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Facebook Aiming For Virtual Reality Dominance

Zenbane
MVP
MVP
Great article that presents things quite fairly.

The quick version:
  • Sony is still leading the VR Market in terms of "total units sold."
  • HTC and Facebook are fighting to replace Sony in the Number 1 spot.
  • Facebook is currently more strongly situated for dominance due to its untethered offerings (GearVR, GO, and soon-to-be Santa Cruz).


Sony is in the driver's seat right now, but Facebook is the company to watch in VR.

Virtual reality is still in its infancy, but the companies who can capture a significant share of the market could become leaders in the next major computing market. According to SuperData Research, VR is going to grow from a $4.5 billion business in 2018 to $19.0 billion of revenue by 2021. Early movers see the opportunity in VR and are eager to capture market share.

As big as the VR market is expected to be, there are only a few companies in a viable position to build a platform the industry will grow from for years to come. So far, it's Sony's (NYSE:SNE) PlayStation VR that has a big head start in virtual reality, with over 2 million units sold. But HTC's Vive and Facebook's (NASDAQ:FB) Oculus Rift are trying to catch up quickly.

What could reshape the VR landscape in 2018 is Facebook untethering itself from PCs and gaming consoles to make VR mobile.

Why Facebook is behind Sony in VR today

To understand why Facebook is behind in VR and how it could catch up, we need to lay out the VR landscape today. Sony has sold over 2 million PSVR headsets, more than doubling both HTC's Vive and Oculus Rift platforms, which both are arguably higher-quality products. The biggest advantage Sony has in VR is that 76 million PS4 consoles are already installed in people's homes, so adding VR isn't expensive or cumbersome. Vive and Rift still require expensive gaming computers that aren't floating around the average home.

The next generation of headsets will likely eliminate the need for a console or PC, and at that point we should see wider adoption of VR and technology companies like Facebook differentiating themselves.

Facebook's big VR move

The first step beyond tethered VR headsets is the Oculus Go, which is the first stand-alone (no PC or console required) VR headset to hit the U.S. market at a mass-market price point of $200. Oculus Go isn't considered a high-end device because it can't track a user's movement through space like a Vive or Rift can, but it's still a big step forward for the VR industry. What it's perfect for is watching 360 videos and playing simple VR games.

This month, Facebook has shown how it will display the power of Oculus Go by bringing World Cup games to the platform. Users can watch from the stands or near the goalpost, a perspective that would be impossible without being in VR. The company is also adding MLB, NBA, music, and other content to apps like Oculus Venues and Oculus TV.

Just the beginning for Facebook in VR

Oculus's next step is a high-end stand-alone headset it dubbed Santa Cruz, which is expected to be available within the next year. This headset won't require a computer or gaming console, but will allow users to move through a virtual space, like Vive or Rift. It could be a game-changer in VR's adoption in the mass market.

The stand-alone VR market will be key because it expands the universe of customers beyond those with gaming consoles or high-end gaming computers. That's when VR could go truly mainstream and become the $19 billion industry tech companies hope it can be. Facebook certainly looks like it's in a leadership position today.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/07/08/facebook-aiming-for-virtual-reality-dominance.aspx


I'm a fan of Sony's VR efforts. I love that they launch both long-term exclusives (Resident Evil) and short-term timed exclusives (Robinsons, Moss). I also love that they partake in bringing the times exclusives to PCVR. I enjoyed spending over 12 hours in Robinsons, and I look forward to Moss - all in my Rift.


I'm still a bit sad to see that Microsoft hasn't done much yet. I have no real interest in their WMR Headsets for Entertainment purposes. I'm only looking forward to their potential to reshape the workplace (true CommercialVR) through their Office Suite approach (PowerPoint, SharePoint, Excel, Word, etc).


Overall though, it seems that the race between now and 2021 comes down to Facebook-Oculus and Sony. With HTC's ongoing financial troubles (although it is more of a "crisis" at this point), everyone else will be battling for third place in the global market. Personally, I have been impressed with some of the information about "mind reading" from HTC (controlling VR interaction with human thought). So I'd like to see them come out of their financial ruin. No one else seems to be openly thinking the way of mind-control for VR. Sony is all Entertainment, and Facebook is balancing Entertainment with Social Media. All noteworthy efforts, but I do want to reach The Matrix, na' mean?


For us consumers though, this level of competition is grand! And if you're an entrepreneur: Now is the time to start pitching your VR business concepts. Go get that startup capital!

40 REPLIES 40

Morgrum
Expert Trustee
Its easy dont buy or play the games that force you to spwnd money to get stuff or get over that paywall.
WAAAGH!

kevinw729
Honored Visionary


...
Until then HTC is in trouble, and other Kickstarter manufacturers are going to go into the enterprise market first to even hope to be sustainable and have any hope at making the money back spent on R&D to investors.
.....
This fully supports the theory that Oculus/Facbook is the only company at the moment with any real advantage



As always I have to agree with a lot of what you say LZ - though I think HTC are holed below the waterline, they have a market presence that is in a strong position, and a Valve or Google based move would not surprise me to ensure that HTC do not totally mess it up. That $2b investment into HTC by Google can not be ignored so easily.

Obviously Valve is a interesting stalking horse, especially with their LG project plans, and having the PIMAX support their infrastructure gives them a strong position to view the best path. I also see Valve wholly for the PC highend with little or any mobileVR or Standalone interest that will mean that for the majority of the VR community already investment in VR they offer a strong home if CV2 is not ready for a 2020 showing!

https://vrawards.aixr.org/ "The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier: Expanding Interactive Boundaries in Leisure Facilities" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Out-Home-Immersive-Entertainment-Frontier/dp/1472426959

Anonymous
Not applicable
Not ready for a 2020 showing? It'll be released next year. Oculus know they can't give the CV1 a four year lifespan. We'll see the CV2 being released next year, the Rift continuing to be manufactured and sold for either $249 or $299 for one year before production stops. And by then the CV2 will be ready for a decent price cut too.

Anonymous
Not applicable
BOE manufacture the display in the Go and are likely to manufacture the displays in the CV2.

Yes, the likes of Samsung, BOE and Qualcomm manufacture parts of the Rift and Go but that isn't going to stop Oculus from dominating the industry. After all, the same can be said for all other headsets too.

The Oculus Go and the Santa Cruz are going to help with the early stages of VR being adopted by mainstream consumers.

LZoltowski
Champion

snowdog said:

BOE manufacture the display in the Go and are likely to manufacture the displays in the CV2.

Yes, the likes of Samsung, BOE and Qualcomm manufacture parts of the Rift and Go but that isn't going to stop Oculus from dominating the industry. After all, the same can be said for all other headsets too.

The Oculus Go and the Santa Cruz are going to help with the early stages of VR being adopted by mainstream consumers.

I have to say that the panels in the GO which is a budget product are very impressive. They may not be true blacks but after a while, the eyes adjust and you don't really notice anything. This could be improved with dynamic backlighting zones etc.
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Be kind to one another 🙂

nalex66
MVP
MVP

Atmos73 said:

The OPs article is a little naive. 

For starters the article fails to mention the biggest player in the VR space and thats Qualcomm of which Oculus is their customer. Every GO sold has a Qualcomm chip inside. Oculus can’t release a headset without Qualcomm and Qualcomm are not exclusive to Oculus infact Qualcomm have manufactured their own HMD the XR1 for any manufacturer to copy.

Secondly Oculus don’t manufacture their own display panels. They buy them from third parties suppliers like Samsung. Samsung are not exclusive to Oculus either so Oculus once again are limited to the displays other rival manufacturers have access too like Vive Focus. 

So when you add the sum of the parts Oculus can’t possibly dominate the VR space at all. Android will see off Oculus and Apple will pat Android on the back. Then business as usual.

Wait a minute, I read that PieMask was the only true next-gen headset! Why aren't they dominating PCVR?

Nobody makes all their own components. Apple buys screens from Samsung, etc. The trick is taking the components from companies that specialize in those things (screens, memory, processors, etc) and putting it all together in a package that includes custom-engineered hardware and software to make something that is more than the sum of its parts. Nobody has managed to do that better than Oculus. If it was as simple as having access to higher res screens and cramming them into a headset, it would have been done by now.

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3.


Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo

Zenbane
MVP
MVP

Atmos73 said:

The OPs article is a little naive. 




Nah, the article is fact-based. You're just here to troll after the Pimax thread was locked lol



Atmos73 said:


For starters the article fails to mention the biggest player in the VR space and thats Qualcomm of




Qualcomm isn't selling enough to make the list, so no, they are not the biggest player in terms of Global sales, of which Oculus dominates in both hardware and software by powering 3 different HMD's.



Atmos73 said:


Secondly Oculus don’t manufacture their own display panels.




This has zero impact on the analysis of global sales. To help you understand the naivety of your comment: HTC doesn't own their own VR IP; they license it form Valve. And Valve doesn't manufacture their own hardware (more than just the display panels), they rely on 3rd parties like HTC.

As for all your "exclusivity" whining, take a look at who is in first place: Sony. And they are all about exclusivity.




Atmos73 said:

Oculus don’t even dominate PCVR after 2 years of Facebook billions holding only 46%.



Oculus definitely dominates PCVR, they are the most used headset on the SteamVR Survey, plus they have their own exclusive Store to add to those numbers. You just don't want to accept facts because back in 2016 you predicted Oculus would fail so you bought an HTC Vive, now your Vive belongs to a failing company and all you have left is a scam Kickstarter.

Zenbane
MVP
MVP
So while some people try to get vengeance for that Pimax thread getting locked, lets see if the rest of us can still keep an on-topic discussion going...


With
Sony currently leading, I have to say that I like what I'm reading
about their view of the future in terms of... VR giving birth to a new
genre!

Sony design lead: Expect VR to create a new game genre within 5 years

Following
its release of the first-person criminal underworld experience The
London Heist for PlayStation VR in 2016, Sony’s London Studio has been
working on the highly anticipated shooter Blood & Truth. But its
lead designer believes even bigger VR advances are on the horizon.
Speaking at the Develop: Brighton conference (via MCV), Michael Hampden
offered predictions for the next 5, 10, and 25 years, saying that VR
will soon become more compelling — and then ubiquitous.

Over the next five years, Hampden said to expect a handful of developments, most notably that “one new genre of game will be born, one that will only be possible in VR.”
Many VR titles today are ports of non-VR titles, but Hampden suggests
that new games should be designed from the ground up for VR. He advised
developers to start by understanding why they selected VR as a medium
and then differentiate their experiences using VR “presence,” surround
audio, distinctive input methods, and head tracking.

https://venturebeat.com/2018/07/10/sony-design-lead-expect-vr-to-create-a-new-game-genre-within-5-ye...


For
those that have read my thoughts on SkyrimVR, while I do find the game
highly enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone at the $60 price, I
still prefer to view it as a "VR Port" as opposed to a "VR Game." I know
that there are a lot of disagreements about that - and my opinion seems
to be in the minority - but the main point I was trying to make is in
regards to this very concept: There's a difference in terms of overall
experience when a product is made for VR from the ground up. And that
difference, when done right, outweighs even the best 2D Port (imo).

But that's just an example; I'm not trying to have a SkyrimVR debate. This applies to any Port (and there are lots of em).

Regardless, I'd love to see what potential "new genre" spawns from VR. Anyone want to play a guessing game?

I'll go first:
  • Real-Time Presence (RTPs)
  • Depth-Perception Action (DPAs)

We could have new phrases like, "Hey are you playing the latest RTP RPG? Did you pre-order the new DPA FPS?"

nalex66
MVP
MVP
Not sure about what a VR-specific new genre would be, but I'll offer up Echo Arena as a good example of a game that can only exist in VR. The physicality of moving yourself around in virtual space, grabbing onto other players to hitch a ride or knock them out, and catching and throwing the disc... it offers an experience wholly different from what can be done on a 2D screen with a gamepad or keyboard and mouse.

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3.


Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo

Techy111
MVP
MVP
If a truly proper real ground up VR version of COD with weapon attachment hardware produced I would gladly sink into the realm of ready player 1 and never be seen again. Let's keep this thread civil, on topic, informative and a damn good read mmmmkay???
A PC with lots of gadgets inside and a thing to see in 3D that you put on your head.