The XR (Augmented Reality) content industry is looking forward to the release of the new Meta Quest 3 XR headset. It is predicted that it will be able to revive the virtual reality market again, following the previous work that paved the way for the popularization of XR headsets with excellent cost performance.
Meta previously announced that it would be releasing Quest 3 this fall at the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase event on June 1st. Unlike Quest Pro, which was an expensive product for professionals, Quest 3 is a popular model for entertainment purposes. The price is also $499 (domestic sales 730,000 won) for the 128GB model, which is half the price of the $999 Quest Pro (domestic sales 1,449,850 won).
Meta Quest 3 / Source = Meta
Meta plans to reveal details and an exact release date for Quest 3 at its annual Meta Connect event scheduled for September 27th. The reason the XR content industry immediately took notice of the Quest 3 is the realization that Apple Vision Pro still has a long way to go before mainstream adoption. In fact, the Vision Pro is far from being popular as the release date scheduled for the end of next year (beginning of next year in North America) is just a short time away and the price will be over 4 million won. Earlier this year, Samsung also announced that it was working with Google and Qualcomm to develop the XR device, but the release date known as early next year has reportedly been pushed back to the middle of next year.
Apple Vision Pro / Source = Apple
It’s positive that attention has been turned back to the XR market as big tech companies like Apple, Google and Samsung have gone to war in earnest.
Although Sony released the PlayStation VR2 (PSVR2) in February, it didn’t make much of an impact on the market. According to Sony, the PSVR2 sold 600,000 units in its first six weeks of release. This is 8% faster than the previous PSVR1, but not enough to grow the entire market pie.
PlayStation VR2 / Source = Sony
In this situation, if Quest 3 proves to be as successful as its predecessor, the industry expects it to once again play a role in popularizing XR headsets after Quest 2. Quest 2 has actually played a role in the development of the XR market with an unconventional price level of $299 ( domestic selling price of 414,000 won) at the time of issue. The total supply of Quest 2 is estimated at 20 million units.
Some companies reacted quickly ahead of the release of Quest 3. Skonec Entertainment, which was listed on the Korean stock exchange for the first time as an XR content company, has completed preparations for the response to Quest 3 of the existing work “Mortal Blitz” and the new work “Strike Rush”. If you run it on Quest 3, the game will be more enjoyable depending on the performance of the upgraded device.
Death Blitz / Source = Skonek
Skonek, which specializes in B2C business, plans to release more than 10 games on the XR platform by 2025, including a meta store. A spokesperson for Skonec stated, “We expect consumer interest in the Quest 3 to lead to a proliferation of the device.”
Another industry insider also said, “We expect that when a device with good performance comes out, it will serve as an opportunity to further increase market interest.”
Just as Meta released the affordable Quest 3 after the release of the Quest Pro, the industry has high hopes for the entry-level model that Apple will release after the Vision Pro. This is because it is expected that lower-end models, and not Vision Pro, will play a role in increasing device penetration. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman predicted that Apple will release an entry-level model that will cost hundreds of dollars less than the Vision Pro as early as 2025.
Donga.com IT Expert Kwon Taek-kyung, reporter tk@itdonga.com