Q3 2017 marked the first sales have exceeded the million mark for the still-budding Virtual Reality platforms.

Sony sits at the top with the lead, shipping more than 490,000 PlayStation VR headsets in Q3. Oculus took second place with 210,000 units shipped of its Rift headsets. Finally, HTC came in at third place with 160,000 Vive units sold — all three manufacturers combined made up about 86% of the total market in the third quarter of 2017.

Oculus gained ground in the market by taking note of Sony’s $399 USD price point and offering their Rift headset at the same price for a limited time.

Canalys Research Analyst Vincent Thiekle said, ” VR adoption in the consumer segment is highly dependent on price, and Oculus’ strategy of lowering prices has definitely helped drive adoption”.

The increase in sales during the period in November in which the Oculus Rift was available for $399 USD has prompted the company to permanently lower the price.

Another huge contributing factor towards VR’s popularity stems from Japan, a country which has embraced virtual reality through arcades, VR zones and games that cater to fans of anime and manga.

Canalys Analyst Jason Low added, “Sony is well placed to take advantage of this increasing interest in VR. Sony has dominated the Japanese VR headset market since the release of the PS VR, taking more than an 80% share, and will continue to lead as it increases supply of the PS VR headset with bundles featuring new titles from popular franchises, including Doom, Skyrim and Gran Turismo.”

Low went on to mention a sizeable increase in VR sales and adoption rate is expected for 2018 thanks to Microsoft’s push of their mixed reality platform and partnership with leading computer manufacturers such as Lenovo, Acer and Dell.

Liked this article and want to read more like it? Check out Zubi Khan’s coverage of Microsoft’s mixed reality push for 2018 and Brendan Quinn’s review of Skyrim VR



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