There might be more virtual reality headsets wrapped under the Christmas tree this winter than earlier estimates indicated.
VR hardware sales are forecast to hit US$2.3 billion by the end of 2016, according to an April 21 report from market intelligence firm IDC.
These new estimates are more than triple the US$700 million Deloitte Global predicted in January.
"Video games will clearly be the lead rationale for people to pick up an Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, or PlayStation VR this year," Lewis Ward, IDC’s research director of gaming, said in the report.
"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. The addition of exciting new titles will lead to a new wave of VR [Head Mounted Displays] hardware interest among those buying for themselves or family members and friends."
Ahead of the holiday sales, Vancouver will be playing host to the Consumer Virtual Reality conference May 14.
The event at the Vancouver Convention Centre is drawing B.C. VR firms including Cloudhead Games, Archiact Interactive and Wavesine.
VR headsets have been getting extra attention this year with last month’s launch of the Oculus Rift and the upcoming launch of the PlayStation VR.
But Mack Flavelle, founder of Vancouver-based VR consultancy firm Hammer and Tusk, told Business in Vancouver earlier this month consumers shouldn't expect 2016 to be its breakout year.
“There are lots of brands, there’s a ton of money, there’s billions of investment dollars, there’s great technology, there’s advertising that’s bubbling up,” he said.
“And this is all despite the fact everybody knows there are no consumers yet.”
The IDC report estimates VR hardware sales will reach 9.6 million in 2016.
But by 2020, the number of units sold annually is forecast to reach 64.8 million for a total of 110 million headset over five years.
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