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[Eddie-Griffin]

https://36kr-com.translate.goog/p/2...uto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

On February 16, 36 Krypton exclusively reported the retreat of Tencent’s XR (Extended Reality) department , but this does not mean that Tencent has completely given up exploring the XR program.

A number of industry insiders told 36Kr that only a small number of employees remain in Tencent’s XR department, and they will promote the introduction of Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 (VR equipment) in the future.

36 Krypton asked Tencent officials for confirmation on this matter, but has not received a reply as of press time.

Such collaborations are not without precedent. In 2019, Tencent reached an introduction cooperation with Nintendo. According to the information released by Tencent at that time, the cooperation method between the two parties is: Tencent will sell the National Bank version of Switch as an agent, and be responsible for the laying of offline channels, and the two parties will jointly promote the localized translation of the game. . The aforementioned person said that the cooperation with Quest 2 will also refer to this model.

It is understood that this plan will start to advance after Shen Li, the head of the XR department, left in November 2022. It has been in preparation for about 4 months so far , and Tencent IEG (Interactive Entertainment Group) will be responsible next. A shift in strategy is already on the horizon.

What’s more noteworthy is that, according to 36 Krypton’s exclusive information, after the suspension of Tencent’s XR business in January this year, the GM (general manager of the department) who was temporarily in charge of taking over was Qian Geng, who is also the general manager of the Tencent Games Nintendo Cooperation Department.

However, the specific launch time of the Quest 2 National Bank version in the future is still unclear. Tencent has not responded as of press time.

After being acquired by Meta (formerly Facebook) in 2014, Quest 2 is now the most successful VR headset in the world. Since its release in 2021, IDC data shows that as of June 2022, the global sales volume of Quest 2 has reached 14.8 million units.

This may completely change how the game is played because the Chinese market has several players but Iqiyi and DPLR have enough sales there alone that they are 5th and 3rd place in VR shipments the first three quarters of 2022,

Therefore, Quest 2 could be even bigger than it is now and it may cause other companies like Samsung, and Sony to consider partnering with Chinese companies in a race to distribute their headsets there, Apple can somewhat directly sell there but also has partners too.

The race to be the first to get 1% of China will lead and save the VR industry.

 

[Synless]

There you go for those wondering why and talking shit about meta verse in the Tencent thread.

 

[Ribi]

So does this mean I can get cheaper quest 2 off AliExpress?

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mark-zuckerberg-looking-china-major-160042303.html

Seems that it's all but confirmed outside an official announcement.

Zucker is now expanding the war to China after losing near $14 billion last year despite ~8 million Quest 2 sales and who knows how many Rift S and Quest 1 sales in addition, a bunch of software and accessory sales, and pushing multiple Zuckerverse services.

I feel like he may be rushing the company to its doom betting on this and taking losses this hard in the face with this expansion.