Both the IDC and PwC have issued predictions for growth in the virtual reality and augmented reality markets.
While PwC say that VR is a “highly immature market with underdeveloped business models, flaky hardware, and lots of experimental or low-quality content,” they do see a lot of potential within the category.
As reported by VentureBeat, PwC say that 2017 will see advances in “inside out” movement tracking and lower cost headsets, two key innovations that will make a big difference to consumer-appeal and help the VR market to grow at a 69.2% CAGR over the next four years.
PwC expect 68 million VR headsets will be in use within the U.S. by 2012, with advertising revenues for VR to set grow to $4.6 billion as a result.
The IDC have issued similarly optimistic predictions for the category, issueing a forecast for triple-digit growth in 2017.
They say that two thirds of the market currently belong to the mobile-powered platforms like Samsung’s GearVR and Google’s Daydream while the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Sony PSVR account for the remainder.
“The VR market is still very young and consumers seem to be taking a cautious approach,” said Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC’s Mobile Device Trackers.
“With plenty of headset options already in the market and even more coming soon, hardware isn’t the issue. The bigger challenge is the slow growth in content that appeals to a mass audience, combined with the confusion associated with a lack of cross-platform support.”
IDC say that Samsung’s large distribution network and its partnership with Oculus has allowed the company to take the lead in the market, despite being the only company in the top 5 to see an annual decline in shipments.
Likewise, they say that Sony’s high level of control over its own VR ecosystem likely ensures it will remain a major player in the future.
