Record $2.3 billion VR/AR investment in 2016

Venture capitalists and corporate investors have sunk $2.3 billion into virtual reality and augmented reality in 2016. This is over 3 times the $700 million that was invested into the technologies during 2015! AR hardware firm Magic Leap raised $793.2 million by themselves. Their business has a $4.5 billion valuation. $4 of ever $10 invested went to AR firms. Unity received $181 million for the VR/AR service and solutions sector. This brings their valuation to $1.5 billion. This means that $2 of every $10 went to the VR/AR service and solutions sector. VR video only grabbed $1 of every $10 invested to further those companies along. Other investments into related VR /AR startups accounted for $200 million in VC / corporate investment.

Following the money trail, it is obvious that VR and AR are here for the long haul. As a hardware enthusiasts community, we've all upgraded our PCs for a demanding game release, faster processors, higher resolution monitors, better inputs like controllers / mechanical keyboards, etc. What would make you upgrade your PC to experience VR in it's fullest glory for the first time?

What next? That difficult second album can be a bear, so it’s going to be interesting to see how VC and corporate investors respond this year in the light of 2016’s mixed year in terms of performance and VR/AR’s new trajectory driven by mobile AR. But no matter what happens in the short term, the long term looks bright for VR/AR investors and the startups they’re fueling.

Give me a minute guys and gals. Technical difficulty on the article.

I sure hope VR is here to stay! I have an HTC Vive setup and it is truly phenomenal and has changed much of what I enjoy in gaming. What is interesting is my video card is an old ATI 7970 and while it is by no means VR "certified" it works well enough for what I do. Leading contender for my next upgrade is a nVidia 1070.

What would really make me upgrade? A 4K version of the HTC Vive! It might be one of the first things I stand in line for.

I haven't made the plunge yet - the $800 price tag requires wife-level permission. This past year, I've replaced the washing machine, dryer, and dish washer. Also had to get a new car. I have a list of home improvement projects that never seems to end...
Still, we do have an HTC Vive where I work at. It's amazing and I do want one. My current computer (i7-2600k, Nvidia 970 GPU, 16gb ram) should be just fine for the task. I guess I'll wait and see if there are price drops.
Darn, the single-me from BK (before kids) would have had this without even a thought.

My PC doesn't need an upgrade for VR in its fullest glory. But what would make me buy a VR headset is a few full length AAA games I want to play. So far there isn't even *one* gotta have it title. Short demos and half measures aren't going to do it.

all i see is blur under 30"s. does anyone use glasses with their VR?

P4B said:

all i see is blur under 30"s. does anyone use glasses with their VR?

Click to expand...

I'm nearsighted so I don't need my glasses with the Vive but they don't fit, I don't see how glasses would work with a standard Vive, there's just not enough room for them under the headset that I could surmise.

Billions.. With a B. So not flopping bigtime it seems! The PC is ready but like others Im holding out for cheaper headsets and more importantly for me; better locomotion in games.

heatlesssun said:

I'm nearsighted so I don't need my glasses with the Vive but they don't fit, I don't see how glasses would work with a standard Vive, there's just not enough room for them under the headset that I could surmise.

Click to expand...

I have a PSVR and you need to keep your glasses on, I assume it's the same for PC VR.
Keep in mind that you're not technically focusing on close screen, there's a simulated depth...

My friend, who can't see from far, tried without his glasses first, couldn't see anything on RE ...

zexelon said:

I sure hope VR is here to stay! I have an HTC Vive setup and it is truly phenomenal and has changed much of what I enjoy in gaming. What is interesting is my video card is an old ATI 7970 and while it is by no means VR "certified" it works well enough for what I do. Leading contender for my next upgrade is a nVidia 1070.

What would really make me upgrade? A 4K version of the HTC Vive! It might be one of the first things I stand in line for.

Click to expand...

I think VR is here to stay but people need to realize its going to be a few more years before its more affordable and has the applications/titles that you will want to buy a VR/AR setup for.

Right now when it comes to VR you can do it cheap or you can do it with higher fidelity/greater options. You cant have both and people dont seem to understand that. I find it a little concerning of the number of companies racing to the bottom with cheap headsets when even the Rift/Vive struggle in a lot of ways. Someone who buys a cheaper headset might be disappointed in what they get and be turned off of VR at the moment and thats what im afraid will happen. They will shoot themselves in the foot for mass adoption because they low balled it too much.

I like Microsoft's strategy when it comes to the hololens. make it very expensive so only developers can really purchase it, create software for it, improve the design, then drop the price so most people could actually afford it

When it comes to hardware we need higher res screens and we need foveated imaging.But most importantly we need software that makes you want to invest in a VR setup. Right now there isnt much and i really dont think VR/AR is going to take off until 2020 when we have most of the hardware issues corrected at an affordable price with a good number of software titles

My wife and I like to play the same game together, usually RPGs, usually having discussions about what we should do in the game and how choices in the game relate to our lives.

This makes the game playing so much better than TV because we are having a conversation the whole time about everything and anything.

This is what keeps me from seriously considering VR at this price point - it would be something that I would do when I occasionally game by myself.

I dont see any mention of how much money the Porn industry is investing....

P4B said:

all i see is blur under 30"s. does anyone use glasses with their VR?

Click to expand...

It depends on your prescription. The headsets have some amount of focus adjustment built-in, so some people who normally would need glasses don't need them in VR. Because the headsets are designed to force the eyes to far-focus (to reduce eye-strain), it's really only an issue if you are nearsighted, people who are farsighted (who only need reading glasses) shouldn't have any problem at all seeing in VR.