Back on a rich year for virtual reality!

The year 2019 was rich in content, both from the side of the games with great titles, but also from the manufacturers. Back to a rich year, very rich for VR.

December Steam Statistics

As at the end of each month, Steam publishes the statistics of its platform. Unsurprisingly, this past month has seen a sharp increase in users of two very specific headsets. The Oculus Rift S and the Valve Index. Apart from the holiday season, we can easily imagine the cause of these increases for the two helmets. On the one hand, the Valve Index benefited from a large communication campaign with the announcement ofHalf-Life: Alyx. In addition, Valve opened the sale of its helmet at the end of November for the territories of Canada and Japan.

For its part, Oculus has deployed the Oculus Link. A function allowing to connect an Oculus Quest to a pc via a cable in order to make it pass for a Rift S. On the other hand the price policy seems to appeal to consumers because with more than 50% of users, Oculus confirms again this month its leading position on the platform of Gabe Newell. However, it should be noted that these figures should be put into perspective. Indeed, just as the site points out Uploadvr, several parameters are not taken into account in these figures. The Chinese market, for example, saw the arrival of the Steam platform, but independently. Other headsets like the HTC Cosmos or the Pimax do not have their own categories.

2019: Oculus year?

If the statistics of Steam are to be taken with tweezers, it is however interesting to look at the evolution of the figures throughout the year. The Oculus Rift CV1 and the HTC Vive were more or less neck and neck until … The arrival of the Rift S! Although widely criticized at its release, due to the lack of mechanical IPD, its 80 Hz or its sound quality more than questionable, the Oculus Rift S has quickly established itself in homes. Its ease of use, its affordable price and its availability in most of the brands certainly have a lot to do with it. A strategy intended for the general public which has also paid off for the Oculus Quest which is sold “as soon as it leaves the factory” dixit Mr Zuckerberg. In addition, since its release, Facebook’s self-contained helmet has regularly occupied the media space with announcements such as the hand tracking or thereOculus Link.

There will be some for everyone !

Oculus was not the only company to be talked about this year. The players were indeed spoiled for choice. 2019 therefore saw the arrival of a new manufacturer eagerly awaited on the market. After collaborating with HTC for several years, Valve has finally launched and today offers a very high-end headset. If its price remains high enough, success seems to be there. Remember that it is only available for purchase on the Steam platform.

HTC for its part launched the Vive Cosmos, a helmet that is positioned between the Rift S and the Valve Index. When it was released, the helmet received many criticisms. This is due to the absence of compatible games, tracking problems and an original marketing campaign to say the least. However, HTC continues the updates and the feedback from players finally becomes quite positive.

Players who want a very wide field of vision can turn to Pimax. The Chinese manufacturer continues to diversify its offer and recently teaser a brand new helmet. We should have more information soon, the manufacturer has in fact given players a meeting at CES in Las Vegas this January. If the prices of Pimax as well as the minimum configuration can easily cool, the company therefore continues to offer headsets with display quality outperforming its competitors.

Finally, let’s not forget Sony and its PlayStation VR which offers the only quality VR experience on the home console. He continues to regularly file patents to prepare for the arrival of PlayStation VR 2 and its new controllers.

The success of the games is here!

The exit of the numerous helmets was the occasion to speak VR in the non-specialized media. However, the games also received a fair share of visibility. The arrival of some well-known licenses like No Man’s Sky, Borderlands or Five Nights at Freddy’s may account for the wide coverage of “traditional” media. However, this year has also seen the arrival of several games that have benefited from exemplary achievement. Whether it be Stormland with its gameplay mechanics offering impressive freedom of movement, Blood And Truth with his Hollywood film script, Asgard’s Wrath with his incredible adventure, or Boneworks which offers ultra-advanced physics, VR games in 2019 now seem to have passed a plateau in terms of quality finally sounding the death knell for the traditional “mini games” which swarms in the mouths of detractors of VR.

In addition, the studios are also starting to proudly display their success. The developers of Beat Saber have long been able to boast of being the only ones to communicate on their sales figures. This year, things have greatly evolved! The developers of superhot have for example Express Last April, the VR version of the game generated more revenue than the flat screen version released much earlier. More recently, the studio announced on Twitter that in the space of 7 days, superhot had grossed over $ 2 million!

Stress Level Zero, the studio behind the all-new Boneworks has also proudly displayed some figures. After a launch record, Boneworks quickly ranked in the Steam sales top for all games, generating a figure approaching $ 3 million on his first launch week and over 100,000 sales. Impressive figures that testify to the growing market represented by virtual reality.

In short, 2019 has been more than ever the year of virtual reality and things are far from ending. 2020 already promises to be a rich year with the arrival of flagship licenses such as Medal of Honor, Half-Life: Alyx or The Walking Dead… Stay well connected on Realitevirtuelle.com !