The rise of virtual reality?
Virtual reality, the idealized next step in both games and simulations. With the rise of the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Sony’s Project Morpheus, and the recent OnePlus Cardboard, VR is starting to find a place in the consumer’s home, rather than just with arcade and tech enthusiasts. .
The question is, and will be, if virtual reality is here to stay and how it will affect the current gaming market. TMR, a market intelligence company, has released a report estimating that the US virtual reality market was worth US$466.6 million in 2012. With growth forecast to reach US$5.8 billion Americans for 2019.
Such massive market potential is probably the driving force behind the wide range of companies jumping onto the VR scene. Everyone from Sony to Valve are currently developing or have released early products, such an array of high-impact game companies is a sign that VR has a place. While this anticipated growth is impressive, it remains to be seen whether this new technology will simply be a fad or a long-term gaming option.
According to this report, the constant rise of technology such as 3D effects and motion tracking are driving the rise of virtual reality. While the increase in disposable income is allowing more and more households to try this new technology. On the other hand, the cost of these technologies, demonstrated by Valve claiming that its HTC Vive is aimed at the high-end consumer, is expected to hurt growth and mainstream adoption.
The global spread of VR is obviously concentrated in North America and Europe, with both accounting for 69% of the revenue share. Thoughtfully surprising, Asia is listed as the region with the most potential due to growing online participation and the presence of Sony, which has Asia easy for its Morpheus Project.
This single report highlights that virtual reality has enormous potential, both for the companies that produce it and for consumers. However, it will ultimately depend on the content that will be available for these machines and the cost of those machines. Currently, an average consumer won’t spend the equivalent of an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 on a machine that offers only a limited range of games. If games like “Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes” prove anything, though, it’s that the right play style can work just fine with a VR headset. We look forward to the day Call of Duty can be played on a virtual reality machine, or maybe that’s not a good idea.