VR awareness at 92%
May 10, 2017
Research by SlotsMillion, the Virtual Reality Casino, has found 92 per cent of people are aware of Virtual Reality (VR) – with 23 per cent having tried the new technology.
Of the 2,000 people surveyed by Opinium, a strategic insight agency, on behalf of the VR developer, 2 per cent have spent at least 25 hours in VR, 6 per cent estimate their exposure at between 1-24 hours, and 15 per cent have tried it once or twice.
A total of 10 per cent of over 55-year-olds have experienced VR. That figure increases to 24 per cent for 35 to 54-year-olds, and 40 per cent among 18- to 34-year-olds. Unsurprisingly those aged between 18-34 are happiest to fork out for the VR experience, with £134 the average spend they are willing to lay out, while over 55s are happy to invest £74.
And even if they haven’t had a go yet, the majority is curious about VR, with 66 per cent declaring themselves ‘interested’ in the technology. One per cent of those respondents considered themselves ‘obsessed’, 14 per cent are ‘very interested’, 19 per cent are ‘interested’, and 33 per cent are ‘mildly interested’.
As a sign of the future strength of the burgeoning industry, 80 per cent of 18-34 year olds are ‘interested’ in the technology, with close to a third (28 per cent) saying they are ‘very interested’ or ‘obsessed’ with VR.
Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of men are ‘interested’ in VR, in addition to 60 per cent of women asked.
And that is reflected when it comes to VR experience, with nearly a third (29 per cent) of male respondents revealing they have tried it, compared to 18 per cent of women.
More than a quarter (28 per cent) of those who are interested in VR said they would most likely use the software to experience travel, with the same percentage keen on watching films and TV in VR
Gaming was also a popular choice at (28 per cent), while watching live music and taking part in exercise or sport notched 16 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.
SlotsMillions CEO Alexandre Tomic said: “Our research proves that the critical initial phase of developing awareness has been achieved and it’s really only a lack of opportunity to try a VR headset that is holding many back from taking that step. Once headsets and the related technology becomes more affordable, I fully expect the interest and experience levels to continue to rise sharply. We can use VR to create beautiful, vivid encounters that are more colourful and life-like than real life. It has the power to transport us to another world and – as we are demonstrating with our VR casino SlotsMillion – be in two places at once.”