Analyst report says 2016 will be the make or break year for virtual reality
The amount spent on virtual reality hardware and software could reach a staggering $21.8 billion by 2020, according to a report by Tractica, a marketing research and consulting firm.
With a compound annual growth of 142%, we could see consumer spending of VR go from $108.8 million in 2014 to $21.8 billion worldwide by 2020. This takes into account the combined revenue for virtual reality headsets, accessories and content.
Essential Reading: How does VR actually work?
The report states that 2016 will be the “make or break year” for VR, and with the current investments, it appears many tech giants think so too. With Facebook’s Oculus Rift, Microsoft’s Hololens, HTC’s Vive, Google Cardboard and Sony’s Project Morpheus, 2016 is shaping up to be quite a year.
However, the report says: “Getting users to experience VR technology firsthand, and therefore truly understand its potential, remains a challenge,” adding, “the emergence of low-cost mobile VR solutions is helping.”
According to the report, the adoption of VR headsets will reach a critical mass, at which point content will start drawing in more revenue. Virtual reality content will account for one-third of total VR revenue in 2017, but by 2020, that will grow to around two-thirds.
With VR, as we found with the HoloLens AR headset and Project Morpheus at E3 this year, seeing is believing. Google Cardboard is a great way to experience VR without having to fork out a lot of cash, and it appears this could help virtual reality get some traction.
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