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VR is Taking the World by Storm: Over 1 Million Headsets Sold in Q3

Zenbane
MVP
MVP

As some may recall, back in 2016 the numbers for PCVR were barely approaching 1-million if we combined the estimates of both the Vive and Rift figures. And that's the total from April 2016 all the way through December.

Today, however...

For the first time since being introduced to the market, over one million (yes, that’s 1,000,000+) VR headsets flew off the shelves in a single fiscal quarter.

First thought to be a “fad” or gimmicky piece of tech, professionals within gaming and other industries are now changing their tune, touting functional VR as a technological breakthrough that could impact any number of industries and change our daily lives for the better.

When most of us think about VR we immediately default to gaming, but VR is so much more. Virtual reality is now taking a front row seat in a wide range of industries and applications, from healthcare, to education, to military and defense.


And for those of us with a competitive streak, we can see who is leading the charge:

    •    Sony – 490,000 units (or ½ of total sales volume)
    •    Oculus – 210,000 units
    •    HTC – 160,000 units


Congrats to Facebook and Oculus for maintaining their #1 spot in PCVR.

Here's the lengthy article that is worth the read:
https://www.vrbeginnersguide.com/vr-is-taking-the-world-by-storm/
91 REPLIES 91

Rob_In_Phoenix
Rising Star


Well to be fair, a lot of it is a fad or just gimmicky. If all you ever saw were a few crappy 360 videos and 5 minutes of Solitaire VR, you might reach the same conclusion. Obviously there is a lot more than that available, but I can see the uninitiated jumping to conclusions based off of a lackluster first experience. I read similar articles when smartphones first started popping up. I've also been reading about the death of PC gaming for the last 20 years. :lol:


To me it seems we should be way past the 'it's a fad stage'.  I think people who had a lackluster experience will eventually give it another go as VR systems become more ubiquitous around the world.

I really believe VR has enough of a foothold now and is here for keeps.  I'm curious about those who say it's still a fad what the basis for their conclusion is.  I'm open to hear about this, if there are real numbers that say VR is fading, I'd like to see them.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Morgrum said:

Didnt I see this exact trend last mth. 
Every post seems like Deja Vu lol.



Yup. And I said the exact same thing about those guesstimations last time too lol

There's no way that the Rift has only sold 50,000 more than the Vive when it's two thirds of the price.

Zenbane
MVP
MVP
Apologies if this is a re-post from something similar. Too much spiked eggnog this week!

I remember talking about how the Rift is one of the top selling units for the 3rd Quarter, but I didn't remember talking about how well VR did as a whole in those 3 months.

I do like how this article introduced some new industries taking advantage of VR, like Dentistry!

The Dentist Office
VR headsets are now being employed by dentists to ease the anxiety and pain of your next office visit. A recent study published in SAGE Journals and headed by five independent UK Universities found that patients who were provided a coastal/beach scene via a VR headset reported “significantly less pain” as their counterparts not equipped with VR.


Morgrum
Expert Trustee
Oh god your a Nogger!
Yuck!
WAAAGH!

Rob_In_Phoenix
Rising Star

Morgrum said:

Oh god your a Nogger!
Yuck!


Don't be dissin' eggnog there.  I love that stuff, and I don't even add any booze to it.  But if I did, I promise to stay away from the Oculus forums.  Booze can have a detrimental effect on internal filtering.

k78qpylfqs4p.jpg

Anonymous
Not applicable
I've never tried eggnog, it's not a popular thing over here in the civilised world 😛

jayhawk
Superstar


I find it amazing people are still buying the HTC set given it's price and lack of features compared to the other PCVR options. If you want the most complete system, you get the Rift. If you want better resolution or a more laptop friendly setup (no external cameras/lighthouses) then you get the Samsung Odyssey. In no situation does it make sense to get the Vive thanks to its absurd price.

Agreed 99%. The 1% is even if the price was right it would still be a dumb decision IMO. Still feels like a dev kit especially considering the wands that need a charge every 4 hours with missing buttons and no thumbsticks. 

RedRizla
Honored Visionary

Morgrum said:

Didnt I see this exact trend last mth. 
Every post seems like Deja Vu lol.


I agree Morgum Freeman.

Anonymous
Not applicable
Lmfao, I've just had a couple of people on Reddit slating me for saying that 98% of the games on Steam are shite lol. Completely off-topic but I thought it was amusing! 😄

kojack
MVP
MVP

snowdog said:

I've never tried eggnog, it's not a popular thing over here in the civilised world 😛


I woke up this morning with salted caramel coffee and baileys.




I'd like to hear from the "VR is just a fad" group to find out if they are still holding onto that position or if they believe differently now.


One of my coworkers (AAA game dev veteran)  told my department that VR is just a fad and a waste of money when I said that the new classroom pc's we were ordering should be at least Rift minimum spec.
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