Virtual Reality Companies - Sony (Japan) and Oculus (US) are the Leading Key Players

 The virtual reality market was valued at USD 6.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 20.9 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 27.9% from 2020 to 2025. Factors such as penetration of HMDs in the gaming and entertainment sector post COVID-19, advancement of technology and growing digitization are driving the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Major Virtual Reality companies include:

·         Sony (Japan),

·         Oculus (US),

·         HTC (Taiwan),

·         Google (US), and

·         Samsung Electronics (South Korea).

Sony (Japan) has set the pricing of VR PlayStation headset to USD 399 which is hundreds of dollars less than those of its counterparts. The company would bank on the economies of scale to grow in the VR market with the low pricing strategy to compete with the established headset makers in the VR market. Sony’s VR technology owns some of the largest movie, music, and gaming companies in the world. The company is planning to reshape entertainment delivery within prolonged lockdowns and, eventually, post-COVID-19. It is also planning to promote VR concerts and other VR entertainment solutions to entertain people by avoiding crowds and attaining a safe environment.

Oculus (US) develops and manufactures virtual reality technology products such as Oculus Rift and Oculus Touch. These are mostly utilized in video games of various categories including adventure, action, fighting, horror, and education. The company has its facilities in 5 locations spread across 4 states in the US and 1 in Seoul, South Korea. Oculus has made huge investments in R&D and has been as an important player in the virtual reality market as it has been backed by Facebook (US).

HTC (Taiwan) has been among the companies with huge investments in the virtual reality market. The company in partnership with Valve (US) developed Vive, a head-mounted display which would be useful for applications such as healthcare, retail, education, and automotive. HTC Corporation also announced to dedicate the fund of about USD 100 million to start-ups that would join the Vive X accelerator program. The Vive X accelerator program would help build VR ecosystem by investing in the promising VR companies.

The HTV Vive is a product of HTC (Taiwan) and Valve (US). Valve Corporation owns the platform, technology, and software of the Vive; with HTC being just the manufacturer, HTC Corporation has recently announced its plans to spin-off their VR division into a new wholly owned subsidiary, HTC Vive Tech. The company has not been doing well in its smartphone business, and the move to concentrate on VR business with less acquaintance of technology initially seemed dicey. However, the move worked well. The company has come up with other products such as VIVE Tracker, Deluxe Audio Strap, and VIVEPORT.

The company concentrates on providing accessories required for VR devices to exhibit enhanced experience. HTC ventured with Capital Alliance (VRVCA), along with 27 other firms, to form a consortium focused on VR investments. The VRVCA has a total fund of USD 10 billion for startups in the VR market. HTC Corporation has a broader ecosystem with this initiative of forming a consortium for VR-dedicated investments. The company is looking forth to enter applications such as entertainment, retail, education, training, design, healthcare, and automotive with VR products and services.