Warner Bros “Ready Player One” hits theater in March 2018
Virtual reality is one of those pieces of technology that is hugely impressive, but it’s still not become a mainstream piece of kit. VR was talked about long before its time. Films which looked into the future and attempted to predict what new technology there would be, often mentioned a virtual reality world and this is still very much a possibility. When the technology dropped though, it failed to live up to expectations by a long way and in some cases you could say it failed.
But with the recent anticipation of the upcoming Spielberg film; “Ready Player One” in which a destitute society in the year 2045, finds escape thru the use of virtual reality into a world called the Oasis, it seems that VR may once again be ready to take the world by storm.
What is the future of VR?
As mentioned above virtual reality’s initial arrival was extremely underwhelming. A lot of questions were asked in regard to both the hardware and the software. On the hardware front, it was extremely expensive and users needed high spec PCs for example, in order to use the better headsets. Content wise, it was more quantity over quality. The top developers were not on board from the off, as they were most likely waiting to see how it fared as whole before getting involved.
What everyone is waiting for really is that big bang moment. The prices of the hardware have dropped and there have been improvements to it too. This ultimately means that more people will feel more inclined to buy the kit, even if it’s just to try it out. The need for a really high end, top spec PC, is no longer required either. People can use virtual reality technology with more realistic specifications required. This opens it up to a much wider range of people and a bigger audience.
Attendees at the Oculus Rift conference in 2013
In terms of content, things are definitely changing for the better. Nowadays there is certainly more quality on the market. The Oculus Rift for example, boasts a huge gaming library that has plenty of titles that really push the capabilities of the hardware. We’re also seeing the top developers getting involved too. There’s a virtual reality version of Resident Evil 7 Biohazard for example, which shows that game developers such as Capcom are now taking virtual reality a lot more seriously.
There’s also been stronger interest from other industries too. Many expected online casino operators to use virtual reality in order to provide players with a new and more exciting way to play. The online casino industry is always looking for new ways to engage their audiences and what better way than to create virtual reality casinos? It would be an authentic casino experience from the comfort of a person’s own home, and the move to incorporate VR technology could see the industry move in a whole new direction.
So really you could say that virtual reality has been on a real rollercoaster, even though it’s not actually been around for that long. It hasn’t actually failed either, like any technology, it has experienced a few teething problems; but it seems to be back on track now. It will have to grow pretty quickly though, as there are other sorts of technology already proving to be hits such as Augmented Reality; and they could certainly rival, if not out do VR.
We’ll see how the VR playing field changes after “Ready Player One” hits theaters in March of 2018.
What are your thoughts about Virtual Reality? Let us know in the comments below.
