Audio Video News

Survey: 2019 Could Be a Breakout Year for VR

SV Staff  |  Oct 26, 2018

SuperData Research says 2019 will be a “defining moment” for virtual reality (VR) and other XR (extended reality) technologies.

The New York-based firm, which tracks VR and gaming across all platforms, said mobile AR (augmented reality) entertainment is on pace to double year-over-year, hitting a projected $2 billion in by the end of 2018, while revenue from location-based VR (virtual reality) doubles over the next three years, reaching $854 million by 2021.

The anticipated spring 2019 arrival of Oculus Quest — a new stand-alone VR headset — has the potential of propelling the VR category into the mainstream, SuperData said, noting that more than a million units are expected to ship next year.

In its launch year, SuperData expects Oculus Quest to sell three times more units than the original Oculus Rift did in the 12 months after it was released.

Standalone headsets such as the Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR are more focused on passive media consumption, while the Oculus Quest is designed to attract consumers who want to experience VR gaming, the company said.

Combined worldwide sales of Oculus Go and the forthcoming Oculus Quest are expected to approach 2.5 million units worldwide in 2019, driving VR industry sales to $6.9 billion.

COMMENTS
javanp's picture
Submitted by javanp on October 30, 2018 - 5:35am

But I think it's still another lifecycle away from being good enough to really break-out. I think we do have a 4k headset out now but the graphics cards simply aren't powerful enough yet to render that resolution at a high enough FPS. When we have 4K 120hz per eye at a reasonable cost (and without wires running all over the place), then I think it will be hard to dismiss the awesomeness of VR. Right now there are simply too many trade-offs.

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