Mark Zuckerberg's bet on Metaverse falters as sale of VR headsets drops - New York Post

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg received much atrocious quality during the vacation play arsenic his foray into the metaverse has yet to wage dividends for his struggling tech company.

Sales of virtual world (VR) headsets declined 2% year-over-year successful 2022, researchers told CNBC connected Wednesday.

As of aboriginal December, income of VR headsets generated conscionable $1.1 billion, according to the probe analytics steadfast NDP Group.

Ben Arnold, NPD’s user electronics analyst, told CNBC that income of Meta’s $400-per-unit Quest 2 VR headset, which is considered the standard-setter successful the market, besides declined, though helium did not accidental by however much.

Overall, determination was a 12% driblet successful the fig of planetary augmented world (AR) and VR headset shipments compared to 2021, according to the analytics steadfast CCS Insight. There were 9.6 cardinal deliveries worldwide of headsets this year.

“VR had an astonishing vacation successful 2021,” Arnold told CNBC. “It was a large clip past twelvemonth to get 1 of these products, and VR wholly crushed it.”

Revenue generated from income of VR headsets doubled past twelvemonth from $530 cardinal successful 2020, according to NPD.

The Post has sought remark from NPD and Meta.

Meta’s banal terms has mislaid two-thirds of its worth arsenic the institution pivoted distant from its ad-based, bread-and-butter concern model.Bloomberg via Getty Images

Meta, the genitor institution of societal media apps Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has pivoted from its traditional, bread-and-butter ad-based concern exemplary to the metaverse, which is powered by VR and AR technology.

But the displacement has travel astatine a important outgo to Meta’s bottommost line.

The institution has seen the worth of its banal dip by much than 65% from the commencement of this year. As of Wednesday, Meta’s banal terms was down by astir 0.5%.

AR and VR headsets are utilized to entree the metaverse.REUTERS

In precocious October, Meta announced a driblet successful revenue for the 2nd consecutive quarter.

The Menlo Park, Calif.-company earned $4.4 billion, oregon $1.64 per share, successful the three-month play that ended Sept. 30. That’s down 52% from, $9.19 billion, oregon $3.22 per share, successful the aforesaid play a twelvemonth earlier.

Revenue fell 4% to $27.71 cardinal from $29.01 billion, somewhat higher than the $27.4 cardinal that analysts had predicted.

The metaverse is simply a word coined successful 1992 by writer Neal Stephenson successful his sci-fi publication “Snow Crash.”Meta

Zuckerberg, whose nett worthy was valued astatine $44.4 cardinal arsenic of Wednesday, was worthy a personal all-time high of $140 cardinal past year.

While Zuckerberg has preached patience and is playing the agelong game, his stake connected the metaverse has frankincense acold turned retired to beryllium a failure.

Jim Cramer, the CNBC expert who vocally touted his enactment of Zuckerberg and his company’s absorption team, gave an emotional, on-air mea culpa successful October aft Meta released its astir caller net report.

Meta volition person its enactment chopped retired for it arsenic different tech giants determination into the metaverse successful hopes of grabbing VR headset marketplace share.

Apple, Sony, Valve, and Hewlett Packard are either readying to unveil their ain headsets oregon person already offered their products connected the market.