There’s steady growth across the VR industry, but the market is under a microscope nevertheless. Mass consumer adoption is the goal and many eyes are looking out for what will ultimately inspire the transition in the average consumer’s household. Considering the average consumer’s desire for entertainment, it makes sense that some expect gaming to be the spark and it looks like the PlayStation VR (PSVR) is leading that charge in Japan as reported on eMarketer.
2016 marked the birth of the modern virtual reality era with the launch of HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PSVR. Sony’s headset was a bit late to the party but stepped into the fray with an established device already in homes (the PS4) that could power the headset which made for easier adoption. eMarketer’s reporter compiled statistics from the International Data Corporation (IDC), finding that PSVR accounted for more than 90% of VR headset shipments in Japan by the end of Q4 2016. Recently back in late February, Sony also confirmed it was nearing 1M headsets sold already.
No matter how it all shakes out, it looks like PSVR will be the face of the immersive movement in Japan. This doesn’t set anything in stone when it comes to massive adoption for average consumer households around the world, but can other VR hardware creators learn from it? Is there something to this seemingly insurmountable lead Sony has established beyond Sony being a Japanese company? Time will tell.
