What They Say
Juniper Research said that consumer virtual reality content will bring over $7 billion in revenue in 2025, an increase of over 160% on the $3 billion it is expected to generate in 2020. The primary driver for consumer content in this space will be console gamers, which will account for 41% of revenue generated in 2025. The report also notes that standalone VR will be the fastest-growing user base in the next five years; taking over from smartphone-based VR, which will stall, following the exit of Google and Samsung from the market last year. Juniper Research expects mobile VR to decline over the next five years, with only 1.2 million headsets in use by 2025.
Console games will be the most lucrative area here, but still have relatively low revenue per transaction, with an average price of $17 per VR game expected for consoles through the forecast period. At the same time, however, less than 4% of console users worldwide will use the platform; making VR compatibility, rather than VR exclusivity, a safer bet for games developers.
“The price of entry remains an obstacle to many potential VR users and developers,” remarked research co-author James Moar. “We expect standalone VR to grow more rapidly, as the middle ground of affordable quality, but platform providers need to develop ways for content to be more effectively monetised, in order to attract developers.”
What We Think
The conclusions and numbers seem reasonable to me. Stand-alone headsets look like the winners. I have often thought that exploiting the power available in mobile devices is the way to go, but it seems that the market looks more like an appliance market than the PC market. Maybe that’s why I have PCs, rather than Apple products!
The Oculus Quest 2 was the third best pick of VR headsets by RoadtoVR, recently, but was top in the value segment. (BR)
