Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has warned that Oculus Rift sales will start off slow.
During Facebook’s Q3 2015 earnings call, Zuckerberg outlined that virtual reality or VR will be the “next big thing”, it just might not be an immediate success.
With the Oculus Rift on course to launch sometime in Q1 2016, Zuckerberg has attempted to calm expectations, suggesting (as reported by Road to VR) that the technology may take a while to reach impressive sales figures.
“So we’ve said often that we think that virtual reality and augmented reality could be the next big computing platform,” explained Zuckerberg. “Virtual reality has the potential to be the next computing platfom that changes all our lives, [but] it’s important to also recognise that this will grow slowly.”
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Zuckerberg added that he wouldn’t be surprised if Oculus Rift sales figures only numbered in the hundreds of thousands next year. He went as far as to compare virtual reality to the very first smartphones.
“Just to put that into perspective and compare it to the development of previous computing platforms, like phones and computers, I think the first smartphones came out in 2003.”
“In the first year, I think BlackBerry and Palm Treo were the first initial smartphones that came out. I think they each sold in the hundreds of thousands of units. Si, just to kind of give a sense of the time frame that we’re thinking about this and how we expect this to develop, that’s how we’re thinking about that.”
The SteamVR powered HTC Vive and the PS4-specific PlayStation VR are both due out around the same time as the Oculus Rift in Q1 2016.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
