[THE INVESTOR] Samsung and LG, the nation’s top two tech giants, should come up with more content for virtual reality technology despite their hardware prowess, a state-run content agency said in its recent report published on July 1.

“South Korean companies lead the global VR hardware industry, but a lack of content threatens to hold the local industry back,” said the report.

Samsung Electronics is a leading player in the VR device segment, as it launched the Gear VR in 2014 in cooperation with U.S.-based Oculus VR, which connects to high-end Samsung smartphones.

Gear VR ranked second among VR products sold in the U.S. market, while more than 1 million units were sold in Japan.

LG Electronics, a latecomer to the segment, also unveiled its own VR device, the LG 360 VR, at the Mobile World Congress in February.

The LG 360 VR only weighs 118 grams, while the Gear VR weighs 318 g, without a smartphone inserted.

But the country’s VR content remain scant, in stark contrast to the Japanese market, the agency said.

Japanese game companies recently launched various businesses to connect VR devices to content.

Sony’s PlayStation VR headset will hit shelves in October, showcasing various content, such as zombie-shooting games, Star Wars and Batman.

The global VR market is forecast to grow by more than 2 1/2 times the hardware market in 2018, the industry tracker Trendforce said.

The total value of the VR market, including both hardware and software, is expected to reach $6.7 billion in 2016 and skyrocket to $70 billion in 2020, it said.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)