VR to hit big in 2016, mostly in games
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Facebook staff uses a Gear VR virtual reality headset by Oculus and Samsung Electronics at the new Facebook Innovation Hub during a preview media tour in Berlin, Germany, February 24, 2016. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
Virtual reality is poised to finally take hold: IDC estimates that VR headset makers will ship 9.6 million units and generate $2.3 billion in 2016.
Led primarily by Oculus, Samsung, Sony, and HTC, the platform has caught the attention of gamers and tech enthusiasts alike.
"While there have been some launch window hardware shipment hiccups that must be addressed near-term, I'm confident that they will be ironed out before the holiday season," Lewis Ward, research director of IDC gaming, said in a statement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Facebook-owned Oculus began delivering its Rift headset last month . But an "unexpected component shortage" caused delays and forced the company to waive shipping fees for a number of customers. But that doesn't change the fact that the tethered head-mounted display (HMD) should drive combined shipments of over 2 million units this year, according to IDC Vice President of Devices and Displays Tom Minelli.
"When you combine this with robust shipments of screenless viewers from Samsung and other vendors launching later this year, you start to see the beginning of a reasonable installed base for content creators to target," he added.
In addition to screenless viewers (like the Samsung Gear VR, which requires a Galaxy smartphone to work) and tethered devices (Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR), IDC's data includes standalone headsets that integrate processing into the display (Microsoft HoloLens). It does not, however, consider basic, Google Cardboard-based products.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ward says video games will "clearly be the lead rationale" for folks to pick up a VR headset this year. "The addition of exciting new titles will lead to a new wave of VR HMD hardware interest among those buying for themselves or family members and friends," he said.
Games like Oculus exclusive Eve: Valkyrie, which will now support cross-platform play between the Rift, Vive, and PlayStation VR, maker CCP Games announced this week. For more, see The Best Oculus Rift Games You Can Play Right Now.
It's clear that, for now, virtual reality has the world's attention. But augmented reality, like the HoloLens, still has some work to do. "While development kits…point to a strong future in AR hardware, these devices are dramatically harder to produce than VR products," Mainelli said. "Doing this right is more important than doing it fast."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}IDC forecasts worldwide virtual and augmented reality shipments to pass 110 million units by 2020. In the meantime, the analysts expect companies to experiment with AR software on smartphones and tablets.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.