Some of the most common questions asked by people interested in the VR industry are: What headset is selling the most? What content gets downloaded? And is it worth it for me to buy now?
Very rarely do we get a completely candid look into the exact sale and download numbers, typically having to collect scatterings of information to create an educated estimate. There are companies that are dedicated to these types of estimates, but even they should be taken with a grain of salt. Understanding that, the data they accumulate can paint an interesting picture and Superdata Research‘s newly released information paints a telling picture: the PlayStation VR (PSVR) and Samsung Gear outsold the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive by a large margin in Q1 of 2017.
Reported on Venturebeat, the new info from Superdata gave estimates for Q1 2017 sale numbers of five VR headsets and the numbers went as follows:
- Gear VR: 782,000
- PlayStation VR: 375,000
- Google Daydream: 170,000
- HTC Vive: 95,000
- Oculus Rift: 64,000
With a little bit of math, we can tell that the PSVR actually sold almost 4x as many units in the first quarter of 2017 as the HTC Vive. Moreover, the Vive is outpacing the Rift and Gear VR is outpacing them all by quite a large margin.
Gear VR leading the charge is no surprise considering the ease of adoption with a significantly lower price than Vive and Rift and the dependence on the largely available smartphone. PSVR coming in second place highlights another aspect of accessibility since that headset piggybacks on the PS4, which already has a massive install base estimated to be nearly 60 million worldwide. Purchasing or upgrading a capable gaming PC is an expensive endeavor for the average consumer and, in the eyes of that consumer, the value of the higher-end tethered units isn’t enough for them to dig into their piggy banks.
Ultimately, not much of this is surprising. The Vive and Rift will continue to charge forward with ways to improve their definitive VR experiences while finding ways to lower the price and mobile VR will attempt to find ways to counteract their limited power and resolution to provide a stout virtual experience that’s widely accessible. It’s only a matter of time before a headset lands right in the sweet spot.
