Gartner: Two million VR headsets to be sold in 2016

Sony and Oculus VR have not started to sell their virtual reality headsets, but Gartner already makes predictions regarding sales of VR hardware. According to leading market analysts, shipments of various VR gear will hit two million units in 2016 and will continue to grow in the following years. Still, virtual reality hardware will not become a must have gaming accessory.

Brian Blau, research director at Gartner, forecasts that the number of VR headsets sold will soar to two million units next year, 5 million in 2017 and 8 million in 2018, reports Focus Taiwan. By 2018 the cumulative number of head-mounted displays sold to gamers will reach 25 million, which means that it will make sense for at least some game developers to create games for such devices. Nonetheless, it is obvious that VR headsets will not become something as popular as graphics cards.

“HMDs are more popular in 2014 than at any point in the past,” said Mr. Blau. “Prior to 2014, HMDs were mainly found in specialty applications, such as industrial design or military training and simulation, where HMD technology is well-developed.”

While 25 million units is a lot, it is far from broad adoption by the industry. According to Gartner, mainstream consumers will buy VR headsets when they become stylish, consumer- grade video eyeglasses, not bulky devices designed for core gamers.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: In fact, two million VR HMDs is quite a lot. However, the question is whether this will be enough to persuade game developers to design games for virtual reality hardware.

Become a Patron!