PlayStation VR has sold over three million units worldwide since its launch in 2016, with over 21.9 million virtual reality games and experiences sold to date. That means each headset owner purchases an average of seven pieces of software, which is a pretty high attach rate. It shows that people who own the expensive accessory tend to use it quite a lot.
While the numbers aren’t going to inspire much confidence in isolation, they have to be taken in context. Sony’s headset is comfortably outpacing its PC-based competitors the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, and the trickle of software continues to be quite compelling, with Firewall Zero Hour the next big title due out, following The Persistence last month.
“We’d like to thank all our fans for the amazing support, and we’re thrilled that so many of our gamers have experienced the magic of VR and stepped into the captivating worlds that electrify our senses,” wrote marketing vice president Mary Yee on the PlayStation Blog. Hopefully these figures are enough to convince Sony to continue its push into virtual reality, because it’s onto something here.
[source blog.us.playstation.com]
Comments 40
.. I think for a very niche technology, it's a brilliant adoption rate, let's hope they make PSVR 2.0 backwards compatible - it would be a crime to lose this catalogue with the inevitable update!
Not to be pessimistic but after 2 years on a 80 million base console isn't 3 million a failure I mean they gave up on Vita but not on this
@GKO900 It's really not.
As a recent VR Adopter I have to say it's a fantastic (albeit expensive) piece of kit
The other night I was sat playing the Headmaster game, it was a hot day so I had the fan on in the living room. With the headset on heading footballs into the goal and the cool breeze blowing in my face you would genuinely believe you're outside and in the game.
It's just a really bizarre experience thats almost impossible to explain until you actually try it for yourself
@GKO900 It's not comparable, the Vita launched on a already established market plus it was coming off the back of the PSP's success so there was much higher expectations all round. VR on the other hand is new technology in a completely new market where everyone is learning about it as they go.
3 million is quite impressive. Higher than I would have thought prior to launch.
As for me, I find myself in a tricky spot with VR. I want one, but I feel like I've drifted into the no man's land where I probably won't have to wait that long for an upgraded version to come out alongside PS5 and so I don't know whether to bother chucking money at one.
To quote Sammy, come back when its sols 100m and we'll talk
@johncalmc - I think for anyone sitting on the fence re: PSVR - there are now some amazing deals around (and with V2 it's got the HDR pass-through that I don't)... but more importantly there's constantly a stream of different titles on sale - and you'll easily get more than your money's worth cherry picking them... and there are some absolutely stunning titles ranging from Wipeout (insta-classic) to RE7 (still best gaming experience ever) and you can pick these up for peanuts... now is the PERFECT time to pick one up and experience a glimpse of what future gaming is going to look like... I mean I picked up Superhot VR last night (again, massively discounted) - and I've played the 2D version, but in VR, it's like a completely different (and utterly amazing) experience... crouching, ducking, diving, punching, grabbing guns... it's just a fraction of what's to come in the coming years...
@knuckles-Fajita Huh what?
@Knuckles-Fajita Cool story bro, lol.
@get2sammyb Any way to know if they count PS+ "rentals" in that 22mil?
I've had PSVR for about 6 months now and besides the bundled GT Sport - which I quickly traded in - I haven't bought a game yet. I've played many demos, the PS+ games and borrowed Batman from the library and that's it. I keep meaning to buy VR Worlds on sale but keep forgetting. Will buy Astrobot Rescue, probably 50% off, and Dreams. If, ya know, Dreams ever actually releases. Still waiting what, 2 years now on that beta.
Just thought, if PSVR replaces PS3 next March on PS+ I'll buy even less PSVR games, but, and it's an important but, they may sell more $199 headsets if people know they'll get a "free" game every month. Might even sell a few more AIM guns.
@adf86 With more reason they should just give up on this if it's not really working decent numbers, at least Vita had more future but for some unknown reason Sony abandoned the system, if this really had a future by now the demand and numbers would be taking by themselves keeping this alive it's only risking profits and time that could be use on something else, let's be honest outside of gaming sites no one cares about VR
@Neolit Aren't they selling this at a loss!? I mean they reduced the price by a lot and bundled it with other stuff, how financially successful can this ever be if they were quiet for a long time about the numbers
@DLB3 In case you haven't caught on I dont care enough to try.
VR can do what it wants. It's a form of gaming abd entertainment I can never partake in.
When you say PSVR has gone 'triple platinum', that sounds even better. Congratulations, Sony. I wonder if we'll have a 'quadruple platinum' edition of the headset now, since Sony seems to be into celebrating their numbers lately.
@DLB3 Eh. Its nice to see it sold so well. Obly hope the rest of the market catches up. As I say with the PS4 in general, competition is good.
And its not that I dismiss VR, but I can't use VR due to numerous head injuries and I would like not going through the experience of blood rushing from my nose and passing out again.
@GKO900 Sony gave up on Vita because if games like Uncharted, Assassins Creed and CoD weren't going to sell the system then nothing else would have done. And they had the PS4 coming so they thought it was best all round that their studios just focus on that. VR is different cos Sony believed in trying to bring something different to gaming compared to there peers. VR was never going to sell by the truck load and importantly Sony knew this, they forcasted that they would sell a million within a year and they did that comfortably now they've doubled it in 20 months so if anything their ahead of what they anticipated.
@GKO900 The Vita has, through some miraculous twist of fate, continued to remain some semblance of relevancy through 2018, and will do so into 2019. For an absolute flop of epic proportions, I think that's a damn good run. Compare it to other systems that sold similarly poorly.
Virtual reality is a brand new medium and I actually think it has more potential and commercial interest outside of games, so you're wrong.
@DLB3 It is true sadly. It was back with Vive dev kits and my body just clocked out.
And hey, if I DIDNT give you the reason I cant use VR, people would just say Im a blind hater who hadnt even tried it. So lose lose for me.
@DLB3 I find being transparent with my reasoning helps these days.
Got rid of mine after the hdr pass through debacle. If it goes sub 150 then I might think about getting involved again.
This is great news! I bought the PS4 when Horizon Zero Dawn came out, and was very happy to see it support VR - It’s the main reason I’m not investing in Xbox1
I love VR! Not just for native games like Farpoint, SkyrimVR, etc, but also games like Redout, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom3, etc. I was playing Evil Within 2 with FPS mode on, & it was so good with the VR headset
Thanks for reading, wishing you all the best
@GKO900 the big question is are the early adopters enjoying it? I sure am! Will they part with as they feel its a useless piece of tech? I love it - won't part with it (gaming and tv/movie streaming). Can PSVR 2.0 improve when PS5 comes out? Sure why not... Take a look at how dualshock PS3 has evolved into the PS4 dualshock today. Few things which could make PSVR 2.0 a must have... Sharper graphics and power, lighter cooler designs for headset and leads free! 3million owners are helping to shape the future of VR! Worth celebration buddy
I'm just glad that PSVR now plays 3D movies...
If my 3D OLED ever fails (god forbid), I'll still have PSVR.
I also wish Sony would have a VR Anniversary sale in America.
I'd like to get good deals on SuperHot, JobSim, Bzone, and Rez.
Usually only the VR duds are on sale here, from what I can see.
@GKO900 it's the same with games. 80 million consoles like you say and Sony can release their biggest blockbuster game and only 3 million copies sold. I always wonder what the other 10 of million gamers are playing other than gta v still. Even game attach rates aren't that high. Last year it was around 9 games that ps4 owners bought in 4 years. Imagine owning a ps4 for that length of time and you only played 9 games? That's a month for me lol
@bbq_boy indeed! Also a better camera tracking system. But wireless will be super for sure
With better technologies and pricing vr can only rise as a accepted medium for the masses. We've all seen star trek and like most we would spend all day on the holodeck. Even though its many years in the future and not in our lifetime, there needs to be a path that leads to these future technologies. VR is one step closer in my opinion. It gives us that reality that we are looking for and will always improve. VR can't be abandoned, do we continue to play games using generic joy pads on a TV screen forever? Even tv technology is looking for something different I'm sure? Tv hasn't had a leap since black and white became colour. OK so there's lcd over crt. But I remember when tv sets had changed from being black to being silver for a while, then wide-screen. Nothing spectacular more that manufacturers were desperate for reasons for us to buy their next model.
We don't really care about hdr as we make out and who wants to buy a 55" 8k TV in a few years? pointless. Tv's need and will be replaced.
@adf86 Vita flop for overpriced memory cards, lack of support on Sony part sadly, way too expensive at launch, things that could it be fix by Sony but they decided not to even try, now are you saying that even when they knew that they were gonna lose money by not selling enough units they still wanted to bring VR into the market just to bring something new doesn't even make sense why gamble your money into something so niche just to make happy a couple people that want VR and gave up so fast into an established market like the PS Vita.
@get2sammyb Vita lasted this long because the market was always there Sony just didn't even try and gave up on the system unfortunately, so my real question is why go after some unknown and gimmicky market like the VR that is obviously not doing good results in the gaming side and still trying so hard to stick to it and if it has potential like you said then it's obviously on something else even you are admitting that 😂 what would that be though!?
@Bamf Well games and VR are different but I know what you mean, and I just don't want to see Sony going the Nintendo route with gimmicks, no offense but that's how I see VR and to me it's more like a slow death instead of a growing market, I don't even see them in stores anymore no one talks about it either it's just Sony and a couple developers trying to push the market but it's not going anywhere
@GKO900 VR isn't selling at a loss, Andrew House said this himself.
Those reasons you gave for the Vita failing weren't the only ones. Vita actually came in surprisingly cheap for what it can do but the memory card issue was a problem but not a fatal one.
It's a common misconception that Sony quickly dropped support of Vita. They actually released a lot of games for the system over a 2 and half year period
E.G. Uncharted Golden Abyss
Wipeout 2048
Motorstorm RC
Resistance Burning Skies
Escape Plan
Everybody's Golf
Unit 13
Little Deviants
LittleBigPlanet Vita
Killzone Mercenary
Tearaway
Freedom Wars
Soul Sacrifice
ModNation Racers
PS AllStars
Sly Cooper Theives In Time
Super Stardust Delta
and Gravity Rush
That's an awful lot of software that only covers Sony over that period of time but yet the Vita still wasn't selling as much as it should have done. One part of that is console gaming on the go which was what Sony marketed on just wasn't that desirable, people (myself included) just didn't want to pay full price for a portable game where there seen (like it or not) as lesser products compared to the console games. Plus Vita games in general were bigger budgeted then 3DS games at the time so it was more risky for publishers to continue to support the system long term, hence indie devs taking up the slack. Maybe there was more Sony could have done but I guarantee you it won't have changed Vita's long term prospects, quite simply the mass market didn't want it.
I keep forgetting this thing exists along w VR in general...
Seems like a lot of naysayers keep trashing VR. It's all good. VR is the best thing to happen to this medium and I'm glad to see Sony isn't giving up this yet.
@Derpie1 PSVR has more exclusives than xbone.
Love VR. The last time I checked I’d got just over 70 games and experiences for it.
So much more on the horizon too.
@GKO900 Since when does handheld like Vita have more potential than VR which can transport you to another world? The potential of VR is beyond literally any console or gaming platform period.
VR is no gimmick, and everyone agrees after trying it properly.
@Knuckles-Fajita Head injuries are not going to keep you away from VR. I'm sure you can use glasses which means you can use VR in the future. You're basically saying "never" and yet that just doesn't apply because it will always improve.
It could eventually just be contact lenses even.
Congrats to PSVR on reaching 3 million units sold !
@GKO900 - I do understand your pessimism to a certain extent - I felt really badly burned by the Vita - I bought it, and then Sony just decided to forget about it... Alongside PlayTV... Even the PSP to a certain extent... (I'm still bitter about them ending Eye of Judgement - don't get me started, it's still too painful...) so I thought long and hard about going for PSVR...
I have to say though that Sony have really supported PSVR from day one - maybe not in first-party titles, but in terms of splashing it everywhere on the store, in the sales, ensuring it gets air-time at shows and expos, touring the country with it, etc. I've been impressed with their commitment so far. And it's a technology that developers WANT to work with - so there's no end of content.
3m doesn't sound a lot - but as many have said, when you're paying £300 on top of your console already (effectively for another console) - it's a tough sell and the engagement rate will be low. But VR is here to stay - Facebook's investment in it alone will ensure that (and Microsoft's) - and VR (and MR) is already being seen as more than for just gaming - it's the social aspect (wait until FB VR) - the movie aspect, fitness aspect, the experience aspect, business aspect, etc.) - gaming will be secondary I suspect in the long run.
It's amazing to see such technology now and be part of it - regardless of numbers.
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