Some 8% of US broadband households own a virtual reality headset, while 15% have tried VR and 25% are familiar with the technology, according to Parks Associates.
The research firm said that gaming remains the primary use case for VR headsets and that 28% of game console owners are familiar with VR headsets – with that rate even higher among owners of newer consoles.
Overall, 52% of VR headset owners reported owning a smartphone-based system. PC-based systems and game console-based systems were the next most popular systems.
The research found that 55% of VR headset owners felt that content for their device had remained the same since they bought their headset, while 3% believed it had gotten worse.
The report also noted that the main barriers for VR content development were costs, the demand for interactivity, and limits on content length.
“Sixty-two percent of US broadband households play video games and while gamers are a passionate market segment, they can be limited in scope, which has stalled adoption of VR to a wider audience,” said Billy Nayden, Research Analyst, Parks Associates.
“There has been some notable video content developed for VR, such as Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s short video experience Carne y Arena, which won an Oscar, but overall lack of quality non-gaming content is inhibiting broader adoption.”
He added: “The aim of standalone VR headsets is to offer much of the same premium content as game console or PC-based headsets, without the need for additional hardware like a gaming console or high-powered PC. This technology drastically reduces the cost for consumers, while providing a more premium experience than smartphone-based systems.”
The research comes ahead of the release of Facebook-owned Oculus’ new standalone VR headset, the Oculus Quest, which is due to launch this spring.
