PlayStation VR will sell 'hundreds of thousands' of units at launch, exec says

PlayStation VR, Sony's new virtual-reality headset, launched this week. According to PlayStation executive Jim Ryan, Sony is expecting to sell "hundreds of thousands" of units at launch. Additionally, the executive confirmed in the interview with CNBC that Sony is ramping up production.

Another PlayStation executive, Andrew House, previously said that there might be PlayStation VR shortages. Yet another executive, Shuhei Yoshida, said Sony does not know what demand will be for PlayStation VR, in part because it's such a new technology.

Though preorder units sold through quickly, PlayStation VR is available and in stock at Amazon, GameStop and Best Buy right now.

According to research group Superdata, PlayStation VR sales could reach 2.6 million units by the end of the year. The headset costs $400 on its own and also requires a PlayStation 4 and a PlayStation camera.

A $500 PlayStation VR Launch Bundle comes with the headset, a camera, and two Move controllers, as well as the five-game PlayStation VR Worlds collection. All versions of PlayStation VR include a demo disc containing trials for 18 games, including Resident Evil 7.

Priced at $400, PlayStation VR is "extremely affordable," Ryan said, adding that Sony believes "the take-up is going to be massive."

"We know that the replenishment cycle is a good one, production is going exactly as we anticipated. We have made decisions to further increase capacity at the back end of 2016 and into 2017, so there are going to be a lot of PlayStation VRs around the world, whether that's enough to satisfy the demands of the market, we'll see."

GameSpot's Jimmy Thang reviewed PlayStation VR, saying it's not a must-buy at the moment.

"As a VR fan, I want PSVR to succeed, but it trips up too many times to wholeheartedly recommend at this point," he wrote. "Many of the launch titles will make a large percentage of people sick, and it may lead to the false impression that VR has to make you nauseated. If you have a PS4 and are dying to get PSVR, then I'd recommend the $499.99 bundle which includes the PlayStation Camera, two Move controllers, and PlayStation VR Worlds.

"If you have a PS4 and are simply curious about VR, I'd hold out until more titles are released. While there are a handful of fun titles, there's nothing that I've played at launch so far to indicate to me that the PSVR is a must-buy right now. For everyone else, I'd recommend saving up for a better reality."