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Initial Reactions from First Time Gear VR Buyers

Samsung Gear VR headset where to buy

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.

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

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

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

(CLICK PLAY BELOW)

A video posted by ROEM (@roem) on

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

(CLICK PLAY BELOW)

And minds are getting blown in the process.

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

Maybe a little Dead Secret for $9.99 too?

Ok you’ve gone too far. #PooPopOut

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

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.

About the Scout

Jonathan Nafarrete

Jonathan Nafarrete is the co-founder of VRScout.

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