IDC: VR hardware sales to reach 9.6m units this year

Worldwide shipments of virtual reality (VR) hardware will “skyrocket” in 2016, reaching 9.6 million units, according to research by IDC.

Hardware revenues will hit roughly US$2.3 billion this year, driven by sales of key VR products from Samsung, Sony, HTC, and Oculus, while Augmented Reality (AR) hardware sales are tipped to ramp up over the next few years.

Combined AR and VR hardware shipments will pass 110 million units in 2020, said the research.

“In 2016 the first major VR Tethered head mounted displays (HMDs) from Oculus, HTC, and Sony should drive combined shipments of over 2 million units,” said Tom Mainelli, vice president for devices and displays at IDC.

“When you combine this with robust shipments of screenless viewers from Samsung and other vendors launching later this year, you start to see the beginning of a reasonable installed base for content creators to target.”

Lewis Ward, research director of gaming, said: “video games will clearly be the lead rationale for people to pick up an Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, or PlayStation VR this year.

“While there have been some launch window hardware shipment hiccups that must be addressed near-term, I’m confident that they will be ironed out before the holiday season. The addition of exciting new titles will lead to a new wave of VR HMD hardware interest among those buying for themselves or family members and friends.”