A year and a half ago, all anyone was talking about in the world of video games was virtual reality. The HTC Vive and Oculus Rift were the TiddleSwift of gaming peripherals, but it appears that the public appetite for this particular pair of celebrities has waned.

According to a study by VentureBeat, the number of new VR users on Steam grew by only 0.3% in July and experienced no growth in August. The Oculus Rift suffered a similar fate, growing by the same amount in July and only 0.1% in August. We guess that makes it the winner - congratulations Oculus, it's your day.

These statistics are even more concerning because July and August were the first months where the Vive and Oculus were no longer suffering limited supplies and could be bought freely online without a horrendously long wait. Presumably there are now a large amount of units languishing in storage houses across the globe.

The stalling of sales is probably down to a variety of factors: there aren't yet any 'killer apps' for either device that are must-owns for hardcore gamers; both cost hundreds of pounds (in the case of the Vive, around a whopping £800 to be precise); and the public has been over-exposed to a tech which was out of commercial reach for around three years.

All these factors have probably led to the slump, as the air of mystery surrounding virtual reality has faded.

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It's possible that the release of PSVR will invigorate the discussion around VR and boost sales. Sony's offering is far more affordable, at around £350, and far more likely to pick up a broad user base quickly.

Until then, it looks like most gamers are keeping VR at arm's length.

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