But the orders might still be subject to change, up or down, depending upon market demand after the item launch, sources stated.
Compared with the cyclical and fairly mature video games console market, which is dominated by Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, market watchers said VR was still a nascent market where a great deal of gamers are attempting new applications. Gaming is still the most important segment.
” During the pandemic, the video gaming market witnessed a record number of online gamer additions as more consumers are considering video gaming for home entertainment in the house,” Counterpoint senior expert Karn Chauhan told the Nikkei Asian Review.
Facebook purchased VR startup Oculus for $2 billion in 2014, and scored its very first hit with Oculus Quest, which had a starting rate at $399. It was the companys first all-in-one VR gaming gadget. Known as a “standalone,” this type of device functions integrated computing ability on a cordless headset, rather than relying on an individual computer with a cable to run the device.
Facebook is seeking to further expand standalone VR, which offers users a more immersive experience than PC and smartphone-based VR headsets. The U.S. business stated in June it will stop selling Oculus Go, its entry-level VR device which went on sale in 2018, to focus on the Oculus Quest and Rift offerings, its more higher-end and powerful products. Oculus Rift S, introduced in 2019, still needs to be connected to a computer system to operate.
Facebooks founding CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an earnings conference previously this year that the businesss revenue categorized as “others” reached $297 million for the January-March quarter, up 80% from a year earlier, which was “driven mainly by sales of Oculus items.”
Other companies are jostling for a share of the market. HTC, formerly a leading mobile phone maker, shifted its focus from handsets to VR, while Sony launched its first PlayStation VR in 2015. Google, Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies all introduced phone-based VR headsets, using smartphones as the VR headsets screens.
Apple has actually been working on increased truth innovation for years and has reportedly entered a trial production for an enhanced reality device just recently, according to tech news outlet The Information. VR puts users in a fully synthetic digital environment, while AR overlays virtual objects over a real-world environment.
No immediate winner, however, has emerged in the nascent battlefield, market watchers said, and the VR headset market is still at its early phase for gamers and commercial users in some niche applications only. The technology counts on fast-speed, low-latency internet connectivity, and 4G connectivity does not constantly fulfill users expectations.
Providers are working on decreasing the weight of devices to improve user experience. Market watchers likewise stated there was a need for more material suppliers, such as video game developers, to develop a larger VR ecosystem.
The worldwide shipment of all types of VR gadgets last year was around 10 million systems, according to Counterpoint information. Facebook, Sony and HTC together accounted for 69% of the market. However excluding mobile VR, which needs to plug in a mobile phone, the overall VR market delivery was only around 4.32 million systems, with Facebook delivering around 1.5 million units in 2019, research firm TrendForce stated.
Jason Tsai, an expert with TrendForce, stated the VR market is delighting in healthy demand thanks to the coronavirus break out but it was not yet clear whether the momentum was sustainable.
” Overall, the VR market will continue to grow. Facebooks growing momentum this year will be more robust than Sonys VR lineup as Facebooks technique is to offer its VR devices at a fairly economical price because in 2015 to grow the ecosystem base, and it not just targeted players however likewise has a bigger intend to check out other service opportunities and applications,” said Tsai. “Sonys approach currently is to generate more hard-core gamers to bundle with its own PlayStation video game console company.”
Sony and Facebook declined to comment.
Facebook is looking to further broaden standalone VR, which provides users a more immersive experience than PC and smartphone-based VR headsets. HTC, formerly a leading smart device maker, moved its focus from handsets to VR, while Sony released its first PlayStation VR in 2015. Google, Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies all introduced phone-based VR headsets, using smartphones as the VR headsets screens.
Omitting mobile VR, which needs to plug in a mobile phone, the general VR market shipment was just around 4.32 million systems, with Facebook shipping around 1.5 million units in 2019, research agency TrendForce stated.
Facebooks growing momentum this year will be more robust than Sonys VR lineup as Facebooks method is to sell its VR devices at a relatively budget friendly price since last year to grow the community base, and it not only targeted gamers but likewise has a bigger hope to explore other company chances and applications,” stated Tsai.
The two big tech business optimism is a robust sign for a wide variety of suppliers in the home entertainment segment for the 2nd half of 2020, as lots of tech industry gamers are still trying to find ways to offset the decreasing mobile phone market, the most significant consumer electronic devices device.
Facebooks relocation even more underlines the social networking giants ambition to additional broaden its footprint in the emerging VR market, where it is the market leader with around a 35% market share. Its first all-in-one VR gaming system– Oculus Quest– ended up being a struck after it launched in May 2019.
” Compared with the declining mobile phone market, VR is still a nascent market however we see strong growth for this year and increasingly more companies are coming into the arena. The production forecast for the 2nd half of this year might reach a minimum of 2 million units, which is already around 1.5 times more than its total production output in 2015,” a source with direct knowledge informed the Nikkei Asian Review. “The new Facebook Oculus VR headset will enter mass production around the end of July.”
TAIPEI/TOKYO– Facebook and Sony are preparing to increase output of upcoming gaming gadgets by as much as 50%, revealing how huge tech business are benefiting from consumers thirst for house entertainment throughout the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, the Nikkei Asian Review has actually discovered.
Facebooks Oculus, the worldwide leading company of virtual truth headsets by market share, is considering growth of a minimum of 50% from a year ago for its newest version of head-mounted VR gadgets, pressing production to 2 million systems, sources said.
Sony, the worlds No. 2 video game console maker after Nintendo by shipments, has actually likewise raised production orders for its approaching PlayStation 5 to around 9 million systems, from the roughly 6 million systems it had planned in spring, sources familiar with the matter stated. The PlayStation 5 is the very first entirely new generation of the console in seven years, after the Japanese business launched the PlayStation 4 in 2013 and an upgrade in 2016.
