VR Intelligence, a network of the leading decision makers in virtual, augmented and mixed realities (lumped together as extended reality or XR), recently released an industry insight report that asks: Could we be nearing the tipping point?

It’s looking that way, overall, industry experts say. Part of the report included a survey of more than 750 professionals working in and around XR technologies – 63 percent of them believe XR has the potential to “disrupt” the entertainment sector (AR and MR even more than VR, they say). However, XR technology appears to have already had its breakthrough moment in our game-oriented sector.

“This years’ survey shows far less interest in gaming from XR technology companies,” the report said. “In 2018, 50 percent of respondents said that they intended to work within the gaming industry over the next 12 months, but this had fallen to just a third of respondents from the supply side of XR in the 2019 results.”

While that means the overall XR industry shift is heading in other directions (like education, construction and health care), that doesn’t mean XR entertainment experiences are in decline. Far from it, as anyone who’s been to a recent trade show can attest to.

“It is our belief that 2020 will be a critical year for the development and application of XR technologies in both enterprise and consumer entertainment,” the report noted. “VR & AR are already becoming deeply interwoven with business practices across industry and are on the verge of taking a huge leap into the consumer mainstream as never before.”

You can access the full XR industry report here. More information is also available online at www.vr-intelligence.com.

Also keep in mind the VRX Conference & Expo is heading to the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel from Dec. 12-13. RePlay will be there, and – as always – plans to keep tabs on this hugely important and rapidly changing segment of the amusement business.