HTC Vive responds to "VR is dying" claim, says sales are low because they sold out

HTC insists that VR isn't dying a slow death, and cites low stock as a reason for disappointing sales.

In a blog post hitting back at claims that VR is on the way out (via Eurogamer), HTC says it's only just "getting started."

In response to a Digital Trends piece that stated that the sales numbers of VR headsets indicate that the medium is in decline, HTC was quick to counter the point, saying sales numbers aren't "the whole story" and that the reason for the decline is that they're all sold out.

"VIVE has paced at its highest sales velocity of all time, for weeks on end, and we sold out. For a consumer electronic product in its third calendar year, this continued trajectory is nearly unheard of," the VIVE team said.

"Don’t worry, though: we are ramping up production of the original VIVE and units will continue to roll out to online and retail over the coming weeks."

HTC remains optimistic about the future of VR, saying that "as people begin to understand the possibilities for virtual applications, word of mouth will grow, and sales will continue their upward trajectory" and that within the industry, it's not just about units sold. The road to success lies in ensuring that there's a "growth path" for both customers and the company.

HTC further bolstered its claims with data from intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC) that analysed VR revenue share and found VIVE to be the market leader with 35.7% of revenue market share, compared to Sony's 12.6% and Oculus' 9%.

"We believe VIVE offers the best in premium VR, whether PC-based or Stand-alone (AIOs)," the post continues.

"Our stand-alone product, VIVE Focus, is gaining traction rapidly since its China launch. It’s the number one stand-alone in China, and our WaveVR platform runs on three of the top four AIOs in China. We’ll have much more on Focus soon as we bring that product to additional markets."

The adoption of VR has been a slow process, and at the end of last year, VR headsets topped 1 million sales for the quarter for the first time.

Despite the apparent upswing, Digital Trends' data from Amazon sales ranks figures show both PSVR and HTC VIVE sales to be on the decline. Nevertheless, HTC seems to remain positive.

"It takes time to launch a new technology. We’re glad you’re here and have invested in this journey with us," said the VIVE team in their sign off.