THIS will be the Christmas that, for Australian families, virtual reality will get very real.

Research group Telsyte predicts Australians will buy 110,000 VR headsets this year with supply unable to keep up with the demand as people increasingly look to pop on a headset and immerse in an unreal experience.

Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi predicts sales of VR headsets will continue to spike in Australia and reach more than 500,000 by 2020.

On the global scale, the growth pattern for VR headsets is tipped to be the same. Gartner research forecasts 52 million VR headsets will be sold by 2020 while Microsoft predicts a more bullish 80 million.

While gaming is currently driving the take up for virtual reality, that is not the only like use, with development happening in the fields of education, medical use, movies, retail and even pornography.

Camera Icon Hi-tech virtual reality headsets are a game-changer in the retail market, with sales expected to spike in December. Credit: Supplied, European Press Photo Agency

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, as he received the Alltech Humanitarian Award in Kentucky this week, summed up the desire that is driving the VR revolution. “It takes you to other worlds,” he says. “It’s so real. It’s everywhere you look. That one gets me emotional”

There is plenty of hype about the VR revolution, but there are also hurdles before the technology becomes mainstream. Some people suffer motion sickness and early adopters have been ridiculed on social media for wearing headsets on public transport despite the risk of missing their stop, injuring themselves or other passengers or having possessions stolen.

Online and traditional retail giants eBay and Myer teamed up last month to launch the “world’s first virtual reality department store” which lets people shop for items by just looking at them in a virtual reality space.

eBay Senior Director Marking and Retail Innovation Steve Brennen called the collaboration “a glimpse into the future of retailling” and the response reflects the public hunger for virtual reality experiences.

The day it launched, more than 8000 people visited the site at 7am to get the allocation of free cardboard VR headsets that lets you view the store with a smartphone. Each day of the first week the daily allocation of glasses went within two minutes. And ebay.com/VR has received more than 1.7 million hits.

Camera Icon Former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger demonstrates an Oculus Rift headset used by British Airways. Credit: Supplied, British Airways via Getty Images

Several academics have contacted eBay and Myer researching the evolution of retail to the virtual space.

The VR headset market has so far grouped into two categories: cheaper headsets, including simple cardboard ones, that work with a smartphone and high-end units that require greater computing power but are not readily available so far.

The tipping point to turn virtual reality into mainstream entertainment in Australian homes will be the launch of the PlayStation VR in October.

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia marketing director Patrick Lagana says there will be 50 games available at launch and another 110 are in the works.

“We know that it’s going to be an exceptionally popular product this Christmas but we’re encouraging consumers to preorder now,” Lagana says.

The PlayStation VR has a cinema mode that will allow people to watch movies and stream content from services such as Netflix, Presto and Stan to a virtual 5m-wide screen.

“Gaming is first and foremost the experience that we’re focused on with PlayStation VR but we are looking at other non-gaming applications for it,” he says.

Camera Icon The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset offers an advanced, interactive experience, and began shipping to consumers in March this year. Credit: Supplied

“We’re talking to various partners at how we can extend the experience beyond gaming.”

Unlike Facebook’s Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, which need to be connected to a high-end Windows Computer that for most people will be an expensive upgrade, the PlayStation VR will plug into a PlayStation 4, which makes up about 60 per cent of games consoles sold last year.

The PlayStation VR has key advantages over its two main rivals: at $550 it’s about half the price of the Rift (about $1050 with shipping) and the Vive (about $1340 with shipping plus 10 per cent GST to customs); it’s powered by a device already in many Australian homes; there is a library of VR games already and it is the only one that has a release date for Australian stores.

One of the limitations of VR headsets currently is the amount of content you can view on them but the emergence of 360 degree cameras by companies including Samsung, LG and 360fly is overcoming that.

While you can view 360 degree videos online, including at Facebook and YouTube, immersing yourself in a 360 degree scene with a headset takes it to the next level of viewing experience.

While gaming will be the initial driver for many people buying a VR headset this Christmas, 360fly chief executive officer Peter Adderton says immersive cinema will be the driver for consumers in the longer term.

“The jury is still out with me on how much of a mass adoption we’re going to get with the non-real immersive technology,” he says.

Camera Icon Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says the VR revolution will take consumers “to other worlds”. Credit: News Corp Australia, Justin Lloyd

“Are you really going to walk around with a headset on your head?

“Where most of these technologies really come apart is the inability to engage the average consumer. And the average consumer is not going to fork out four or five hundred dollars for a headpiece.

“That’s why 3D (TV) didn’t take off, because you need to have another apparatus to experience it.

“We’re enabling people to share their own lives in VR and 360 which is far more compelling than watching a dinosaur walk through a park or watch some other guy surf in Tahiti.”