SuperData-Marktforschung: VR-Markt um 30 % dank PSVR-Umsätzen gestiegen

Das Marktforschungsunternehmen SuperData widmete sich wie jedes Jahr der Analyse des XR-Marktes für 2018. Dabei wurden erfreuliche Ergebnisse festgestellt, denn der gesamte Markt befindet sich in einem Wachstum mit äußerst vielversprechenden Prognosen für die kommenden vier Jahre. Während sich die autarke Oculus Go als Gamechanger fungiert, positioniert sich die PlayStation-VR-Brille an erster Stelle als Zugpferd für die VR-Industrie.

SuperData-Marktforschung – VR-Markt um 30 % gestiegen; XR-Software erzielt zwei Milliarden US-Dollar Umsatz

Die Umsätze des VR-Marktes sind geringeren Prognosen zum Trotz im letzten Jahr um satte 30 % gestiegen. Im Jahr 2017 prognostizierten die Experten Umsätze in Höhe von ca. 3,3 Milliarden US-Dollar. Mit den erwirtschafteten 3,6 Milliarden US-Dollar aus dem letzten Jahr wurde diese Zahl klar übertroffen.

Grund dafür sind vor allem hohe Verkaufszahlen von VR-Hardware. Besonders die beliebte PlayStation VR (PSVR) treibt mit einem enorm umsatzstarken Q4 2018 die Zahl in die Höhe. So sollen alleine während der Feiertage rund 700.000 VR-Brillen über die Theken gegangen sein. Besonders die zahlreichen Bundles und Angebote könnten viele während der besinnlichen Zeit zum Kauf verleitet haben. So lockte der Black Friday nicht nur in Amerika, sondern auch in Europa mit zahlreichen Rabatten zu VR-Produkten. Auch die hohen Verkaufszahlen von VR-Veröffentlichungen wie Beat Saber dürften ihren Teil dazu beigetragen haben.

Neue PlayStation VR PSVR PlayStation 5

Neben der PSVR-Brille erfreut sich besonders die autarke Oculus Go im verkaufsstarken Q4 2018 großer Beliebtheit und kann rund 555.000 verkaufte Exemplare verzeichnen. Insgesamt wird über Verkäufe in Millionenhöhe spekuliert. Mit überschaubaren 160.000 verkauften Exemplaren der HTC Vive und 130.000 Oculus-Rift-Brillen schneiden die PC-Brillen im Vergleich eher schlecht ab.

Den größten Einfluss auf den Markt hat nach wie vor allerdings die Software. Besonders XR-Spiele spülen massiv Gelder in die Kassen der Entwickler. Entsprechend konnte alleine der AR-Titel Pokémon Go von Niantic 1,3 Milliarden US-Dollar Umsatz erzielen, was 66 % des gesamten XR-Spielemarktes von zwei Milliarden US-Dollar entspricht. Durch VR-Software wurden 1,2 Milliarden US-Dollar eingenommen. VR-Arcade-Einrichtungen erzielten ca. 16 % des Gesamtumsatzes.

Insgesamt sollen 6,6 Milliarden US-Dollar durch den gesamten XR-Markt erzielt worden sein.

Superdata-Marktforschung – Prognosen für das Jahr 2019

Doch neben der Analyse des letzten Jahres blicken die Marktforscher natürlich auch auf das bevorstehende Jahr 2019. Besonders die kommende Oculus Quest soll großes Kundeninteresse auslösen und dank des eher erschwinglicheren Preises von 399 US-Dollar zum Verkaufshit werden. Entsprechend wird mit Verkäufen in Höhe von 1,3 Millionen Exemplaren gerechnet.

Oculus Quest

Zudem wird ein kontinuierliches Wachstum innerhalb der nächsten vier Jahre vorausgesagt. Bis zum Jahr 2022 soll die XR-Industrie bis zu 34,1 Milliarden US-Dollar Umsatz erzeugen. Dies würde einem Wachstum von 442 % zum Jahr 2018 entsprechen.

Ob diese Prognosen gerechtfertigt sind, bleibt zunächst einmal abzuwarten. Allerdings kann der Markt nach aktuellen Erkenntnissen durchaus positiv auf die Zukunft blicken.

(Quellen: SuperData | Upload VR)

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Augmented World Expo Announces Partnership With Digi-Capital

The Augmented World Expo (AWE) announced earlier this week that they are partnering with Digi-Capital, an analytics firm and global adviser and provider of XR industry intelligence. AWE of course provide events focusing on virtual, augmented and mixed reality (VR/AR/MR) which all fall into the umbrella term of XR. This new partnership gives the XR industry a new level of access to leaders and products combined with data, survey analysis and regional reports.

Digi-Capital

This means that AWE attendees will gain access to select Digi-Capital material such as analytics and reports to help drive XR innovation initiatives, spur corporate and VC investment, along with helping new startups go to market. Part of the partnership also includes Digi-Captial having a survey program offering unique access to AWE’s industry “brain trust”. This partnership will see people across the XR industry able to benefit from a range of services and information, helping to making it a better place all-round.

Additionally, the partnership will also see Digi-Capital founder and managing direct, Tim Merel, headlining AWE events, providing the State of the Union keynotes and sharing live, global and regional XR analytics. He will first be presenting at the upcoming AWE Europe 2018 conference and expo.

Elsewhere, AWE also announced that the AWE Europe 2018 conference would be returning to Munich this year and is co-locating with ISMAR, the IEEE International Symposium on AR and MR to deliver the industry’s most comprehensive showcase of XR innovation to help bridge the gap between scientific ideation to market commercialization.

AWE EU

“Since my first ISMAR in 2008 where I was introduced to the promise of AR to change our lives, it was my dream to bring together the research and commercial sectors of the AR Industry. This year, by co-locating AWE and ISMAR in Munich we achieve this goal; the cross-pollination between research and industry will manifest itself in deeper understanding of the current research as well as what’s required to support XR adoption in the industry. ” said Ori Inbar, co-founder and executive producer of AWE. “At no other event can you see the products available today combined with the critical-ingredient science inspiring the technology of tomorrow–for an interconnected vision of the road ahead for XR.”

AWE Europe 2018 is planned to take place on October 18th-19 in Munich, Germany at the MOC Exhibition Center. It will see over 2,000 attendees, 100 speakers and 100 exhibitors come together to share their love and knowledge of all things XR.

Tickers are currently on sale starting at €149.00 (Euro) for a one day pass going up to €1,295.00 for a two day all access pass and ISMAR combo pack. More details on tickets and availability can be found here and for more news on AWE in the future, keep reading VRFocus.

Vive Pro Gets AR Capabilities Thanks to HTC’s New Tools for Front-facing Cameras

HTC has announced a new set of tools allowing developers to build applications which take advantage of the Vive Pro’s stereo front-facing cameras, effectively turning the device into an AR headset dev kit. The new tools allow the cameras to capture depth, spatial mapping data, hand input, and seamlessly shift between VR and AR worlds.

While the original Vive launched with a front-facing camera, it went sorely unused. This time around, with the Vive Pro, the company is offering the VIVE SRWorks SDK. Announced last week, HTC says that the SDK includes three modules: a depth module, see-through module, and a 3D reconstruction module—effectively a foundational set of tools enabling the headset to sense the world through its front-facing cameras, and allowing developers to use that data for creating interesting experiences that can be pure AR or VR, or a combination of both.

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This example video, using the Vive Pro and the SRWorks SDK shows how the tools can be used to seamlessly link VR and AR worlds, creating new and interesting gameplay and application possibilities:

The company says that the SRWorks SDK includes support for native development with plugins for Unity and Unreal, and that the modules can enable the following:

  • Depth
  • Spatial Mapping (static and dynamic meshes)
  • Placing virtual objects in the foreground or background
  • Live interactions with virtual objects and simple hand interactions

This example shows how the Spatial Mapping module can create a model of the room’s geometry for use in applications:

The Vive SRWorks SDK is available in beta through the company’s developer portal.

Like the ZED Mini depth camera add-on, thanks to the new tools, the Vive Pro’s front-facing stereo cameras effectively emulate the sort of experience that AR glasses will ideally achieve in the future—an immersive, wide field of view with precision tracking and environment mapping, potentially turning it into a great dev kit for developers building toward XR hardware of the future.

The post Vive Pro Gets AR Capabilities Thanks to HTC’s New Tools for Front-facing Cameras appeared first on Road to VR.

VR Creator Nathalie Frederiksen Experiments With XR

Cross Reality, or XR, is a confusing term for many. It is becoming increasingly common to use XR as a catch-all, a reference to hardware which combines aspects of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR). This is the technology crossroads that content creator Nathalie Frederiksen is experimenting with as she works on producing her new immersive project, Global X.

Nathalie Frederiksen recently announced a separate project called Innovatus, which would blend artificial intelligence (AI) with VR and cinematic performance art. Though full details on Global X have not yet been revealed, the XR experience is said to be a combination of sensory interfaces such as haptics along with VR or MR visuals and 4D immersive sound.

Nathalie Frederiksen

Frederiksen has stated her beliefs that a high-quality VR experience should be something akin to jumping into a favourite dream. Frederiksen has taught herself about VR content creation, picking up knowledge from art, entertainment, technology and music spaces with the aim of bringing these elements together in a way that transcends technology: Frederiksen said, “I don’t tell traditional stories in VR, I tell stories that demand VR.”

With Global X, Frederiksen wishes to create beautiful music experiences by bringing together creative talent from around the world. Frederiksen has said that the future is upon us, and that we stand at the beginning of a technological revolution.

As she said recently upon receiving a prize for her work on VR experience The Others: “I’m honored to be named as one of the winners. To be recognized for my work in the virtual reality community confirms my belief that these markets and industries are incredibly important in VR and AR both creatively and for innovation, creativity and growth. I am so proud of the VR industry and will always be there to support my peers to further our industry in growth and advocacy.”

Virtual reality experience

For further news on Global X and other new and innovative XR projects, keep checking back with VRFocus.