Japan’s Gaming Companies Pile Bets Into Virtual Reality Startups

Hironao Kunimitsu turned Gumi Inc. into a 32 billion yen ($291 million) company by betting early on smartphone apps. Now, he’s pouring money into virtual reality, on the hunch that we’re on the cusp of the next tech boom.

The chief executive officer of the mobile-games company isn’t alone. Other Japanese peers, including Gree Inc., invest in the sector. Some of the biggest names in technology, including Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp., have committed billions of dollars to the business of simulating reality, with research firm Gartner predicting virtual-reality headset sales will top $20 billion by 2020.