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Global market research firm TrendForce has estimated that VT device shipments will reach 9 million units this year.
Sony made its widely anticipated PlayStation VR available for pre-order this month following the releases of HTC’s Vive and Oculus’s Rift.
So far, the market reception towards PS VR has been very good as Japan and several other regions have reported that their pre-order shipments were sold out immediately after the announcement.
TrendForce expects PS VR to generate another huge wave of VR device shipments this year. If the branded vendors are able to ensure sufficient supply, TrendForce forecasts that shipments of VR devices (excluding mobile-based products) will grow at a CAGR of 53.5% from 9 million units this year to 50 million units in 2020.
“While sales from various branded vendors have been brisk, this year’s VR device shipments will be mainly influenced by the supply side of the market,” said Jason Tsai, wearable device analyst for TrendForce.
“Branded vendors were overly conservative in stocking up their inventories before the market releases of their products. They are now seeing the product demand far outstripping the supply and will have to adjust their inventories in the next two quarters, or else the undersupply situation in the VR device market will likely persist to the second half of 2017.”
Moreover, software is fast becoming the largest opportunity in the VR industry.
TrendForce estimates that the total value of the VR market in 2020 will surpass US$70 billion, of which nearly 60% will come from software.
“The strong sales performances of various devices in the VR market will attract more new entrants from the hardware field,” said Tsai.
“Many software developers will also enter the market in the next two to three years to help expand the range of VR applications.”
