Sony has released the sales figures with regards to the PlayStation VR hardware, and they completely trump the competition. It is revealed that 915000 PSVR headsets have been purchased as of February 19th. This places Sony at the top of the VR market, by a long shot.
In comparison to competitors, the end of 2016 estimates that the Oculus Rift had sales of 243000 units and the HTC Vive, 420000 units. Neither company has revealed their official sales figures, but these estimations originate from the SuperData research firm.
It is possible that sales for the PSVR did not achieved its potential, as global chief executive of Sony Interactive, Andrew House, revealed to the New York Times that he was too cautious with production of the hardware, resulting in scarcity in stores.
“It’s the classic case in any organization — the guys who are on the front end in sales are getting very excited, very hyped up. You have to temper that with other voices inside the company, myself among them, saying let’s just be a little bit careful.”
The success of the PSVR is most likely due to the connection the hardware has to the PlayStation 4 which is one of the most successful consoles, having sales of over 53 million worldwide.
Sony is contentiously growing their VR department. The next piece of hardware to come out will be the PSVR Aim Controller, due May 16th 2017.