Even though Sony is one of the market leaders in the VR industry, the company acknowledges there are some issues. As of right now, the industry is growing rather slowly with no real improvements in sight. Overcoming this lull in growth will not be easy by any means, but the company remains confident things will pick up.
VR Industry Growth is Below Expectations
It is rather surprising to see how Sony is not too pleased with the way things are evolving in the VR industry. Despite the company’s prominent position, the situation is still far from perfect. Overall growth in 2017 was well below expectations, although it remains to be seen if this trend can pick up at some point throughout 2018. So far, that does not appear to be the case, and various improvements will need to be made moving forward.
According to the company, virtual reality still fails to convince a lot of consumers and corporations. This is not entirely surprising, as the uptake on VR hardware and software is less than stellar, for obvious reasons. High prices and a lack of real content are still holding the industry back more often than not. The company’s view on this industry is shared by other manufacturers, such as Oculus.
Even in 2018, things are not necessarily improving in any significant manner. Virtual reality remains a niche industry first and foremost, and the number of headset sale sis till below where it should be. While there is some overall growth in general, the pace is far too slow to keep major players excited and hopeful. Getting hardware and software into the hands of as many people as possible will remain problematic.
Whether or not Sony can make more consumers excited about VR, remains the million dollar question. There is a very good chance virtual reality will never be the most profitable technology industry, although it is still a bit too early to say how this will play out exactly. The company is not backing off on VR, although it seems unlikely a second generation VR headset will come to market in the near future.
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