Meta Platforms slashed the prices of its virtual reality headsets in hopes of spurring demand for its VR hardware as its bold bets on the Metaverse were struggling to make a big hit.
Its flagship MetaQuest Pro will retail for US$999 (nearly Rs.81,700) compared to the introductory price of US$1,499 (nearly Rs.1,22,500 crore) and search 2 256GB version for $429 (nearly Rs.35,000) instead of $499 (nearly Rs.41,000), Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a broadcast in a blog entry on Friday.
The company cited lower Quest 2 sales as the reason for a 17 percent decline in fourth-quarter sales at its Reality Labs unit, which includes VR-related offerings.
The division lost US$13.7 billion (nearly Rs.1,12,000) last year and over US$10 billion (nearly Rs.81,700) in 2021.
The price reduction for the 256GB version of Meta Quest 2 is effective March 5 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain , Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK and US where Meta Quest Pro will start price reductions starting March 5th in US and Canada and March 15th in all other countries where Meta Quest Pro is supported.
Meta faces heat from investors for putting money into it metaverse this did not pay off as expected.
At the end of last year, the company launched Quest Pro, positioning it as the most advanced VR Headset with features to push the use cases further.
Quest Pro targeted designers, architects and other creative professionals with its outward-facing cameras that capture live 3D streams of the physical environment and enable innovations such as the ability to hang virtual paintings on a real wall.
Meta has recently sobered up its stance on the Metaverse and is focusing on cost savings. The company called 2023 the “Year of Efficiency” and predicted billions of dollars in savings that year.
While VR headsets have added advanced features recently, their adoption outside of the gaming community has been slow.
Last month, Tencentthe world’s largest video game publisher, has shelved its plans to enter VR hardware amid talks about distributing its Meta Quest product line in China.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
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