© Reuters. File photo: Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, U.S., October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo
(Reuters) – Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:) has cut prices on its VR headsets in hopes of stimulating demand for VR hardware.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a broadcast on the company’s social media platform Instagram on Friday that the retail price of its flagship product, the Meta Quest Pro, will drop from $1,499 at launch to $999. It said it would be lowered and the Quest 2 256 GB version would go from $499 to $429.
The company cited lower Quest 2 sales as the reason for a 17% decline in Q4 revenue for its Reality Labs division, which includes VR-related products.
The sector lost $13.7 billion last year and more than $10 billion in 2021.
Meta has come under criticism from investors for pouring money into a Metaverse that is not enjoying the returns they hoped for.
Late last year, the company launched the Quest Pro, positioning it as a cutting-edge VR headset with features that push the use case even further.
Quest Pro features an outward-facing camera that captures a 3D live stream of the physical environment and enables new features such as the ability to hang virtual paintings on walls in the real world, making it ideal for designers, architects and other creative professionals. It was intended for homes.
Meta has recently calmed down on the Metaverse and focused on cost cutting. The company calls 2023 his “Year of Efficiency” and expects billions of dollars in spending savings this year.
VR headsets have recently added more advanced features, but adoption outside the gaming community has been slow.
Last month, Tencent, the world’s largest video game publisher, shelved plans to expand into VR hardware, but was in talks to sell its Meta Quest product line in China.