To many people, it seems as if the VR industry is rather obsolete. While it is not a mainstream technology, there is notable growth. In 2017 VR and AR combined saw a growth of 72%. That is a more than respectable figure. As such, the consumer market reached a total value of $3.2bn.
VR and AR Growth Materializes Nicely
Even though 2017 has not necessarily been a breakthrough year for either AR or VR, both industries are growing spectacularly. More specifically, there is 72% growth between 2016 and 2017. Despite the lack of major developments in both industries, both consumers and corporations start to pay more attention to these new technologies.
It also appears the VR and AR user base is investing more money into content, apps, and location-based entertainment. This latter part is quite interesting, as it highlights the success of the numerous VR arcades all over the world. With more games and apps being released last year, it seems the overall feedback was pretty positive as well.
Now that all major headsets have been lowered in price, interesting things are bound to happen. At the same time, there is also the second generation of hardware on the horizon. All of these aspects will make both VR and AR more accessible and appealing to consumers. Getting rid of the “niche market” label will not be easy, though.
At the same time, there are some hurdles still to be overcome. Adoption of high-end PC and console headsets direly needs to improve. Price drops alone will not be sufficient to pull everyday consumers over the line as of right now. At the same time, with more major games offering VR functionality, real enthusiasts will take the plunge regardless.
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