While the gaming market on virtual reality is growing little by little, it is a fact that augmented reality will also gain ground over time. The application of this latest technology may be recognized in titles such as Pokémon GO. However, its scope in the entertainment world goes beyond.
For this reason, analysts at IDC Mobile Device Trackers believe that the use of augmented reality will increase significantly over the next few years. Jitesh Ubrani, a member of the company, estimates that the sale of AR and VR devices will reach 13.7 million units by the end of this year.
According to the analyst, these figures will soar by 2021, when both markets have a growth of almost 56% and their total sales will reach 81.2 million units. Ubrani adds that in 2019 virtual reality will lead, but by 2021 the augmented reality will be able to recover and generate billions of dollars.
“AR headset shipments today are a fraction of where we expect them to be in the next five years, both in terms of volume and functionality. AR headsets are also on track to account for over $30 billion in revenue by 2021, almost twice that of VR, as most of the AR headsets will carry much higher average selling prices with earlier adopters being the commercial segment,” Ubrani said in a press release.
Tom Mainelli, vice president of IDC, added that the involvement of Microsoft and its partners will be indispensable to achieve this goal. The company recently unveiled new SteamVR compatible mixed-reality devices. Likewise, it registered the Direct Reality brand, which suggests the creation of holographic applications for gaming. So, everything indicates that Microsoft will continue to bet on such technologies.
Sony does not want to be left behind in this market, so recently the company introduced a new model of PlayStation VR. For its part, Vive Studios will sell bundles of HTC Vive with Fallout 4 VR.
