It seems reports about people being skeptical about virtual reality are misplaced. Even Sony Interactive Entertainment global chief Andrew House, who had doubts, how fast the mass market would embrace the technology, was surprised with Sony's VR sales recently.
When asked how many virtual reality headsets needed to be manufactured, he was among Sony insiders that advised the company to make fewer of them. As it turned out, Mr. House and his group were proven too cautious, according to The New York Times.
According to the report, PlayStation VR sales reached 915,000 units sold as of February 19, within four months after it was released. Sony's internal goal, according to House, was to sell one million VR headsets in its first six months. By the looks of it, Sony's VR headsets will exceed sales of the targeted one million before mid-April.
House further stated that they found people to have literally lined up at stores in Japan, once word spreads that stocks are replenished. Japan is one of the largest games markets.
It should not have been too surprising since it requires a much smaller investment to go into PSVR than going for the Oculus Rift, or the HTC Vive. Even if a customer splurges on a PS4 Pro with a full VR bundle, the investment would still be relatively smaller than exclusively getting the HTC Vive, according to Engadget.
Another clue that Sony should have considered, is that PlayStation VR has already shown a strong following in the U.K. when it was released there last October. This was pointed out here here in an earlier report.
The Sony PlayStation VR took a commanding sales lead over Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, by cornering 30 percent of the Virtual Reality market ahead of its competitors last December 2016. The winning factor, as stated above, is Sony's competitive price point.
Meanwhile, though PlayStation VR does not have an extensive VR library released for it from launch, "Resident Evil 7" became part of it recently. According to pundits, the game is a real treat to play in VR. No other VR publisher has joined Sony's ranks for VR since then.
PlayStation VR owners would be able to play "Farpoint" beginning May 16. To coincide with its release, players may enjoy this sci-fi FPS using Sony's new Aim controller. Aim controllers, according to GameZone is Sony's new peripheral in the shape of a gun similar to AR or SMG.
