The virtual reality market is set to take off this year, with the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR set to explode onto the market. That said, a new survey commissioned by GamesIndustry International and conducted by Ipsos indicates that an unlikely gaming audience is more excited for the technology than others.
The survey (with answers that came from France, Spain, Germany and the U.K.) reveals that console gamers in Europe are showing far more interest in investing in virtual reality than PC players, with 63 percent showing interest, compared to 51 percent of the PC audience. That number grew to 72 percent when the survey focused exclusively on Xbox One and PS4 consoles.
The main reasons for this are related to price and compatibility. Both the Vive and Oculus will require high-end PCs to run properly, whereas the PlayStation VR will be able to connect to a PlayStation 4 console—which already has an installed base of nearly 30 million users.
“New ‘virtual reality’ technology will soon be available, allowing you to experience more immersive entertainment at home,” the question reads. “Wearing a special headset linked to devices such as computers or games consoles, you will be able to move around within virtual three-dimensional environments and see and hear as if you were actually there.
“This could include playing video games, as well as interacting with other content (such as films or simulated environments). Assuming the price was acceptable to you, how interested would you be in having this type of ‘virtual reality’ technology at home?”
The answers were divided across many categories, including all gamers, console-exclusive gamers and PC audience members, ranging from very interested to not at all interested.
In summation, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One gamers combined to show the highest general interest in VR at 72 percent, and 37 percent responded with a very high interest. They are followed by console gamers in general (63 percent) and mobile device gamers (56 percent). PC gamers responded with much lower numbers, with only 18 percent showing great interest in the technology, 33 percent that are somewhat interested, and 21 percent not being interested at all.
Although the Vive and Oculus are arriving on the market first, some gamers are patient enough to wait for the PlayStation VR’s debut later this year with exclusive titles such as 100ft Robot Golf and Ace Combat 7. So far, the approach is paying off, as pre-orders for the device, which kicked off this morning, are already sold out.
