China’s virtual reality arcades aim for real-world success
- China had an estimated 3,000 such places in 2016 and the market was forecast to grow 13-fold between then and 2021 to US$782 million
- Expansion in next five years could see country dominate AR/VR long term, report says
Chen Jiuxiao puts on virtual reality goggles and is immediately transported to a snow-covered ski slope, down which she slaloms without ever leaving Shanghai.
“I felt weightless skiing down the mountain,” the 25-year-old said after re-emerging in the material world. “The scenery around me was so authentic.”
China had an estimated 3,000 such places in 2016, and the market was forecast to grow 13-fold between then and 2021 to 5.25 billion yuan (US$782 million), according to a joint report by iResearch Consulting Group and Greenlight Insights.
Add in the profits to be made from headsets, equipment, games and other products, and it is little wonder that augmented reality – a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world – and virtual reality industries are excited about China.