Oculus tops VR awareness surveys, but most players don't recognize individual brands

A new 360 Gaming Report from consumer research outfit Nielsen and picked up by GamesIndustry.biz has found that most video game players are unaware of virtual reality brands. 

The report, based on surveys taken by more than 2,000 adults and teens aged 13 and over, reveals that only 37 percent of U.S. players could name at least one VR or AR device. 

Looking at individual brand awareness, the Oculus Rift was the marque name, with 22 percent of respondents claiming to have heard of the device.

Still, that finding suggests 78 percent of those asked had never even heard of the Rift, and other headsets didn't fare any better, with Google Cardboard and Samsung's Gear VR only being name-dropped by 18 percent and 16 percent of respondents. 

Digging even deeper, just 14 percent of those surveyed were aware of Sony's PlayStation VR, while Microsoft's HoloLens and the HTC Vive were only recognized by 11 percent and 6 percent of participants.

Picture credit: GamesIndustry.biz

Taking a closer look at those consumers who are interested in VR, the report claims that they're mostly men with an average annual income of $62,870, and a monthly video game spend of $18.86. 

According to the report, interested consumers are also more likely to be millennials, or people over the age of 35.

You can grab your own copy of the report by sending an email request to [email protected]

Picture credit: GamesIndustry.biz