VR Deemed “Biggest Loser” Of Holiday Season, PlayStation VR Sales Forecast Down Significantly

Research firm SuperData has revised its sales forecast for PlayStation VR and other head-mounted devices, deeming VR to be the “biggest loser” this holiday season.

GamesIndustry.biz has the report, revealing that SuperData now claims PSVR will sell through no less than 750,000 units worldwide by the year’s end, a substantial drop from the initial forecast of 2.6 million. Pointing to Sony’s decision to prioritize PS4 Pro, the research firm writes that across Black Friday and Thanksgiving Weekend “notably fewer units sold than expected due to a relatively fragmented title line-up and modest marketing effort.” By comparison, figures for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Gear VR remain unchanged – 450k, 355k and 2.3 million, respectively – in SuperData’s updated forecast.

To lend some context to PlayStation VR’s dramatic fall, Stephanie Llamas, Director of Research and Insights at SuperData, told GamesIndustry that, “PSVR had the best opportunity to benefit from the holidays but their supply inconsistencies and lack of marketing have put them behind their potential. They did not offer any first-party deals this weekend, restock bundles or market the device, pushing instead for the PS4 Pro.”

Supply constraints is a factor that Sony acknowledged long before Thanksgiving Weekend, but here, Llamas goes on to claim that had the Japanese platform-holder staged a bigger marketing push, sales for PSVR could have broke past 2 million worldwide.

“Had Sony pushed the PSVR the way they’ve been pushing their other new hardware, the demand would have certainly fulfilled a supply of over 2 million. However, given its quiet release it’s clear they’re being cautious before fully investing in the tech. Without the ‘killer app’ and the slow, steady release of AAA content, they will release less than 1 million devices until they have content they feel confident will bring in the praise they want.”

Sony is yet to announce official sales figures for PlayStation VR, though we expect to get a glimpse of the hardware’s immediate future at this weekend’s PlayStation Experience.