Virtual Reality: a goldmine in the making
Despite the stifling heat, hordes of gaming enthusiasts were willing to queue up to three hours in order to try out Virtual Reality (VR) devices at this year's July 27 to 30 China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference Show held in Shanghai, also known as China Joy.
Among the companies that showcased their VR products included industry giants HTC Vive and Sony. The latter recently released a number of games for their PlayStation VR (PSVR) devices and one of the new titles include the highly anticipated Final Fantasy 15: Monster of the Deep.
Sony also previewed four new VR games which will be distributed exclusively in the Chinese market. Most of these games will be released later this year.
According to Takehito Soeda, head of Sony China, the number of games for PSVR devices will increase significantly this year. PSVR devices, which can be connected to the company's game consoles PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Neo, were first released in October last year.
Soeda said that reception for PSVR devices was so overwhelming that they were sold out within six months of their release in China. He added that many Chinese gaming enthusiasts took to his Weibo page to complain about the inadequate stock.
Market consulting firm iResearch pointed out that the lifting of the ban on consoles in China in 2013 has boosted the sales of game consoles and in turn spurred demand for VR headsets. The firm also expects an increasing number of Chinese players to jump on the PSVR bandwagon in the coming years.
On July 27, HTC Vive released the Vive Standalone VR headset which is exclusive to the Chinese market. Unlike most VR devices that need to be connected to a computer or smart phone in order to work, the Vive Standalone is powered by a Qualcomm SnapDragon 835 mobile platform and can be directly connected to the Viveport application store.
HTC Vive is the leader in the VR industry with a market share of 18.6 percent, according to research firm SuperData.
"China is by far the world's largest mobile market and we believe it will soon become the number one VR market," said Alvin Wang Graylin, the regional president of HTC Vive for China. "To that end, we have rolled out a Chinese version standalone VR device in the hope of providing the best product for Chinese users."
Although the exact release date for the Vive Standalone was not confirmed, Graylin hinted that consumers will not have to wait long.
In addition to their VR devices, Microsoft also showcased a new console called Xbox Scorpio which the company has described to be "the most powerful console ever".
