China’s Year Of Virtual Reality
A survey done by Niko Partners earlier this year showed that more than half of Chinese gamers are interested in VR and almost 30% are willing to spend up to $200 USD on a device, which is significant considering the average income in China hovers around $12,000 per year.
Hardware investments accounted for 78% of the total investments made in all VR related products in 2015 and 2016. That investment has led to a surge in VR hardware sales this year whilst software sales growth hasn’t been as high.
There are now more than 3,000 VR Internet cafés and experience zones in China that provide a high-end dedicated VR experience for as little as $8 USD for 30 minutes of gameplay. HTC has recently opened a new experience arcade store in Shenzhen and plans to open many more in the future (some accounts say 50 are planned, others say 1,000). Shunwang, the leading provider of Internet café management software, has released a VR-ready version of the software for VR Internet café owners. VR gaming content represents another opportunity for VR Internet café operators to diversify and grow their revenue streams.
My observation is that China already is actively investing in the promising mobile and high-end segments of VR for gaming, and beyond. Alibaba, Xiaomi, HTC, Chukong, Shanda, and Tencent are some of the leading Chinese tech companies to be embracing it in earnest. Next year is poised to be exciting for VR/AR in the Chinese (and global) digital games industry and I anticipate strong growth to continue during the next few years.
See the full story here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisachanson/2016/12/23/chinas-year-of-virtual-reality/#27682c6a7a99