PS4 VR Sales Even Stronger Than Sony Anticipated, Nearly 1M Units Sold

Sony was betting big on the PlayStation VR platform and its initial reception was encouraging to a point. However, no one could have expected the peripheral to sell almost 1 million units, not even Sony itself. With such a strong performance that trounced even pioneers like HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, perhaps the PS4 VR will be the one product to finally make virtual reality mainstream.

When Sony was trying to decide how many units its VR device it would manufacture, the company’s global chief executive, Andrew House was one of those who suggested that they limit the number, The New York Times reports. Many within the company were quite hyped about the prospect, but those at the top were a bit apprehensive about the public’s reception to VR.

“It’s the classic case in any organization — the guys who are on the front end in sales are getting very excited, very hyped up,” Mr. House explained. “You have to temper that with other voices inside the company, myself among them, saying let’s just be a little bit careful.”

It would seem that the executives were a little too careful, with some stores unable to provide customers looking for the headsets after they were sold out. Back on February 19, over 915,000 units of the PS4 VR were sold. This was four months after the device was launched.

Stores in Japan are particularly susceptible to shortages, Fortune reports, with a lot of customers buying the headsets for the most popular console in the country. This is a huge win for advocates of VR technology since it proves that there is a much bigger interest in the technology than skeptics believe. Considering the legal problems that Oculus is facing right now, it would seem that Sony is in a much better position to dominate the market as well.