Facebook recently reported that, despite the Facebook login requirement, the Oculus Quest 2 has sold five times faster than the original Quest.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the login requirement would deter people from getting an Oculus Quest 2; due to the need to maintain an active Facebook account in order to use the device. However, that particular issue seems to be far less of a stumbling block for the device than it initially appeared to be.
During Facebook’s Q3 earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that, “Pre-orders [of the Oculus Quest 2] have outpaced the original Quest pre-orders by more than 5x and have surpassed our expectations.” Later in the earnings call, Zuckerberg revealed Facebook’s overall strategy and expectations for the Oculus platform.
Zuckerberg was asked what he thinks needs to happen in the next three to five years to make augmented reality a widely used technology. He explained that Facebook is most advanced in virtual reality and that the company is attempting to sell 10 million Oculus Quest 2 units. He believes that when Facebook reaches this number, developers will be more attracted to the Oculus Quest 2 than other platforms, like PSVR, or the HTC Vive. Once this happens, he thinks that the Oculus Quest 2 will have a sufficiently large eco-system to sustain itself.
In terms of augmented reality, Zuckerberg said that any augmented reality that the company is working on will share some of the software that is already part of the Oculus systems. However, he also mentioned that he wouldn’t be satisfied with an augmented reality system that isn’t much bigger than “thick-rimmed consumer glasses.”
Exact sales numbers for the Oculus Quest 2 aren’t immediately clear, but with competition from Xbox Series X and PS5, it’s safe to say that the VR device has its work cut out for it to reach that 10 million unit goal. Time will tell if its current momentum will hold, or if it will falter as next-gen technology matures.
Source: Facebook
