Despite continuing pessimism about the continued survival and growth of virtual reality (VR) from some critics, VR was definitely still present and accounted for at E3 2017. It has been revealed in the past that Sony were somewhat taken aback by the success of the PlayStation VR, and some people have speculated on if a console VR platform could ever hope to match the power offered by PC-based platforms like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Data gathered by Google seems to suggest that PlayStation VR is making a good showing of itself.

Data gathered by Google on terms searched for in the Google Search Engine revealed that searches for the PlayStation VR saw a massive uptick during the Sony E3 presentation on 13th June, 2017. Performance by HTC Vive and Oculus Rift lagged behind, with just over half the number of searches compared to the PlayStation VR. The graph below shows a blue line for the PlayStation VR, with a red line for Oculus Rift and orange for HTC Vive.

Also of note is that Google Shopping searches, which also showed a surge for the PlayStation VR from the start of E3, getting more than double the number of searches compared to rival products, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The surge in interest in the PlayStation VR continued after E3 week, with the PlayStation VR continuing to outperform the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift in Google Shopping searches until the 26th June, 2017, indicating that many consumers are now more interested in buying a PlayStation VR compared to before E3.

One factor influencing the rise in interest in the PlayStation VR is the announcement of several upcoming titles for the platform at E3. Some huge titles such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR and Doom VFR were revealed at E3, and are known to have huge fanbases, which has considerably raised the profile of the PlayStation VR in the mainstream. By contrast, the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift had fairly modest showings at E3, with few big announcements.

There is some speculation among critics and analysts that suggests that the gaming public is waiting for the next generation of VR devices, with the recent announcement of the HTC standalone head-mounted display (HMD) in particular attracting attention, Samsung are also looking at releasing a new standalone HMD. It also remains to be seen what impact Apple’s entry into the VR scene will have upon the industry.

VRFocus will continue to provide you with information on developments within the VR industry.