Over half of stores think VR is not going to take off in 2016

Virtual reality is finally being released, but over half of UK games stores think that it is not going to take off in 2015.

55 per cent of shop managers believe that the new tech is not going to be a hit in 2016, with many saying that they predict it will be a fad akin to 3D television.

39 per cent of stores said they thought VR could take off, but only on the condition that the companies behind it like PlayStation, Oculus and HTC properly support the new tech and market it accordingly.

[_LarZen_]

And it has nothing do with most games probably will be digital only....

[UltraNova]

Nothing at all! hehe

On the other hand (playing devil's advocate here) maybe they know about potential pricing. So if they know that prices will be very high it let them to believe there will not be mass adoption.

Who knows at this point..

[Christopher]

It actually does. Until your usual retail releases support VR, they won't really see a reason to get behind it.

[Fishy Fingers]

I'd be inclined to agree. While I do think VR will gain traction and grow into a viable option for many I can't see it becoming anything more than a niche product for the next few years.

[TLG1991]

If it turns into a niche product in the next few years it will probably stay like that. just like 3D.

The difference is every man and his dog made 3D tvs so no major loss really.

With VR its sony that has put in the r&d investment and i imagine that bill is to big for them to just let it become niche. they will be pushing more money to devs to make AAA game for it which hopefully make people jump on board.

[cmd]

Nokia didn't think smartphones would take off.......Look at them now

[Rookie_Monster]

Totally agreed with the majority of the stores here. Was at PSX over the past weekend and managed to get my first hands-on with PSVR. From my experience and talking to many of the fans at the convention, the majority said they are taking a wait and see approach and not impress with it right now.

[WeAreLegion]

I cannot possibly imagine that's true. Every single person I talked to at PSX was in love with PSVR. Even people who were skeptical.

[Rookie_Monster]

Depends on the crowd you are with, I guess. Were you there Saturday or Sunday?

[ShadowKnight]

Me and my friends were really impress! I enjoyed Kitchen and London Heist on PSVR! The press conference was a little weak but not all the games I played there.

[WeAreLegion]

Both days. I wish we'd had an N4G meetup or something. That would have been nice.

I'm just saying that based on all the people I talked to, it was a major hit. I just wish I'd gotten to try RIGS.

[ziggurcat]

Your attendance at the event is still unproven, rookie, and yet here you are making another negative comment. Can you prove that the "majority" of people you "spoke" to were "not impressed"? Where's your evidence to support your claim here?

[Rookie_Monster]

Sign....not this guy again. Smh

Time to do a permanent block, it seems. LoL

[SweatyFlorida]

It'll be a slow start but I think the tech is fascinating enough that Sony won't drop it, the same way Oculus won't drop it. Developers seem much more interested in making games for it as well unlike some other past tech/systems (vita, move, Eye, kinect).

In fact when PSVR comes out and it gains some kind of hype/appeal/traction other developers/publishers/companie s will jump into the VR space as no one has really promoted VR on a big scale. If 3D got support despite it adding very little to how you watch things then VR will and IS going to get way more support.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[GordonKnight]

I'm looking forward to VR, but the PS4 hardware isn't properly equipped for VR. Hopefully Sony will support PSVR more then PlayStation Move. Seems like PC is going to be the best way to experience VR first. Although it will come at an expensive price. Or maybe the NX will have the power to properly support VR. Who knows what the future holds for VR. It will be exciting to watch.

[SweatyFlorida]

I don't doubt that, but again, you have to start somewhere. Better to get the tech started and have some catalog so when Ps5 releases it can really make the PSVR shine, and it would have enough library built up to warrant a purchase from even non-hardcore and automatically squash potential other VR entries from the other two console publishers.

Also in terms of PSVR vs Oculus, I think Sony has a better chance at getting it to become more popular instead of strictly a hardcore device. Though who knows what facebook plans to do with the thing.

[HOOHAARR]

I'm just not hyped for VR personally which is a shame as PS5 will probably come shipped with one! Sony might have dropped VR by then of course so I might be OK!

[Livecustoms]

I've been saying this all this time, now majority of the retailers are saying what i've been saying :). Bring on the dislikes from the fanboys, but as a Ps4 owner i'd prefer them to invest in new Triple A ip's instead of this gimmick (yes gimmick for now ! VR wont take off for atleast another 5 years !)

[Fro_xoxo]

Let's see what becomes of this... product.

[brianunfried]

I think everybody is ready for something new. I'm tired of playing the same type games over and over. The last couple of times I visited the game shop I left empty handed. Couldn't find anything interesting.

[AizenSosuke]

Let's see and than talk.

[VJGenova]

My rig is beyond ready for vr. The question is content. We need games to make the product work. Sure there's plenty of porn in vr, but that's not what i'm looking for.

Like with windows 10 ... there are still no dx12 games. Why would i "upgrade" (beta test) when i can't even use the new technology? Same logic applies here.

Also, the wii's motion control was great ... for wii sports. All other games it felt gimmicky and forced.

Curious to see what type of games we get. Thinking mainly racing and flight sims to start.