VR 'not in winter' as sector starting to heat up

Gamers are seen at the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference yesterday. (Jiang Xiaowei)

The virtual reality market "is not in winter" because "everything has warmed up" as overseas giants are offering localized services for over 500 million Chinese game players, industry officials said at Chinajoy yesterday in Shanghai.

HTC, Sony, US-based Nvidia and Chinese VR device vendors have all launched their VR contents and strategies in China as the industry starts to heat up, observers said.

HTC announced yesterday the release of its first Vive Standalone VR headset for the China market, featuring super mobility and Qualcomm's VR-featured Snapdragon processor.

HTC is also inviting local developers to contribute contents to establish a complete VR eco-system in China, which "has momentum to lead the global VR market," said Alvin W. Graylin, China president of HTC Vive.

"There is no longer a winter for the VR market. Everything has warmed up," Graylin said.

Sony's localized strategy on VR in China offers VR contents besides games. It will offer VR videos through partners like Jaunt China and iQiyi, as well as a new VR eduction content offered by NetDragon, Sony said yesterday.

Chinese VR device vendors, including Pico, Hypereal and Ant VR, are expanding with localized services to target their core consumer and business clients, said Jason Low, analyst at research firm Canalys.

Ant VR, which released next-generation VR headsets during Chinajoy yesterday, expected the consumer and business markets to grow rapidly, with income contribution seen at 50-50.

US-based Nvidia, the world's top graphic chip provider, debuted an upgraded GeForce gaming platform and VR-related packages during Chinajoy, with support of several Chinese game developers. It was the first time that Nvidia has debuted globally in China.

The four-day event Chinajoy, or the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference, opened at the Shanghai New International Expo Center yesterday.