GameStop executives have revealed that the last pre-order event for the soon-to-be-released PlayStation VR was the “Quickest Sellout” in the company’s history.

GameStop held its 2016 second quarter fiscal year conference call this week, and Sony’s forthcoming PlayStation VR, due for launch on October 13, featured quite prominently it seems.

According to Dualshockers, executives on the conference call revealed that the PSVR pre-orders, which first went up in March of this year, “quickest sellout in GameStop’s history,” with the retailer running out of allocation “literally in five minutes”. With the execs going on to state that there is “tremendous demand” for the new PlayStation 4 powered VR headset. Elsewhere the firm was quoted as saying Sony has virtual reality as a “very seriously, as a very meaningful driver.” Which is indeed encouraging. However, without solid numbers to go along with the claim, it’s difficult to gauge just how high demand really was in comparison to other hardware pre-order event. It’s nevertheless a significant indication that PSVR has found a market though.

This aligns with our own observations of stock availability at the web’s biggest retailer, Amazon, during the same pre-order period. Amazon’s initial stock allocation for the so called “launch bundle” ran dry in around 10 minutes after going on sale at 7am PST on March 22nd. Target and Walmart also faced similar levels of demand with their stock running dry on the 23rd and 22nd respectively.

See Also: PlayStation VR: What You Do and Don’t Get in the Box
See Also: PlayStation VR: What You Do and Don’t Get in the Box

Sony announced that the “launch bundle” would comprise one PSVR headset, 2 Move controllers, PlayStation Camera and of course everything that came with the original base headset pack, including all the cables you need to hook things up and the breakout processor unit as well as the Sony London Studio produced PlayStation VR Worlds.

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Paul James
Based in the UK, Paul has been immersed in interactive entertainment for the best part of 27 years and has followed advances in gaming with a passionate fervour. His obsession with graphical fidelity over the years has had him branded a ‘graphics whore’ (which he views as the highest compliment) more than once and he holds a particular candle for the dream of the ultimate immersive gaming experience. Having followed and been disappointed by the original VR explosion of the 90s, he then founded RiftVR.com to follow the new and exciting prospect of the rebirth of VR in products like the Oculus Rift. Paul joined forces with Ben to help build the new Road to VR in preparation for what he sees as VR’s coming of age over the next few years.
  • Mike McLin

    Meaningless stats when there aren’t sales numbers behind it. My assumption is that they are offering a small fraction of preorder units compared to a normal product launch. Also when preorders “sell out” and then are offered again, you have to start making guesses to the legitimacy of all of this. It seems like it is a marketing tool to drive a hype train.

    • Brett Bachman

      I understand you skepticism on this, but when you allow for pre-orders of stock not yet in hand, you are doing so based on conservative figures of what you can actually have for launch. This also gives you an idea of the demand for the product. When your product sells out so quickly, you go back to the manufacturer and tell them you are going to need more, which leads to the manufacturer devoting more lines to the work, adding additional shifts (which means more employees) to meet that demand, therefor you now have additional stock before the launch date, allowing for either additional pre-orders, or stock that was not claimed in a pre-order.

      • Mike McLin

        I agree with all of your points. At the end of the day, without figures and context the title for “quickest preorder sellout” doesn’t mean much.

      • chuan_l

        The total number of units in Europe & Australia available for the pre order was in the thousands [ 5K and 1K respectively ] and quite strange considering they could have sold much more. Stores here had 4 -5 units each to allocate between hundreds of people !

        • Steve Chambers

          How? unless UK is exempt from the EU numbers then your figures cant be right. I know for a fact that my local GAME store had an initial allotment of 28 units & has had 2 small increases since start of pre orders so its up to 37 units they will have on day 1, there looks to be another small increase before launch too so i’d expect it to be around 40 units in that 1 store. given how many stores of GAME alone there are in the UK that’s still several thousand from just that 1 distributer. Where did you get your distribution figures from? because they are pitifully small for a major hardware launch in the EU region.

    • J.C.

      Meaningless to US, yes. Sony knows how many it put up for pre-order, and the more THEY see it as a big deal, the more games they’ll help fund. And that’s a really, really big deal. As “me” proved in the comments, there needs to be software, or people will lose interest and dump their VR setup.

      • Mike McLin

        Yes, all of this is good. It’s just that the title for fastest sellout doesn’t mean much without context, that’s all. But at least it’s working… One VR website announced it is the fastest selling hardware item in GameStop history. Which is completely untrue. However it just proves that people can quickly read and then misinterpret these claims (which is the goal of this type of marketing), and actually think they mean something else. It’s unfortunate that a media source was fooled and didn’t read the announcement more clearly.

        “Me” should’ve gotten a Vive ;). I don’t think I’ve purchased a Rift game since launch month. However, I seem to buy at least one a week for the Vive. I do really feel like I’m playing a waiting game for my Rift (waiting for touch).

    • Nigerian Wizard

      This. Nobody goes to GameStop in 2016 unless you live in a shit third world country.

    • Steve Chambers

      Yeah, I thought that too, then I went to my local GAME store & found that they sold out of their allocation until wave 3 in December within a few hours of the store opening on the day they announced pre orders and I know from working there years ago & still knowing the manager that they always get a sizeable lot of each new hardware release so the demand is real. I had to go online to their central sales dept & buy a larger bundle to ensure I had a release pre order. You can still get a day one launch headset (at least here in the UK) but it has to be as part of a pre existing bundle because all the core sets are sold out, even then it’s dependent on where you pre order & time you do it.
      They get very small boosts to their allotment every couple of weeks as the manufacturer makes more & dishes them out in small amounts to retailers. is short you’ve either got to know where to look & spend a bit more to get one or get really really lucky when you order to hit that small window when they have a few more units to sell.

    • saintjules

      Yep, even music festivals, concerts, and the like do this for tickets. Small amount released to drive people in on the hype train indeed.

  • noasynvidia

    psvr will sell 2x oculus plus vivi.

    • Get Schwifty!

      I would hope so… this is a bit like saying Honda sells twice as many sedans as Lexus and Acura combined…. kind of goes without saying given the price point and nature of the buyer. Otherwise it’s great news – a demand like this for a mainstream version of VR bodes very well for the industry and the odds on every platform succeeding. It would be nice however to as Mike pointed out to see what this means in terms of actual sales numbers, but I can’t imagine it’s stellar yet, most people still have no clue what VR is all about and I am certain production runs are low, it will take about three years to wake up the majority of folks.

      • DiGiCT Ltd

        Agree it takes time, the real deal that let people go for it is good content.
        same as people will go to cinema for a specific movie, else they just keep watching TV.

      • PrymeFactor

        Looking at the ‘Honda vs Lexus’ comparisons.

        While yes, the PS4 cannot match the fidelity of a high end gaming computer, it’s worth noting that
        1) PSVR complete kit is only $100 less than the price of the Oculus rift CV1
        2) PSVR easily beats Vive and Rift in terms of sheer comfort and use with glasses, from all impressions. If the ‘Honda vs Lexus’ comparison was based on look, feel and refinement, the Rift and Vive will be the ‘Honda’ in this analogy
        3) PSVR Supposedly has much reduced Screendoor effect compared to the others.

        I have the Rift and a Vive (trying to go into VR devt) and looking forward to getting my PSVR in October. Like you say, this is great for all of us VR consumers, either way. VR is clearly destined for mainstream success that 3D TVs couldn’t reach.

        • Get Schwifty!

          There’s no question the PSVR will be popular and likewise a lesser experience for a lesser price – hence the analogy. It’s nice that it will fit people with glasses well, fit well for many folks, and has less SDE but these things hardly qualify the unit as a premium item. I suspect the glasses situation is a wash, depending on face structure and glasses used. The hanging style is probably a better design, and if it truly is better ergonomically will just be copied to one degree or another. The lesser SDE is jut a result effectively lower resolution and the tricks needed to push the weaker hardware to reach the 90 or 120 Hz refreshes Sony needs to make it work including relying on lower quality graphics. I am sure it will look good, and plan on getting my son one for Christmas, but lets not get carried away on comparing apples to oranges here ^^.

    • DiGiCT Ltd

      You dont know as you have no idea how many units been sold.
      I f you state like that i will say there will be 10X more google daydream VR sets sold compared to all of the others together.
      It’s just guessing.
      I can say that there are not many HMD being sold atm on global market as you should visit altspace VR to really see how many ppl bought it and what they currently like about VR.
      It is all very early for VR and good content still slowly comes to VR.
      Numbers are all blown up higher for PR reasons i assume, no hard numbers yet.
      But as you can see Rift will be in retail shops soon and vive delivers within 2 days can only mean 1 thing, the wannna have VR people got supplied and now the sales goes much slower.

    • PrymeFactor

      To be honest, More like 5x.

  • wowgivemeabreak

    How about they indicate how many units they were allocated. They could have had 50 units allocated.

    I’m with Mike…this seems like nothing but hype train BS marketing/publicity to get gullible people to think they have already sold hundreds of thousands of these.

    I do hope this sells well and pushes vr forward big time.

  • Hi. Reading the concerns about the core of the story here I’ve revisited both the title and added a qualifier RE the lack of hard numbers to go along with these statements. It is nevertheless a significant event and does indicate potentially healthy demand for the PSVR, so the story most certainly was worth running.

    Thanks for the feedback as always.

  • me

    I have recently sold off my Rift – I was simply tired of it sitting there collecting dust waiting for things to be released – primarily the Touch controllers. I have had a better experience in terms of gaming with the 3 short PSVR demo’s that I experienced in the past than with actually owning a Rift. Can’t wait for Oct 13th to get here!

  • DiGiCT Ltd

    Sorry Paul, this info is useless as they dont mention how many they had in stock.
    This needs more data to see it is sold well enough as we all know nobody has yet shown real data on how many units really be sold.
    There are only speculations, in which it only will say that VR currently is still early and not sold that good yet.
    2 mayor thing currently consumers put VR on a hold for :

    1. not enough intrsting content
    2. the high price for it atm let people wait till the prices drop.

  • sirlance

    As long as the psvr users dont try a htc vive or oculus first they should sell fine…but once they compare they’ll realize how inferior the psvr is …. I see the psvr on par with a dk2 without the power of a pc running it….I dont see how the psvr games wont judder without major dumbing down of graphics….I have a high end pc a dk2 and a vive

    • logicman

      I’m sure Vive and Oculus are great. By all accounts PSVR is pretty great too. Maybe you can try PSVR and get back to us?

  • Iliad

    I suppose you can say meaningless, I would like to see the numbers as well. However, Sony is not in the game of creating too much pent up demand for a product that they won’t deliver on. They know hardware, they know gaming. Oculus was a botched release. I am an owner, and can say, botched as it was (and I was very unhappy), I am now very satisfied with the product. That aside, Sony has experience in delivering millions of units to consumers and I would guess that they didn’t give out a small number of pre-orders to one of the worlds largest retailers of gaming equipment.

  • Torreth

    The only reason why it sold out like that is they decided to launch it
    worldwide on the same freaking day instead of staggering the launch in
    the different markets, and not allowing time to restock so people in
    different countrys have enough sets available when they launch,something
    Sony has never done in its history. Because of that, they barely gave
    anyone the opportunity to pre-order in America, and its not just
    Gamestop. America only got a combined total of 16minutes to order from
    all venders planning to sell them. Yet, other countries in the UK have
    been open for months around the clock, and still are here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-…
    . Dont get me wrong. I understand why the did it. They want to gauge
    how successful this product will be by seeing its rate of sales, and
    they dont want to overproduce a very expensive product with components
    that they have to buy and build before selling. The problem with that
    for consumers, is that instead of Sony taking the risk and showing
    confidence in this new medium, they are forcing the consumers to take
    the fall, and effectively buy they parts before they make them. Its an
    ingenious Corporate decision, but an irritating one for consumers. It
    also shows Sony which countries have the highest demand, but places
    where demand is obviously going to be high will be needlessly starved,
    and thats because the hundreds of thousands of sets that would have sold
    out in consumer homes in America, are going to be sitting on a shelf
    gathering dust in less demanding areas of the globe. Then theres the two
    new consoles Sony is about to release next month that they are also
    having to pay for the parts and manufacturing before selling them. The
    Playstation division most likely cant afford to have three major
    launches within a months time, and its also entirely possible that the
    money that they get from the Slim and Neo’s release, is designated
    directly to the production of the Playstation VR, and that would explain
    why there has been so little news thus far about them this close to
    their own release, and that may be because they need consumers to buy on
    impulse rather than think about how much they are shelling out for a VR
    experience. Plus, I would also not be surprised if Sony introduces an
    entire Neo-VR bundle for $799 on Sept 7th for pre-order for Oct 13th
    launch in America , and thats where many of the headsets that couldnt be
    pre-ordered here in America went. It would make sense since the biggest
    demand comes from America, but they are announcing it at the last
    minute to stave off the backlash from consumers who have already bought
    the headsets alone. Sony already did it once with the PSVR bundle by
    selling it for $499 with camera, move controllers, and VR Worlds, and
    then a week later after those were bought $399 without them. It could
    also be that they expect consumers wallets to need time to recuperate
    after buying the Neo separately, and doing so might lower the amount of
    VR sets sold on launch.

  • Eh PSVR has the great advantage of already having an enormous user base already having the right hardware… it will sell a lot for sure

  • Gary

    I want to hear more about software news. I mean I get that at launch there are going to be quite a few number of games available, but I want to hear more about games that are full fledged AAA experience rather than just short demos. Are there going to be any $60 dedicated VR games?

    • Furry Fox Jet Pilot

      Ace Combat 7, which is literally the only reason to get PSVR anyway

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    http://www.trendsloving.com/best-3d-vr-display-glasses-headset-for-games-and-videos-p-25.html

  • Steve Chambers

    I got my pre order at GAME in the UK. I had to do it online because all the units & bundles that were allocated to my store had sold out both its 1st & 2nd waves, even the online store didn’t have an solo units in the 1st wave left, I had to get a bundle which included Rigs & the new updated camera (I’m ok with that because I was going to get them both anyway) from my experience with shopping around & my knowledge of how many units of new hardware are usually allocated to my local store every time there’s a new launch I can tell it’s not just a marketing trick being used here, it really is in demand.
    If you live in the UK I suggest you pre order with GAME from their online store, that way you can find some bundles that are still available in wave 1, don’t try in store as you’ll end up at the back of the queue & have to wait until late nov-dec to get it.
    Don’t even try pre ordering through a supermarket like TESCO (I’ve had bad experiences & let downs from them in the past)

    Hopefully there’ll be a nice EU mainland & an American representative with knowledge of where you can get a 1st wave pre order in those regions who’ll reply to this post & give people looking for a day 1 launch set a heads up.