I owned a Psion 3, then 5, then Palm IIIxe, then a Dell Axim and then the first smartphones came out. First Symbian which was basically Psion, then iPhone and then Android.
I've never not had a smart device ever since the first. And while they have improved a lot some great features were lost (for example the Psion was much better to type an email on than a smartphone).
But my point is: it doesn't have to be perfect yet to be adding value. If it's not for everyone yet it doesn't mean it's a useless flop.
I agree with you that new tech can be good even if only a few people ever buy/use it, however I get the impression that Meta is investing billions in this VR stuff and are targeting "everyone"
Someone never did VR boxing at the Trocadero in London in the early 2000s.
You might have to go back to the early 90s for that, we had PocketPC and Palm and Symbian in the 00's... The change since 2002 has been incremental, I think 2002 me would find today's Android similar but faster and simpler - and today's iOS equally as confusing as 2022 me finds it.
I think VR is still in the PocketPC stage, where early adopters think it's great but most people don't need it or want it, it's expensive and/or clunky. It might catch on in 20 years when someone has another go with much better tech.