Initial Reactions from First Time Gear VR Buyers

The Samsung Gear VR powered by Oculus made its historic consumer debut on Friday, hitting store shelves and doorsteps after going on pre-sale earlier this month.

Making its way into the hands of consumers at a retail price of $99 and working with Samsung’s full 2015 lineup of phones (Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, or Note 5), the promise of a more accessible virtual reality headset has finally arrived and owners were pumped.

Less than 24 hours after sales began online Friday, the Gear VR headset was already sold out on Amazon.com and BestBuy.com.

Tech writers were excited for this new day in consumer virtual reality to have finally arrived. Techcrunch’s Drew Olanoff called it the “window into ‘what’s to come'” and Wired’s Peter Rubin, after waiting years for this day exclaimed, “Good VR is here…it’s just fucking here.”

So now that it’s here, what’s the behavior Gear VR owners go through when trying virtual reality for the first time?

Let’s break it down.

It always starts with a few photos of the packaging and the headset.

A photo posted by Anthony Loven (@anthonyloven) on Nov 20, 2015 at 5:20pm PST

Then users don the Gear VR for a selfie, minus the phone, because it’s funny and you forgot to charge the phone.

A photo posted by Studio Invisible (@studioinvisible) on Nov 20, 2015 at 8:27am PST

From there it’s getting comfortable with this new virtual world, more selfies, strong fashion poses optional.

A photo posted by Dan Kagan (@champagnekagan) on Nov 19, 2015 at 9:47pm PST

Now that the apps are downloaded, time to watch some 360 videos.

(CLICK PLAY BELOW)

A video posted by ROEM (@roem) on Nov 20, 2015 at 4:12pm PST

We can’t forget the little ones; every kid’s dream is to be Ironman.

(CLICK PLAY BELOW)

A video posted by JARV Entertainment LLC (@jarv.ent) on Nov 21, 2015 at 8:34pm PST

And minds are getting blown in the process.

Literally the craziest thing ever. I just saw the world change #gearvr #3d #mindblown pic.twitter.com/FXnaDWNYLj

— HelloFromTrevor (@HelloFromTrevor) November 20, 2015

Great! Now your ready to crank it up a notch with something more scary.

(CLICK PLAY BELOW)

First stab at #virtualreality A video posted by Greg Artalona (@greg.artalona) on Nov 20, 2015 at 9:37pm PST

Maybe a little Dead Secret for $9.99 too?

Played a VR thriller through to completion "dead secrets" on gear VR. Successfully scared myself senseless and having heart palpitations.

— Hacker Fantastic (@hackerfantastic) November 21, 2015

Ok you’ve gone too far. #PooPopOut

Just experienced a VR horror show on #GearVR and I'm pretty certain a little poo pop out! Not doing tha again!

— Practically Geek (@PracticallyGeek) November 21, 2015

Now you’ve done it, you’re never leaving VR again.

@SamsungMobileUS These gear VR Glasses are drugs. I never want to take it off. Hottest Thing out. Virtual Reality > Real Reality

— rob (@stugots101) November 21, 2015

And there you have it, the user journey of trying Gear VR for the first time.

Even with all the positive reviews and comments from users and journalists, the consumer launch did have one hitch. Some users who pre-ordered on Amazon were outraged to find out that their order ended up getting canceled or backordered. There were unhappy tweets and some let off steam on Reddit.

So if Amazon messed up your purchase or you missed the pre-order, there still may be hope. Samsung’s site is still showing stock, but you may have to wait “7-10 business days” before it ships.

And for those of you who have been playing with the sold-out Gear VR all weekend. Welcome to virtual reality. Try not to crap your pants in the process.