VR Headsets Are In High Demand, Low Supply

At least 2.8 billion people globally are in some sort of lockdown. VR is a portal to new and unfamiliar environments. Could the technology finally have its moment?

The bear case: Many gateway VR experiences occur in suburban mall arcades or urban retail locations. Now, they're all closed.

In between: Like many other headsets, the Oculus Quest and Rift S are sold out. Facebook attributed this to sustained demand and disruptions to its supply chain. "We are working to restore availability as soon as we can," a FB spokesperson told me.

The bull case: Half-Life: Alyx, Valve's flagship VR title that earned very high marks from reviewers, dropped Monday. The game created so much hype that Valve's high-end VR headsets have been sold out for months.

Bottom line: There are more reasons than ever to get a headset. But with 2019 headset shipments at just 5.7 million units, VR is still in early adopter territory. And coronavirus isn't helping 2020 supply.