playstation vr was launched back in October 2016 and since then Sony has sold quite well in the market, competing against the Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, and HTC Vive. In February, a report surfaced that Sony managed to sell 915,000 PS VR devices and was quickly stepping toward the million mark.
Now, after almost four months since that report, Sony has finally confirmed that the sales of its PlayStation VR have crossed the 1 million mark. This puts Sony ahead of HTC’s Vive and Oculus Rift. According to an analysis by SuperData, Vive VR sold 420,000 units by the end of 2016, while the Oculus Rift sold only around 243,000 units.
However, Sony was unable to cross the milestone set by South Korean company Samsung, whose Gear Vr Headset has shipped to over 5 million people worldwide.
What Sony CEO had to say
Shawn Layden, president and CEO of Sony, has said that although the million units sales may sound like a great achievement, but it really was no big deal. He explained that nearly 60 million people own the PlayStation 4 console, and just one million of them have decided to get the VR headset from the company. This is why Layden thinks there is still a lot of work left to be done.
The Sony CEO also pointed out that sale of the VR headset had suffered due to the shortage of supply to stores during December, when people had to search a lot to get their hands on one unit.
To ensure that such things do not take place in the future, Layden says that he will make an effort so that the company is well prepared for the demand.
Sales were also relatively slower because of the fact that there were not many interesting VR titles on the PS4 platform. Although, “Rez Infinite,” “Thumper,” and “Resident Evil 7” were good games and much appreciated, the VR side of the console has been greatly ignored by game developers.
Whats next for PS VR
Layden said that the recently released sci-fi shooter “Farpoint” and an Aim Controller peripheral will usher in the new age for the PlayStation VR platform. The president of Sony also promised fans that a lot of new VR related programs would be announced at the upcoming E3 2017 event. So, it seems the company is really trying to push the VR medium.
However, VR experience is not restricted to games only, Layden revealed plans of working together with Vince Gilligan and Sony Pictures to bring the 'Breaking Bad' experience to the PlayStation VR. What this experience may be like is anybody’s guess for now. More of this may be revealed at the E3 event.
