Research: Manufacturers delivered 1 million VR headsets last quarter

Manufacturers delivered more than a million VR headsets for the first time last quarter,’ has calculated research firm Canalys. The fall in the price of VR glasses caused a revival of the market and Sony in particular supplied a lot of headsets.

Sony delivered 490,000 PlayStation VR units in the three months to October 1, according to Canalys, strengthening its market position; the manufacturer has a 49 percent share of the VR headset market. Oculus delivered 210,000 copies of its Rift. The manufacturer delivered more glasses due to the price reduction to 449 euros. According to Canalys, Oculus now has a 21 percent market share. HTC delivered 160,000 Vive glasses and would now have a market share of 16 percent. Together, Sony, Oculus and HTC occupy 86 percent of the market.

Sony would benefit from a growing interest in virtual reality, especially in its home country of Japan, in which the emergence of so-called VR experience zones, a kind of arcade halls with VR glasses, would have an influence in the country. With titles such as Doom, Skyrim and Gran Turismo, the company could strengthen its position, Canalys expects. According to the company, it will be a challenge for Oculus to make the upcoming standalone Oculus Go headset a success beyond social media use.

In addition, the agency expects a new revival of the market with the arrival of glasses based on Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality Platform. Asus, HP, Medion and Acer, among others, release headsets for PC with that platform. Canalys bases the figures on its Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Analysis 2017. Vr glasses for mobile phones, such as Google Cardboard and Daydream models or the Samsung Gear VR, were not included in the study.