Jack Ma is also optimistic! Will VR achieve a qualitative change in 2016?

[[161438]]

At the end of October 2015, news came out that the new round of financing of Magic Lea, a foreign virtual reality company, attracted the attention of Alibaba, a Chinese Internet giant. It was revealed that Alibaba was very likely to invest $200 million in Magic Lea. Although this was Alibaba's first investment in virtual reality, Jack Ma's move was extremely curious.

At the subsequent Wuzhen Internet Conference, Ma Huateng mentioned whether Tencent was considering VR or AR. Then, at the end of December 2015, Tencent officially launched the Tencent VR team in Beijing. In addition to the cooperation in the insurance industry, the "two Mas" once again "think alike" about the future direction. Is it an inevitable fight, or will VR usher in a qualitative change in 2016?

Virtual reality will explode, and the two Ma's are attacking only to catch up

The concept of virtual reality has been popular for a long time, and many giants and entrepreneurial teams have already joined in. Technology companies such as Microsoft, Google, Samsung, Sony, HTC, Oculus acquired by Facebook, and even chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm and Rockchip, as well as domestic Internet companies such as Baofeng, have invested a lot in virtual reality and have come up with related hardware equipment or solutions. Moreover, at the CES exhibition, virtual reality equipment and peripheral content have truly become the core of the exhibition and have received great attention.

At present, virtual reality devices are mainly divided into three categories: built-in display, built-in display and integrated host, and mobile phone as display. Among them, Microsoft's HololensVR virtual reality device and Oculus Rift virtual reality helmet are all built-in display form; Sony's virtual reality glasses product Project Morpheus needs to be used with PS4, which is built-in display and integrated host form; Samsung's virtual reality device Gear VR requires a Samsung smartphone to display virtual reality images, which belongs to the third form.

These virtual reality devices have their own fans and have begun to "grab the market". The reason why Baofeng Technology, a domestic company, has become a "monster stock" is largely related to its virtual reality device Baofeng Magic Mirror, which has even been updated to the fourth generation. At a time when the virtual reality industry is about to explode, although Alibaba and Tencent have not been involved in it before, if they do not take action, they may really become the "tail". Especially Tencent, if WeChat is subverted by virtual reality, half of Tencent's empire will no longer exist.

Or it may usher in qualitative change! The combination of software and hardware will become the king

However, it is obvious that currently, giants or start-ups are mostly focusing on the research and development of virtual reality hardware equipment, and related content is very scarce. Even if Oculus launches a virtual reality store, it is mostly based on the original old games converted to virtual reality. Other virtual reality devices are mostly equipped with some old virtual reality games or special film and television clips, which cannot meet the needs of users at all. Under such a situation, only by combining software and hardware can the virtual reality industry really explode in 2016.

At present, many mobile game startup teams have focused their attention on virtual reality games. At a time when traditional mobile games based on smart mobile devices have long become a red ocean, virtual reality mobile games are the best breakthrough for startup teams. Even giants who are good at "copying" will find it difficult to compete with startup teams that specialize in virtual reality games in the short term. Once the latter has established a technical fortress, it will be difficult for giants to "copy". From this point of view, startup teams and giants are on the same starting line in the field of virtual reality games. At present, there are more than 30 companies focusing on virtual reality games in China alone, and the possibility of an outbreak has greatly increased.

On the other hand, traditional industries such as real estate and tourism are also actively engaging with and integrating with the virtual reality industry. For example, Wuyouwofang can display virtual model rooms through virtual reality equipment. According to CEO Li Yi, the cost of a model room is roughly tens to millions, while the cost of a virtual model room is only 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, which greatly reduces the cost. In addition, Soufang.com, Fangduoduo.com, etc. are also planning VR real estate.

As for the two Ma, they obviously have more to consider. As early as March 27, 2015, Taobao Mobile related personnel revealed in an interview with the media that Taobao Mobile is expected to launch 360° virtual fitting as soon as possible. According to optimistic estimates, it is even very likely that virtual reality technology will be applied to more shopping experiences. Tencent is preparing to play with its expertise in design and connection: Tencent will do product design, software, ecology and connection, and then find hardware manufacturers to cooperate, but not Tencent's own brand products. In this way, Tencent can quickly build a virtual reality platform. With the influence of Alibaba and Tencent, the virtual reality industry is likely to undergo a qualitative change in 2016.

VR will become mainstream and subvert the world. It is not an exaggeration to say that

Since PCs and smartphones, there are few products and related content that can drive the entire technology and Internet attention like VR. At a time when PC development is facing shackles and smartphones have reached a bottleneck, VR will bring broader imagination and development potential. The infinite possibilities of its coverage will also make its life cycle relatively longer.

The gathering of giants and start-up teams in the VR industry will soon turn this industry into a "red ocean" and accelerate the speed of popularization. Starting from 2016, in the next 20 years, VR will become mainstream, and it is not an exaggeration to subvert previous hardware devices, content, services, etc. However, are we all ready to be subverted? (