[Chemy JMHT]

A study of US households by Parks Associates found that 63% of those surveyed had not heard about virtual reality.

Predictably, the younger the person surveyed, the more likely they were to show interest in VR, with many millennials hoping to purchase a headset by the end of 2016. Those who reported having tried VR said they enjoyed it. And among brand recognition, Oculus Rift is tops, followed by Samsung Gear VR.

Here is the ranking of VR brand familiarity within U.S. households:

1. Oculus Rift
2. Samsung Gear VR
3. PlayStation VR
4. Google Cardboard
5. HTC Vive
6. Microsoft HoloLens (mixed reality)

Something very interesting is how the ViVE is almost at the end of the list and the PSVR is not in the top due the amount of units solds.

Source:
63% In U.S. Say They Are Not Aware Of Virtual Reality 12/09/2016

[Graham Devereux]

Seems like the Oculus Rift received a lot of media coverage in its earlier dev days and is the main one that people associate with vr. It is also associated with Facebook which probably helps with its coverage. On top of that, htc vive probably seems like more of a technical headset that may not seem as easy to understand to the public.

[pjs37]

Very interesting. I think this is why things like in Paris with VR arcades (for lack of a better term) will be central in building awareness for the general public and its potential with VR. While demonstration centers at Best Buy's are nice I feel that it is too limited a time and limited to specific demo's to really convey to people what the potential is with VR.

[Cale Hunt]

It makes sense I guess. Rift was the first VR rig I tried a few years ago. The Vive being that low on the list is a little suprising, though.

[ggendel]

It's all about news and marketing with a little word-of-mouth on the side. I'm not surprised at Oculus at the top as it was the earliest and thus newsworthy exposure in VR.

[BioFanatic]

63% is actually not as bad as I'd expect. Keep in mind, if you're in these forums, you're probably a huge fan of tech. VR is still emerging, it will take time before the average person knows what it is.

[Firegold21]

I find it cool that the Gear VR is near the top of the list. Given how many people have Samsung devices, that seems the most likely route to raise that percentage.

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[pjs37]

I find it cool that the Gear VR is near the top of the list. Given how many people have Samsung devices, that seems the most likely route to raise that percentage.

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A healthy number of people probably got one for free even with their purchases lol

[EgoAnt]

Yeah, Oculus has the backing of Facebook and that goes a LONG way towards brand recognition.

[i3cjared]

I don't really care what people are using to get into VR, I just want more people using it. I am an educator and see so many great uses of the tech, and the more available and accessible it becomes the better for everyone! I am currently a Vive owner because I wanted to have what I deemed the most advanced tech when I purchased. I am very interested in the Oculus Touch, but early reviews have me wondering what Oculus and Facebook understand about VR that I do not.

[Firegold21]

A healthy number of people probably got one for free even with their purchases lol

My wife got one free last year and I purchased one full price because it took forever for the free one to arrive. Now I need to sell those two because she went to iPhone and I bought the 2016 model, lol.

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[pjs37]

That has always been my fear/loathing of the Samsung VR units because you are locked into only their devices (which I get) but not everyone wants to use Samsung devices forever. Well if anything you can put the money you make towards a new headset

[Chemy JMHT]

Well, I know Oculus appeared on the top of the list, but I don't feel Facebook is promoting it as it should be on their networks, like Instagram and Facebook itself, if I was Mark S. I will put an ads in every users timeline and also on Instagram.

The marketing from Samsung is as invasive as we can expect, but making the Gear not compatible as it should be makes it something to worried, a lot of people can be trying to know about VR but if you make it difficult you scare the possible to be new users.

Maybe the new Association (GVRA) will make that everybody follow some rules and that will be the beginning of the real next generation of VR because more companies and people can be involved.

[Matty]

I think you would get a very similar result here in Africa. Many people have absolutely no idea that VR exists. Let alone the difference between VR and AR.
Companies are however trying to encourage people to buy headsets buy giving them away for free with various purchase. Will be interesting to see how things develop over time.

The most I've heard about is the Samsung Gear VR.
Since thats shown in adverts quite a lot (when you purchase a S7 Edge)

Otherwise they are just labelled as 'Vr headset' with no branding.

[Graham Devereux]

VR arcades, which are starting to emerge around the world, are an interesting way that people have gotten to try these different vr applications. For instance, I got to try the HTC Vive for a while at a vr arcade startup in Cape Town. Hopefully more of these places will pop up and gain more attention in the public eye.

[pjs37]

VR arcades, which are starting to emerge around the world, are an interesting way that people have gotten to try these different vr applications. For instance, I got to try the HTC Vive for a while at a vr arcade startup in Cape Town. Hopefully more of these places will pop up and gain more attention in the public eye.

Definitely though I think we could expand the market outside of gamers so sometimes I question the use of the word arcade but we really don't have a better name (Or call it a holosuite!( I bet we could also see expanded use for psycological treatments as well dealing with stress and anxiety issues. SO hopefully that will grow the market.

[Firegold21]

I like the idea of calling it a holosuite. I think that would strike a chord with many Trekkies, lol.

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[pjs37]

I like the idea of calling it a holosuite. I think that would strike a chord with many Trekkies, lol.

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Yeah CBS may not even notice....

[Chemy JMHT]

VR arcades, which are starting to emerge around the world, are an interesting way that people have gotten to try these different vr applications. For instance, I got to try the HTC Vive for a while at a vr arcade startup in Cape Town. Hopefully more of these places will pop up and gain more attention in the public eye.

I honestly only knew about a few in Europe, USA and Canada, it's nice to see it's really a world movement than a kind of local movement.

BTW welcome to the forum, any doubts you may have you can put in the ask section no matter how complex or silly it could be the community will try to give a good answer.

[Graham Devereux]

I honestly only knew about a few in Europe, USA and Canada, it's nice to see it's really a world movement than a kind of local movement.

BTW welcome to the forum, any doubts you may have you can put in the ask section no matter how complex or silly it could be the community will try to give a good answer.

Thanks, good to know.