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Tencent's quiet future with XR (for now)
The Immersive Wire - 20 February 2023 (Monday Briefing)
Tom Ffiske
February 20, 2023
Executive summary
Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:
Headline: Tencent scraps plans for VR hardware, according to Reuters (analysis below).
Stat of the week: Pico has tripled its market share in VR headsets, according to a report from International Data Corp (analysis below).
Conversation-starter: YouTube’s new CEO is bullish on web3.
Other stories: Bigscreen Beyond is a new (and tiny) VR headset, PlayStation VR2 is out on 22 February, and PICO announced it is now fully compliant with the OpenXR standard (more below).
Community insights: 70% of readers believe that generative AI is relevant to the metaverse.
“The current chatter is only a little relevant. Generative AI itself is very relevant, of course, but a lot of the current chatter is about non-intelligent systems like ChatGPT and is too frothy to be useful.” - Matthew Moran, Open University.
“How else will we have moderation?” - Claire Weingarten, freelance consultant.
Community question:Will you get a PlayStation VR2? |
Loving Wild Hearts. Frame rate drops are not as bad as I expected, and it’s a fab multiplayer game to play with pals.
Analysis
Tencent scraps plans for VR hardware, according to Reuters.
What’s happening? The XR project was not expected to be profitable until 2027, citing difficulties in quick profitability and making a competitive product.
My thoughts: It would have been cool to see the giant step in. Tencent is one of the biggest consumer entertainment companies in the world, and its expertise would have injected some competition into the market.
Pico has tripled its market share in VR headsets, according to a report from International Data Corp.
Wider context: Meta's share had dipped to 75%, while Pico's share rose to 15% (taking second place). The changes represent a market with more and more competitors stepping into the ring, and offering a diversity of alternative solutions for consumers.
Market thoughts: That is only a good thing as competition spurs innovation, such as Bigscreen Beyond, which was announced last week. What I wonder is whether VR headsets can keep low costs for a long time. The consumer market is incredibly price-elastic, where reductions in cost spike demand (regardless of quality).
Other notable stories
Got any stories? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.
American Metaverse Awards unveiled its nominee shortlist for the March event.
Bigscreen Beyond is a new (and tiny) VR headset.
Lickd signed a music agreement with EMPIRE and Kobalt Music Group.
METAVERSED: See Beyond The Hype is a new book for immersive tech professionals.
Minecraft Quest is a webAR retail game that can be experienced in Big W stores throughout Australia.
PICO announced it is now fully compliant with the OpenXR standard.
PlayStation VR2 is out on 22 February.
Also, REZZIL announced that REZZIL PLAYER is coming.
Spotselfie announced its Meta Store feature, giving college students an opportunity to earn income through the platform’s advertising portal.
Vatom was selected by Vivienne Tam to bring immersive metaverse experiences to NYFW this month.
Vyking.io unveiled Magic Mirror, an AR solution that helps consumers to easily visualise footwear through an in-store smart mirror.
XR Awards is now ready for submissions.
Disclaimer: I am a judge at the awards.
Help corner
Need some assistance from other readers? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.
Helen Ponsford (Senior Programme Editor): The Economist is looking to speak to industry experts to research the agenda of The Economist's Enterprise Metaverse Summit taking place in London 27th - 28th June 2023. The event will help senior leaders build and benefit from digital twins to enhance productivity. If participating would be of interest to your company, please get in touch with Helen to discuss.
Headonists, a UK-based XR community, is looking to compile XR-related events within a single calendar. The calendar itself can be found here, and the submission is here.
That's all for this week! Want to have a chat, let me know about a news story, or talk business? Contact tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com. Have an excellent day!