Parks Associates released new consumer research this week showing that 2 percent of U.S. broadband households, or 2.3 million households, own a virtual reality headset. The survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households reportedly reveals that 5 percent of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a VR headset in 2016, an increase from only 1 percent who made a purchase the year prior.
“The big change in VR for 2016 has been the availability or pending availability of VR headsets from companies such as Facebook (Oculus Rift), Google (Google Cardboard) and HTC (Vive). Sony PlayStation VR is expected to be released in October. We expect gamers to be the initial market for VR,” Barbara Kraus, Parks Associates director of research, says. “VR is an immersive experience, and more is better for gamers – more immersion, better sound, better graphics, and more players. The mass market is more likely to adopt mobile VR, which will be less expensive and uses a tool – the smartphone – that the majority of U.S. consumers own.”
From the article "How Many Consumers Actually Have VR Headsets?" by Laura Hamilton.
Getting people to know about virtual reality is a critical step for the mainstream adoption. A similar survey by Parks Associates reveals virtual reality demonstrations play a key role to convince...
“Currently, more than 60% of U.S. broadband households claim to know little or nothing about virtual reality,” said Parks Associates, in a statement. According to the report, virtual and augmented...
Despite Netflix’s subscriber base trumping or rivaling (HBO) most pay-TV services, broadcast TV still generates the majority of home entertainment consumption — among broadband households, according t...
The smart home devices sold by Google's home automation subsidiary, Nest, represent just a small fraction of the burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) market. However, Nest has become one of the most re...
