The best hope for VR headsets to move units is indisputably in the field of demonstrations. That’s really always been the hope that the technology has relied upon, that if you can get people to try out the technology they’ll want to buy it. Unfortunately for Oculus, it appears that demo stations haven’t been enough, as Best Buy locations are reportedly packing up and removing 200 of its 500 Oculus demo stations. Business Insider reports that this comes after several of the stations went days with no one even trying the station.
Obviously, this comes in the midst of a bad year for the VR headset outfit, following a number of other issues including a recent loss in court against Bethesda. The official statement from Oculus is that this is due to “seasonal changes,” but that seems like a rather transparent bit of damage control under the circumstances. Sales of the unit apparently tapered off sharply after the holidays, so it remains to be seen if the remaining demo stations might start moving enough units to justify their presence.
