You guys know by now how much I love analysts and their ability to tell the future like the demise of PlayStation with no PS4 to think of. The past has been a bit of mixed bag in regards to PlayStation VR. On one hand, PS VR is killing the competition and on the other hand, sales forecasts have been dramatically cut. So is there a silver lining? Tiernan Ray from Barron’s thinks so.
Research firm Canalys today weighs in on the matter, with some thoughts for Sony, Facebook, and HTC.
“VR headsets got off to a strong start in their first year of consumer shipments,” says the firm, estimating shipments will be over 2 million for this year, in aggregate, across all vendors.
The study leaves out simpler VR devices, such as Alphabet‘s Google’s “Daydream,” and Samsung Electronics‘s “Gear VR.”
So what exactly does that mean? That VR is in its infancy, a sentiment echoed by analyst Jason Low.
Canalys believes it will take several years to ramp up. There are encouraging signs of consumer adoption and positive customer satisfaction, however, especially among gamers. Many billions of dollars of research and development are needed to continue advancing VR technology, form factors and software to further grow the industry.
As for the drop in PS VR sales, as pointed out in a piece from last week, a major part seems to be due to a shift in strategy from Sony and one that I welcomed. Sony is already ahead and, despite their surprise face, knew this getting into the race. Now it’s all about putting together the building blocks of the future versus squeezing out extra sales.
Shipments would have been greater if it were not for one key problem: PlayStation VR was delayed until October and is still seriously supply constrained due to problems making its OLED displays. Though some believe Sony has de-prioritized promoting VR in favor of the standard or Pro PlayStation 4s, it is not worth investing in major marketing campaigns while current supply remains sold out. Sony should push VR more forcefully when supply constraints ease, and especially as promising titles such as Farpoint and Golem are launched.
Do you think it makes sense for Sony to focus on PS4 Pro sales in the short term and circle back to PS VR in the future?