Oculus Rift And HTC Vive On Decline, Steam Study Finds

Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets decline with Steam users, recent survey finds, with virtual reality headsets owned by under 1% of all Steam users.

[GrimmyReaper]

It's almost like people don't wanna pay for a second PC.

VR is cool tech, it really is but let's be honest. The games out right now don't warrant a purchase and the people buying into VR now are kinda the guinea pig for VR. I mean, the buzz is now Project Morpheus while OR and HTC Vive are barely even mentioned anymore.

Many reviewers I follow on YouTube made one or two video's about the VR helmet they got and 1 game.

Doesn't really warrant a purchase IMO

[Neonridr]

Well Steam is a bad platform to measure sales of Oculus considering they have their own storefront and front end that people can utilize and purchase from, so I would be wary about using any of this data. You are right that the early purchases were the early adopters, much like PSVR. Don't think that there are going to be 10 million PSVR users out of the gate, I would be surprised if 1 million people buy it from launch. These aren't cheap toys, they require a larger investment.

I still love my Rift and I know that when Touch launches there will be another mini explosion as there is a ton of software releasing to accompany it.

Sony has to ensure that the software is there, and it can't all be tech demos and short experiences. The question will be how much software will come post launch of the PSVR and how long we have to wait between releases.

[kfk]

"Sony has to ensure that the software is there, and it can't all be tech demos and short experiences. The question will be how much software will come post launch of the PSVR and how long we have to wait between releases."

Which has nothing to do with Sony, as that's the exact same issue and question that PC VR is facing. There hasn't been a single landmark VR title yet, and they've had months of release window advantage over PSVR.

[kneon]

The problem is there just aren't that many PCs capable of running VR, so the potential audience is limited. But that will improve over the next few years as even budget cards will be powerful enough for VR.

[tee_bag242]

$200 AMD 480 can run VR. It's never been cheaper or easier actually. A lot of people I know are waiting for gen 2 VR and at least a 1440p display

[S2Killinit]

What the heck is a gen2 VR?

[kneon]

@tee_bag242

Sure it's only $200, but it's yet another $200 on top of the already expensive price of the rest of the VR gear, and that's assuming your PC doesn't need any other upgrades. It's just too expensive for most people right now given there are no blockbuster games to draw people in.

[donthate]

init:

gen2 VR is the one that hopefully doesn't' make you sick or have to "grow" VR legs. lmao.

PS VR is going to be the platform that you are most likely to get sick from next to mobile.

[Timesplitter14]

@donthate
It's not the VR itself that makes you sick. It's the bad VR game design. The games that make people sick right now will always make you sick regardless of how much the hardware improves. The sickness is caused by the fact that you think you are moving but your body doesn't feel any acceleration. Better displays and better head tracking cannot fix this. The only thing that can fix it is new positional tracking systems like the one Vive has. But then again, it's limited to a very small area

So basically, VR games can never allow any movement except teleportation or actual body-tracked movement. This is what most VR devs have figured out by now, and that's why so many VR games are stationary shooters. (look it up, there are dozens of GDC/SIGGRAPH talks on this, by people from Oculus, Sony and Valve)

And yes, since PSVR has the least amount of positional tracking of all 3 headsets, it's the one that's most likely to make you sick. I can't even imagine VR being worth it if you don't have positional tracking. It's where all the magic is

[Neonridr]

@kneon - you make valid points, but you have to assume that a PC gamer already has a semi-decent rig that probably doesn't need to be built from the ground up. Possibly a better GPU or CPU could suffice.

@Timesplitter14 - you are absolutely right. PSVR is definitely going to have to utilize teleportation as best as it can to avoid the sickness. Playing games like Dreadhalls and Adr1ft on my Rift threw me for a loop the first few times. The crazy thing is if it looks real enough your brain tricks your body into feeling the movement... until your body smartens up and realizes that you aren't in fact moving anywhere.

@S2Killinit - the next generation of VR. Most likely with 4K screens inside to help eliminate the SDE.

[kraenk12]

@tee_bag242

No idea why you got the disagrees but you're exactly right. People are waiting for the tech to develop fully which is what Sony is going to offer them first. Consumer friendly and thoroughly developed hardware with enough software to play with.

There is not much sense in being an early adopter on such a new tech, except if you don't have to care for the financial part.

Technological problems like the sickness thing will soon be eliminated by experience resulting in better fitting game design and hardware, like Samsung's Entrim4D headphones for example are going to eliminate this problem completely.

It's wise to wait a little atm. And start with NEO and PSVR from a consumer perspective.

[Gaming4Life1981]

@kneon

Sorry but thats not true that many people dont have computers capable of running vr. Vr is just not worth it as of now since their are no aaa vr games and consumers know that better versions of these devices will come out next year. The samsung gear vr already has its new model which is a pointless upgrade if you own the first gear vr.

[kneon]

@Gaming4Life1981

Just 6 months ago, NVidia's own estimate was that there were only about 15 million VR capable PCs in the world. That has certainly gone up quite a bit since then, but still, the vast majority of PCs require upgrades in order to run VR.

[brianunfried]

If you have a smartphone with a decent size screen you can get into VR for almost nothing. I bought some cheap VR glasses for my phone off eBay for $10 and it's pretty awesome. Don't expect it to be as good as one of the big three, but it with give you a taste of what's possible.

[yeahokwhatever]

porn.

[TheCommentator]

The point of the article is that the USE of VR headsets is on the decline though.

Perhaps, as you suggest, the games that are out right now aren't very appealing, meaning that people who own VR are waiting for the next release they may be interested in. To add to that, it may also be that the reality of VR isn't as good as people imagine for practical, everyday use. Good to demo for a while? Sure, if you don't get sick from it like some people do, which is another contributing factor of declining use to consider. Is it good for every day, or long periods of gameplay in one sitting though? I believe that they will be too fatiguing for that purpose, due in part to their size and being first gen hardware technology.

As GPUs get stronger, as VR iterates itself and becomes faster with better capabilities, and as feedback comes back from practical use of the technology, VR will still have a good chance to gain traction as a mainstream entertainment medium. It'll be interesting to see what happens though, because by that time it could be too late, assuming that 1st gen VR hardware ends up being too gimmicky for most people like motion controls or 3DTV were.

One other thing: PSVR has nothing to do with the USE of VR on Steam, although it's plausable for it to lower of the sales of VR devices for PC.

[KiwiViper85]

Well said +1 bubble

[Neonridr]

TheCommentator - again, Steam has no way of tracking Rift usage when a large chunk of people utilize the Oculus Home App (myself included). I only buy stuff on Steam if I need the larger multiplayer component for games that use Steamworks for MP hosting (Project Cars for example). Otherwise I would rather launch it directly from the Home app and have one less service running in the background. Prices on Home have been shown to be very, very close to Steam.

[CrazedFiend]

Project Morpheus isn't really mentioned anymore either.

[King_Lothric]

Time for PSVR to step in and make VR mainstream.

[donthate]

Or finally prove VR is a fad?

[Kosic]

I always say it when people look at ps vr to be the platform to bring in the vr craze.
I was super excited for the vr world. Thinking of a gear vr for months and months to experience a premium vr experience without ordering a development kit.

Tried minecraft vr on it, it's an amazing experience. But the few times I've used it I've felt dizzy and sick for a while after. My gear vr sits in a draw and is only used to show off vr to friends.

There's going to be a lot of people who experience the same thing and they've just dropped a small fortune onto a ps vr pre order.

Vr for me is a dying fad now as I can't experience it to its fullest.

[fr0sty]

Kosic, gear VR isn't a solid VR platform due to low frame rates. That is why you are feeling dizzy. A smartphone wasn't made for VR. PSVR upscales all content, regardless of frame rate, to 120fps, and at least 60-90fps is required, with 90 being the recommended target.

Hater, guess we'll find out?

[S2Killinit]

@Donthate
Donthate

[ILostMyMind]

You received dislikes, but you're right. If PSVR is a success all VR devices will have a chance. If PSVR fails then all VR devices will fail.

[DeadlyOreo]

He received disagrees because he can't play VR on his Xbox One. We see him trolling, now all he can do is hope it fails.

[Timesplitter14]

@fr0sty
While framerate probably contributes a lot to the dizzy effect, it's not the only cause. I've played several VR games at very high framerates and still got the dizzy effect.

Basically; it's because of the movement. Games where you can move your character are out of the question for VR (unless your view is actually detached from the character). That's why there are so many stationary VR shooters

And since no amount of hardware improvement can actually make you feel real acceleration as if you were moving in real life, this problem will never be solved. This is part of why I think VR can never become anywhere as big as regular games. It limits game design way too much

[Lsbb]

Live up to your user name kid

[PeaSFor]

@Donthate

hating, as usual.

[kraenk12]

Oh come on Rookie stop the negativity.

[kraenk12]

You can call VR a fad as much as you want to but it won't change its rise. People are simply waiting for the tech to develop fully which is what Sony is going to offer them first. Consumer friendly and thoroughly developed hardware with enough software to play with.

There is not much sense in being an early adopter on such a new tech, except if you don't have to care for the financial part.

Technological problems like the sickness thing will soon be eliminated by experience resulting in better fitting game design and hardware, like Samsung's Entrim4D headphones for example are going to eliminate this problem completely.

It's wise to wait a little atm. And start with NEO and PSVR from a consumer perspective.

[Mystogan]

Do you even know what mainstream is? It wont be mainstream if its only on PS4 lol.

[Ragthorn]

I personally just want the VR experience to be more accessible for others. I want it to be expanded and improved upon for the coming years because it is getting there! Hopefully the PSVR adds this little push to the VR scene.

[maybelovehate]

Needs better content. Chronos is the only ""good"" game out for VR and it is fairly short. The best VR experience I have actually had is Diablo 3 using VorpX but that is far from perfect since the game wasn't designed with VR in mind so the menus etc are hard to get setup correctly. Plus no controller support on PC is a bummer.

[dumahim]

Project Cars in VR looks pretty good so far. VR is perfect for racing too.

[maybelovehate]

If you have a strong stomach : )

[kneon]

@maybelovehate

You'll get used to it if you keep trying. Most people can learn to use VR for hours without any problems

[donthate]

kneon:

The solution is to learn to get over VR sickness over time?

That is going to go over well with consumers. The same group that felt 3D was too uncomfortable. lmao.

I like VR and on PC with a 1070 (yeah baby!) and Oculus Rift, but I ain't delusional about it.

[Neonridr]

@donthate - like sailors who get sea sick, the only way to get over it is to continue to sail.

VR has to be taken in batches. You play until you feel sick, then you stop. You do not press through or you can cause an adverse reaction to VR everytime you put the headset on. Take it a little bit at a time until you feel comfortable for long sessions with no dizziness.

[maybelovehate]

@kneon: I have hundreds of hours logged with Oculus. But anything with locomotion still gets me pretty good. Some of my friends can play FPS etc with no issue so I think a lot of it just depends on the person. I am very jealous of you guys that can handle it!

[andibandit]

@NeonRidr

pretty sure those sailors had a need or got paid.

Point is, it's a hard sell if you are one of those persons. They are more likely to just sell off their VR stuff.

[Segata]

But it's not a good game

[Neonridr]

Edge of Nowhere was pretty solid for me. But I am a huge fan of movies like The Thing and Lovecraftian horror.

When Touch launches there will be a new injection of VR titles for the Rift.

[kraenk12]

Edge of Nowhere?! Eve Valkyrie?!

[maybelovehate]

Edge of Nowhere was disappointing to me. The camera used was odd for VR and it was extremely short. Eve Valkyrie makes me sick. Chronos and Diablo III are the only VR experiences I have loved. At least as far as full games go. Pinball FX is brilliant.

[Neonridr]

@maybelovehate - try Blazerush. Cheap and fun as heck. If you liked games like RC Pro AM on the NES or Rock N' Roll racing on the SNES then this game would be right up your alley. Plus it works online for MP which is a nice bonus.

[Psychotica]

I had a lot of fun when I bought my HTC Vive at the start of Summer, but I have hardly used it over the past month or so because of the lack of good full games. Every time a new game comes out that would be good in VR it's the same old response from the developers, "we are considering it".

[PeaSFor]

thats why im going with the psvr on gen1, we all know(even the haters) that Sony has best position to convince devs AND has inhouse studios to creates amazing stuff.

[M-M]

Same here. I was actually developing a game for it but decided to stop due a decline of interest(along the lines of this study). I don't think it's a fad, but I think it's just a little to early for it. Sony seems to be taking the right approach by at the moment.

[MilkMan]

LOL. Who the fuq thought this nonsense was the next thing?
Oh, same folks that thought 3D was the next thing.
The real next thing will be cloud computing and sharing.

[kraenk12]

You're gonna be sorry soon.

[hirobrotagonist]

Eh, VR isn't a gimmick, but the software needs to catch up with the hardware. I haven't played my vive for a while because I'm waiting for more content.

[kraenk12]

True.

[MasterD919]

It's just another fad.

[Kokyu]

No no its here to stay. Im not surprised I say so from the beginning VR is a niche at best and a fad at worst.

[hirobrotagonist]

Any of you that think VR is a fad clearly have no idea what you're talking about. I've worked in the game industry for over a decade and although VR isn't replacing conventional modes of play; it's a big deal and AAA is even moving toward that direction. Go ahead and downvote me you unintelligent console peasants. I scoff at you from my ivory techno tower.

[daynnight365]

Haha, nice

[MetroidFREAK21]

I personally believe VR is a gimmick and will quickly die out. It's pretty interesting tech, but it's too expensive, and has very limited functionality. But to those who bought it and like it, I'm glad you do, and I hope you continue to enjoy it. It's just not for me.

[amiga-man]

Too expensive? you do know tech gets cheaper, VR in the 90's was far less powerful and massively more expensive, and with the money and interest that is in VR, costs will rapidly reduce while performance increases.

Limited functionality? VR has huge potential in all sorts of areas, and as far as potential going forward there is all sorts of tech being worked on to enhance VR's ability, one day pretty soon VR will be for everyone.

[yeahokwhatever]

you're thinking of the wrong primary uses for VR. The best use-cases are the ones that led facebook to buy rift in the first place. things like sporting event viewing, chat, concerts, etc.

[MetroidFREAK21]

I guess so :)

[dumahim]

This is their first generation. I'll hop in on the next one. Hopefully better resolution and lower cost.

[Bolts]

Everything new is 1% on Steam. Steam have such a massive user base that the incredibly popular RX480 and the always sold out 1080 GTX are also 1%.

[GrmpyolGamer]

VR is a fad

[Nodoze]

Niche offering. Same thing is going to happen with the PS4 VR offering as well. Temporary distraction. People were complaining about wearing 3D glasses...now all of the sudden people are good with wearing a bulky headset?? PLUS it can give you motion sickness. Boy sign me up for that. Will be a short lived fad that will die quickly.

[amiga-man]

I find it hilarious how many are using this as some kind of confirmation that VR will not last, what they fail to see is the potential or work that is being done to realise that potential, These first gen headsets are just a taster of whats to come and not just in gaming.

VR is happening people and once it is out of the bottle there will be no putting it back.

[_LarZen_]

Problem with VR on PC is the price and the incredible lack of games. My Vive is right beside me and it's collecting dust. Not because I dont like VR but because the games out are crap.

[Mexxan]

Absolutely spot on. Glad I sold mine when I did.

[mkis007]

In no way is VR going to die out. This technology has too many uses outside of gaming to fail. 3D was a one trick pony, it didn't offer anything besides what it was. VR gives birth to AR gives birth to Star Trek holo-rooms. Think big or forever be trapped in the past.

[Skillz1215]

because the price is ridiculous

[hirobrotagonist]

The price is high, but it's not overpriced for what you get. HTC isn't make a bundle off people for buying the hardware...They're basically selling it for barely more than it costs them to manufacture. Remember how much the PS3 cost at launch?

[captainexplosion]

Can any of the VR headsets play 3D Blurays?

[yeahokwhatever]

PSVR in theater mode. full 3d audio with the gold headset.

[captainexplosion]

I mean't if you can watch a 3d bluray in 3D with the headset.

[Neonridr]

well considering the headsets are merely peripherals not sure how you would expect them to play 3D blu rays. Does the PS4 have support for 3D blurays yet?

I know on my PC with my Rift I can play a 3D .mkv file in the virtual desktop and it fully works in 3D.

[Neonridr]

I think it is here to stay, but it will be a long time before we use the word mainstream and VR together. It will always be a niche market because not everyone wants to play a game with a headset strapped on.

[kraenk12]

2-3 years is not a long time.

[ZeekQuattro]

But of course. If the consensus was that having to weear glasses was a big negative of 3D not sure why people thought wearing a a bulky VR headset would be the way to go.

[yeahokwhatever]

my prime use for PSVR is not even VR, but the fact that it works in "theater mode". Gaming on a IMAX type environment for a low price is worth it alone. I'd love to play BF1 on it without any of the head tracking, etc.

[Neonridr]

beware of that. The resolution is going to take a hit when you simulate a large screen.

I have tested out the Rift with the Virtual Desktop and it has the same sort of thing. It's playable, but hard to say if it's ideal..

[yeahokwhatever]

ive heard reports to the contrary with psvr, also, remember that sony has been making these HMDs for like, 10 years or more.

[Neonridr]

@yeahokwhatever - ok man, don't say I didn't warn you.

you guys and your blinders for all things Sony. Don't listen to someone who actually owns a VR headset, just keep listening to "heresay".

[PutridPlop]

So Sony enters VR market after it bombs. lol

[daynnight365]

Bombs? It is merely getting underway

[kevnb]

If they can do it for $200 or less it will do pretty well.

[daynnight365]

Who are you talking about

[SierraGuy]

I hope they incorporate a widescreen mode to PSVR where you could just use the headset as a big screen TV and play all your regular games say laying in bed non vr or on the go without a TV that would be cool.

[Naughty_Cloud]

The content is just not there, and its way too pricey for most. Even PS VR isn't exactly on the cheap side. When u factor in the cost of Move controllers and camera.

[Segata]

VR and 3D are like the Wii. Was new and cool once then the novelty wore off. People just rather play higher res games in 4k on a TV/Monitor.