The International Data Corporation (IDC) recently reported the total sales of virtual reality headsets during the first quarter of 2017. The results were mildly surprising, as the best selling headsets were designed for mobile devices. In fact, Samsung’s Gear VR managed to take the top spot with 489,500 units sold. Despite this trend of mobile VR, Sony’s PlayStation VR also sold very well, as it moved 429,000 units.
Shipping over 400k units is particularly impressive when compared to how the major PC headsets fared. HTC Vive did pretty well, with it managing to sell 190,900 units in the first quarter. The same can’t be said for what seemingly was the hottest headset out of the gate, the Oculus Rift. The Facebook-backed product sold slightly less than 100k units in the first quarter.
These solid PSVR sales make sense, as PlayStation VR did have a very solid first quarter of 2017 when it comes to software. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard ended up scaring plenty of gamers, and the VR version of the game was exclusive to PlayStation. RE is easily the biggest VR release of the year so far, so that was a huge get for Sony. This momentum has continued forward as players that purchased a headset for Resident Evil have been able to enjoy high-profile titles such as Farpoint, and Star Trek: Bridge Crew in the following months.
There will certainly be more virtual reality announcements at E3 2017, as companies try to keep the positive momentum going. The IDC currently predicts that there will be nearly 100 million VR and AR headsets shipped by 2021, so it doesn’t look like virtual reality is going anywhere soon.
(Source: Seeking Alpha via MCV)
