Oculus Rift delays are hurting VR spending, but it’s not a long-term problem

Many customers are still waiting for Oculus VR to ship their preordered Rift headsets, and every day that those consumers don’t have their virtual reality device is a day they aren’t spending money on software. And that has forced one industry-tracking firm to revise its revenues expectations for a second time.

SuperData Research is cutting its forecast for virtual reality spending in 2016 by 22 percent, according to its latest market report. The intelligence company now expects the industry to generate $2.9 billion in revenue, which is down from a previous estimate of $3.6 billion. This is due in large part to Oculus VR’s and HTC’s inability to keep up with consumer demand, which has led to delays in delivery dates from April to May or even June for many people who preordered the Rift. But despite this rough start, SuperData is still confident the VR industry will reach $22.8 billion in annual spending by 2019.