Summary
The company Superdata has just published the figures concerning the sales, in clear progression, of virtual reality headsets in 2018 and presents a projection for the year 2019.
After a mixed year 2017, sales of virtual reality equipment jumped in 2018 and exceeded expectations. This is what emerges from the study published by the firm specializing in market analysis of video games, consoles and virtual reality equipment, Superdata Research. The American cabinet has also split a projection for the year 2019 promising a great success to the future high-end autonomous headset from Oculus, the Quest.
A jump in sales driven by the PS VR and the Oculus Go
According to the firm, the best-selling PlayStation VR headset in 2018. It has been followed, since its release, by the Oculus Go marketed at the start of the second quarter. The Samsung Gear VR, which sold very well last year and in 2016, stalled and saw sales decline throughout the year. The Oculus Rift and HTC Vive continue to battle it out as the Vive Focus struggles to find its audience.
The firm specifies that sales revenues have grown by + 30% compared to 2017. This growth is particularly interesting, especially since prices have fallen regularly during the year. The fourth quarter is, unsurprisingly, the month with the most sales. Between Black Friday promotions and Christmas shopping, the last quarter is always conducive to these sales.
2019 sales boosted by the Oculus Quest
For the year 2019, Superdata predicts that the Oculus Quest headset will be a great success, estimating sales of 1,3 million units for the future headset of the Facebook subsidiary.. This important interest is explained by the attraction of VR but at affordable prices while offering high-end experiences. The autonomy offered by the Quest is also a huge advantage over the Oculus Rift which requires not only to be connected by cables but also to have a powerful PC.
The release of the Oculus Quest is particularly anticipated. Note that the Oculus standalone headset could deal a major blow to HTC. The Korean manufacturer, which is not very successful with its Vive Focus autonomous headset, should adopt a different strategy at Oculus this year.
Headphone sales are obviously a big factor, but games sales generate the most revenue.. Launching into the game of predictions, Superdata has thus delivered its estimates for the next 3 years on virtual reality, augmented reality on smartphones and mixed reality headsets. Still marginal in 2018, mixed reality headsets like, for example, the Magic Leap One should experience a nice growth, gradually catching up with that of virtual reality.
