Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Hollywood Turns the Page on the Metaverse – and Disney Just Got the Memo | Analysis

All the while, consumer interest never matched the industry’s passion for the technology. The pandemic might have seemed like a prime opportunity to plug in and disconnect, since actual reality didn’t have a lot going for it. But after a jump in 2021, VR headset sales fell 2% last year to $1.1 billion, according to the NPD Group — a far cry from the near-$100 billion market once forecast. Only one in seven households even had a VR headset in 2022, according to Parks Associates. That limited reach means limited appeal for mass-market entertainment distributors.
 
Sheer lack of interest may be the biggest factor holding VR back. A Parks Associates survey found that among consumers who hadn’t tried VR, 47% said the reason they hadn’t bought VR equipment is that they saw no use for it. Among those who had tried it, 37% cited the same reason. Far fewer people cited cost, discomfort or a lack of content as a barrier, suggesting that the problem with virtual reality can’t be solved merely by improving the technology or throwing money at creatives to build more VR experiences.
 
From the article, "Hollywood Turns the Page on the Metaverse – and Disney Just Got the Memo," by Owen Thomas.

Previously In The News

The One Tech Device Consumers Can’t Live Without

“Consumer concerns about data privacy and security, including both the unauthorized hacking of devices and theft of device data, consistently rank as one of the leading concerns about connecting devic...

Shopping By Voice Set To Explode

Voice shopping may also be hitting the road, as 57 percent of U.S. broadband households are interested in voice control features for their car, a new Parks Associates study shows. The biggest benef...

Tipping point: Video streamers are now in the majority as pay TV watching drops

Among those services, Netflix is the clear leader, with Amazon and Hulu next, according to a recent survey from Parks Associates. Deloitte found a concurrent "inflection point" for providers of tra...

Sensory Powers New Voice-Enabled Farberware Microwaves

“Smart appliance adoption is growing among US broadband households. Thirteen percent of US broadband households now own a smart appliance and smart microwaves are a leading category. Voice control is...