Meta Agrees to Go Back to China After Fourteen-14 Years.

After Hong Kong for quite a while in the past prohibited Facebook in China, MetaStages has agreed to sell its new, more reasonable VR headsets. As per individuals with information on the circumstance, Tencent Possessions will turn into the selective merchant of Meta’s headsets in China because of the understanding, opening up a sizable new market for the US tech monster as it seeks increment the lazy interest for its specific items all through the world. The headsets will be sold by Tencent beginning toward the finish of 2024, following almost a time of talks between the two enterprises.

The agreement is still pending, and specifics could alter. Since the nation has not yet released VR regulations, it is unclear if Tencent needs formal government approval to introduce Meta’s devices and provide virtual reality content on its platform, as it does for the Nintendo Switch and traditional video games. Beijing has tightened rules pertaining to video games and other digital content, which may make transactions more difficult.

In contrast to its most recent model, the Quest 3, Meta intends to employ lenses in its headsets, which will be less expensive. According to those with knowledge of the situation, other markets will also see the sale of this less expensive variant. It has been reported that Meta plans to upgrade the graphics processing units in its headsets from the ones found in the Quest 2, which was released more than three years ago.

As a result of the agreement, Tencent will receive a bigger proportion of revenue from content and services including game sales and software subscriptions, while Meta is likely to receive a sizable portion of device sales. Tencent is said to be supplying games and other applications for the headgear.

Tencent did not reply to a request for comment, while Metadeclined to comment.

The low demand for the VR headsets that Meta is partnering on in China raises questions about the technology’s capacity to gain traction in the long run. After global shipments in the previous quarter were more than half, Meta lowered the price of select headsets earlier this year.

Due to its poor sales, BiteDance, the owner of TikTok and the market leader in China’s VR headset sector, is eliminating hundreds of positions from its VR headset division. In order to concentrate on hardware and other key technologies, the reorganization entails cutting back on the marketing, sales, and material departments.

In a meeting on Tuesday, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, stated that the VR business is still in its infancy and that the company’s growth has not been as rapid as anticipated. As it cut back on investments in February, Tencent came dangerously near to dissolving its extended reality technology team, which included its VR initiatives. According to people with knowledge of the situation, Tencent rebuilt the team in August as soon as the agreement with Meta drew closer.

This partnership with Menlo Park, California-based Meta will provide new access to China’s sizable consumer base, as the Chinese government banned Facebook in 2009 due to anti-government protests. In China, WhatsApp and Instagram are likewise inaccessible.

Meta continues to get payment from Chinese businesses for Facebook and Instagram advertisements. At the moment, Meta’s headsets aren’t formally offered in China.

After working with Chinese authorities for a while, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has recently come under fire from the public, particularly after TikTok’s rise in popularity threatened Meta’s hegemony in the world of social media. According to reports, Zuckerberg’s remarks have affected Beijing businesspeople’s bad perceptions, which has affected talks with Tencent.

The recent trend of American IT companies pulling out of the Chinese market is hampered by the growing expense of the Meta-Tencent deal, new data rules, and fierce domestic competition.

In the second quarter of 2023, Meta held a 50% market share in the global headset market, with BiteDance’s Pico and Sony coming in second and third, respectively, according to data from market research firm IDC. Meta’s Quest 3 is priced at $500, while Sony’s PlayStation VR2 is priced at $550. Pico costs about $340 in China and is not available for purchase in the US.

According to IDC data, shipments of headsets worldwide fell by 44.6% during the same quarter last year. This year, 8.5 million headsets are expected to be shipped, slightly more than in 2017, according to the research group.

According to officials and analysts, headset manufacturers are reassessing their pricing strategies in light of the declining demand and are thinking about focusing on professional users and enterprises that are more receptive to employing this technology for productivity. Video games and other digital entertainment are the main uses for consumer hardware, which could lead to a possible niche market in the near future.

According to those acquainted with the situation, Meta is thinking of lowering the price of some components because the supply chain is becoming more expensive.

Additionally, users have bemoaned the inconvenience of using VR headsets for prolonged periods of time due to their weight and potential for nausea and vertigo.”

Please be aware that this is a translation and may not accurately reflect all of the subtleties of the source.