The DeanBeat: How to make VR survive long enough to become a boom

Nobody questions the viability of Microsoft’s Xbox business anymore. The company generates billions of dollars a year and healthy profits in the video game business. But back in the early years, the picture was bleak. Microsoft lost around $5 billion to $7 billion in the first four years of the Xbox business. That period of “investment” had to happen before the business started humming with the 2005 introduction of the second-generation Xbox 360.

That lesson, which former chief Xbox officer Robbie Bach will impart to our audience at the GamesBeat Summit next week, is important for the virtual reality industry to remember. Market researcher TrendForce estimates that VR will grow from $7 billion today to $70 billion in 2020. Tech adviser Digi-Capital estimates VR will hit $30 billion by 2020, and augmented reality will hit $90 billion. That kind of hype will keep the dreamers and the investors going.