Many considered the possibility of the dramatic fall of VR before the mainstream consumer models even reached the market. Years of media buzz and speculation paired with the eventual high-price point reveal of the market's top-end equipment led many to expect the technology to become dead in the water. According to HTC, that doesn't seem to be the case just yet.
Reports over the year painted a strange picture for the emerging market of consumer VR. While VR experiences are generally well received, these reports often suggested sales were flat-lining soon after the Vive's release. Under the impression that most of those interested in the technology either picked up a kit at launch or simply couldn't justify the cost, shifting units staggered.
But according to HTC, this isn't really the case. Speaking to China's 87870.com last month, Alvin Graylin, head of HTC Vive China, said sales of the deluxe VR headset has exceeded 100,000. Then, last week, another HTC representative put the number closer to 140,000.
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Pushing the number even further during the company's Q3 earnings meeting, Chialin Chang stated "It's much more than just that number" while also reiterating the company does make a profit on each unit sold. While they won't give exact numbers, it's unclear whether Chang means sales numbers are much higher than the reported 140,000 or just simply doesn't like analysts thinking of the product purely in sales numbers - though, that's technically their job.
And while 140,000 doesn't sound like a huge number when compared to a video game selling 1,000,000+ units, the cost of an HTC Vive is way over 10x the price of a single video game. And when considering the kind of PC needed to run the technology, it's a rather impressive number to apparently not think about.
