Even though the long heralded VR revolution began earlier this year with the launch of the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, you wouldn’t know it- there has hardly been any chatter or conversation around VR, or VR products. Overall, nothing seems to have changed. And while many contend that the upcoming PlayStation VR will be the medium’s chance to break into the mainstream, Sony’s marketing for that seems to be curiously muted too.
Nonetheless, it appears as though players are largely sold on VR as a concept. According to a study conducted by marketing group B/HI and research supplier Listen Research (via Gamespot), 74% of the 300 respondents, all of whom play console and PC games for at least 5 hours a week, intend to purchase a VR product for themselves in the future- and 60% of them hope to get it as a gift.
In terms of platform breakdown, 75% of console players wish to purchase a VR product, while 73% of PC players are on board- which is a bit amusing, because VR so far seems to be confined, and far more suited, to PCs more than consoles.
Apparently, players really want to play RPGs in VR, which is… an interesting choice, and not what I would have gone with, in spite of my love for the genre. 40% of respondents claimed they were most looking forward to playing RPGs in VR, followed by sports and shooters at 39% and 38%.
All in all, though the sample size for this survey was small, assuming it to be representative, it sounds like there is a market for VR even within the traditional, mainstream AAA demographic. If this is true, then betting on VR appears to have been the right thing in the long run, and the format is set to take off.