the end of the year. This pushes the Meta Quest 2 headset closer to the $549 price point HP Reverb G2 and HTC Vive Prostarting at $599 for just one headset (no hand controller).
Meta said, through a spokesperson, that it has invested billions of dollars in the VR ecosystem and that the company is “adjusting the price of our Meta Quest 2 headset to allow us to continue to invest in ways that will continue to propel this increasingly competitive industry forward for consumers as well as developers. “
Meta Quest’s price change signals a rethinking of the company’s metaverse strategy as it — and other tech companies — adjust to changes in the advertising market and prepare for a recession. can happen. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made it clear that he sees VR as a long-term investment. Last year, Meta said it plans to invest $10 billion in its metaverse efforts. Since then, the unit has flowed cash. Meta spent more than $10 billion on VR in 2021 alone, and in its first quarter results for 2022, it reported a loss of nearly $3 billion for its metaverse division.
A researcher at IDC, Francisco Jeronimo, shared via Twitter last month that Meta has sold nearly 15 million units of Quest 2 since its launch in 2020, and that the company has managed to capture an overwhelmingly large share of the VR market. But its dominance may not last forever. While VR shipments are forecast to increase this year, with the potential to reach 14 million units in 2022 alone, anticipated headsets from ByteDance, Sony and Apple could put pressure on Meta, IDC analysts warn.
But in the meantime, the $100 price increase on Quest 2 is unlikely to increase the margins for Meta in a meaningful way. It may just mean that the company loses a bit less than monetize its super-reverse push, as it continues to embody its vision of our computing future.
“Most people expect Meta to take a loss on VR and maybe break even at some point,” said Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “The problem with this price increase is that people often expect, when a product is out of stock for this long, it will cost cut, is not increment. That’s the most jarring part of this. It affects the general trend of consumer electronics. The company may still want to offer discounted versions of Meta Quest 2 during the holidays, he added, but the “discounted” price may now match the original price of the product.
