Analytics firm Telsyte have said that sales of virtual reality headsets are making fast gains in the Australian market, with more than 200,000 units said to have been sold in 2016.
Their latest study on the growing tech category, Telsyte Australian VR & AR Market Study 2017,asserts that 216,000 VR headsets were sold within Australia in the past year.
Notably, mobile VR headsets account for 70% of that number.
Telsyte found that almost half of Australian customers over 16 years of age are looking to purchase a VR headset.
However, they highlight that the splintering of the VR market into so many platforms and content ecosystems could prove an obstacle to the growth of the VR market with the number of players (Sony, Samsung, HTC, Oculus/Facebook, Google) acting as a barrier for those looking to buy in.
“We are entering a chicken and egg scenario with VR adoption,” Telsyte Managing Director, Foad Fadaghi says.
“Developers are looking for a growing base of users before making large investments, at the same time mainstream technology buyers are waiting for killer VR content or applications,” Fadaghi says.
They speculate this issue will be further exasperated in 2017, as additional players attempt to enter the market.
Despite that, Telsyte estimates VR penetration will reach 25.5% of households by 2021.
