News Virtual reality – travelling trumps gaming in survey of 2,000 consumers

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Shaun Lowde Consultant Email Shaun
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New research from media, technology and IP law firm Wiggin LLP shows the chief attraction of virtual reality technology (VR) is the ability to visit famous landmarks or cities without travelling.

Wiggin commissioned ComRes to poll 2,000 British adults. When provided with a list of popular options and asked to select their top 3, 37% of those surveyed chose virtual tourism as the most appealing potential use of VR to them. Movies (36%) was the second most popular choice, followed by major events such as live sports, concerts or fireworks displays (27%). Surprisingly, video gaming came fourth with 26%, almost on a par with cultural experiences (for example a VR tour of a museum or art exhibition) on 25%.

The survey respondents are representative of British adults 18+ years old so the focus on travel and culture over gaming is unexpected. Shaun Lowde, partner and Head of Technology at Wiggin, said “These results show that VR technology will transcend generations. It will be used for a variety of applications, but common to all will be the ability to bring total immersion in fantastic content. For example, one can see how a VR experience of David Attenborough’s hugely popular new wildlife show, which travels the globe to inaccessible locations, would be attractive across all ages and sections of society.”

 

Methodology

ComRes interviewed 2,000 British adults aged 18+ online between November 4th and 6th 2016. Data was weighted to be representative of all British adults aged 18+ by age, gender, region and socio-economic grade. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council (BPC) and abides by its rules. Full data tables can be found on the ComRes website, www.comresglobal.com.