spatialcomputing.info

Despite being released more than a year ago, Meta’s Quest 3-series headsets are outselling Nintendo’s new Switch 2 console on Amazon, which was released just this Summer.

The News

In the last 30 days (which includes the whole of the Black Friday shopping week), Quest 3 and Quest 3S models have collectively sold 154,000 units on Amazon US. That puts the headsets just ahead of Nintendo’s newest console, Switch 2, which has sold 150,000 units on Amazon US over the last 30 days, and was released in June. The other major consoles (PlayStation 5 / 5 Pro and Xbox Series X / S) which are now much older, have sold less than Quest or Switch 2.

And in Amazon’s ‘Best Sellers’ list in the Video Games category, Meta’s best selling individual headset, Quest 3S (128GB), is just ahead of Nintendo’s most popular Switch 2 bundle, at number #6 and #7 respectively.

Meanwhile, PlayStation 5 is seen at #13, Quest 3 (512GB) at #24, and Xbox Series X at #60 on the ‘Best Sellers’ list.

On one hand, it shouldn’t be entirely surprising to see Meta’s cheapest headset Quest 3S (128GB) with its $250 holiday sale price beating out Switch 2’s $400 MSRP. But on the other hand, those constantly bemoaning the “death of VR” would have you believe that Quest 3S sales volume wouldn’t even be in the same ballpark as a Nintendo console.

Interestingly, the latest generation of Quest headsets appear to be slightly down in sales volume on Amazon US compared to the prior year. It’s possible we’ll see a late spike, but in years past, Quest sales volume has just about peaked by December 23rd.

My Take

Despite Quest’s impressive and quite seasonal sales volume, there’s no doubt that the headsets have struggled with retention. Meta has sold its headsets at exceptionally low price points over the years, which has helped move units out the door. But even though there is thought to be tens of millions of Quest headsets out in the wild, the number of active pales in comparison to the major game consoles. Without strong retention and the ability to make back profit on the software side, the subsidized headset strategy has contributed to the major loses that Meta’s Reality Labs division has sustained since its inception.

Meta made moves earlier this year to raise the bar on software and UX design for its wearable devices, which will hopefully improve future retention. But those moves are also rumored to lead to a price hike on the company’s headsets, which is likely to tamp back the impressive sales volume that Quest has seen over the years.