On May 5th, it was reported that over the past four years, the number of PC VR users on the Steam platform has been steadily increasing, while the number of MacOS users has been declining, and it has now been surpassed by VR users.
If we only consider the proportion of monthly active VR headset users on the Steam platform, it appears that the number of VR users has decreased over the past four years.
However, in reality, the overall user count on the Steam platform has also been steadily increasing.
To mitigate the impact of the increasing user base on the Steam platform, RoadtoVR has developed a model based on historical Steam survey data and official data points from Valve and Steam. The aim is to correct for the fluctuations in Steam user numbers and estimate the actual number of VR headsets in use on Steam, rather than just the proportion.
After the model adjustment,the monthly active VR headset count on the Steam platform shows an overall slow growth trend.
While the proportion of monthly active VR headset users on Steam has decreased, the decline in the proportion of MacOS users has been even faster. This not only signifies a decrease in proportion but also represents a substantial decline in the number of Mac users.
Although Steam can run on M-series Macs, it does so through the operating system's built-in emulation layer. As a result, the Steam client cannot fully leverage the advantages unique to M-series processors. Many Mac-compatible games run through Steam also have to use the same emulation layer, which may impact performance.
However, Apple has been striving to change the perception that "Macs are not suitable for gaming". Last year, the company introduced a game porting toolkit, aimed at helping developers more easily port Windows games to M-series Macs and achieve good performance. Therefore, perhaps in the future, we may see a reversal of this trend.
Source: IT Home
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