Last month a number started circulating suggesting the HTC Vive had sold 140,000 units. During a conference call however, in response to a direct question around the figure, the company says the number is actually higher, with an HTC representative telling UploadVR that the figure is “much more” than 140,000.
According to a transcript of the call from Seeking Alpha, the number “of course is higher than 140,000,” according to Chialin Chang, president of the smartphone and connected device business. Chang declined to provide a more specific number on the call, but said “I’m very happy to report to you that we’ll continue to be happy with the current selling condition in the last quarter, and we’re looking to a good…Christmas shopping season for that.”
HTC also said during the conference call it sells each unit “at a profit.”
Both Facebook and HTC haven’t released sales numbers for their respective VR headsets, which makes it difficult for developers and investors to make decisions about where to spend time and money. We’ve heard millions thrown around for the number of Gear VRs in the wild, but that system was offered free with new phones at various points this year. Daydream also debuted from Google with a a free deal when ordered with the new Pixel phones, and PlayStation VR works with a very large install base of millions of PlayStation 4s. With the Vive discounted by $100 on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and Oculus offering $100 in store credit if you buy the Rift, both companies are aiming to spur some strong sales heading into the holidays.
Next month the Rift’s Oculus Touch controllers will debut. The $200 controllers mean a full Rift system costs roughly $800, with an additional $80 tacked on for another camera if you want to fully match the room-scale capabilities of the HTC Vive. With the Vive costing $800 and shipping with hand controllers since April, come December the two headsets will be roughly evenly matched when it comes to both price and capabilities.
