We are witnessing the creation of the consumer virtual reality market. Throughout 2016, various virtual reality devices will become available to the public, including Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, and a virtual reality headset by Sony for the PlayStation 4. These releases all have one thing in common—they are for gaming. According to analysts at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, gaming will provide a foothold for virtual reality in the mass market. Todd Richmond, Director of Advanced Prototypes at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, agreed, calling gaming a "low-hanging fruit" for virtual reality. He said the immersive nature of video games is a perfect fit for virtual reality. A report by Business Insider predicts that, as virtual reality headsets come out and developers create exclusive content for them, demand will increase and virtual reality will overtake more and more of the gaming industry. Tommy Palm, chief executive at Resolution Games, believes that mobile gaming—gaming with cell phones—will be the most popular form of VR gaming among the general public, so that is where many game developers are focusing right now.
The world's largest tech companies have invested time and resources into immersive technology research and development, allowing virtual reality to become a concrete product with mass market potential. The trend started in 2014 when Facebook acquired Oculus—this paved the way for virtual reality's entrance into the public eye. Google is working on a higher-quality version of its Google Cardboard product, and Apple has acquired immersive technology companies like Flyby Media and is working on developing content. A report by Goldman Sachs predicts the virtual and augmented reality market will grow to $80 billion by 2025. The investments by these big companies virtually guarantee that we will be seeing new content developed exclusively for each virtual reality platform—the question is, according to Richmond, what the quality of this content will be and whether users will have the patience to adapt along with the technology.
Virtual reality developments will require adaptation from all sides—from users as well as developers. According to Robin Cho, Immersive Production Specialist at immersive content platform Vrideo, virtual reality poses a creative challenge; it is "changing every single fundamental principle about cinematic storytelling that we've learned so far," and it is up to developers to effectively "redefine the language and the grammar of this visual medium." Cho warned against following in the footsteps of 3D cinema technology, which, he said, "was met with disappointment and wasn't as effective as it could have been." Virtual reality developers, he believes, have a responsibility to "get it right the first time." But, assuming that consumers do eventually get used to virtual reality, it has the potential to drastically alter our daily lives. The same Business Insider report outlined forays into virtual reality by industries other than gaming. Travel companies, publishers, e-commerce merchants, and social platforms are all experimenting with possible applications. Richmond described how virtual reality is already being used to treat returning soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder. He also said virtual reality could be used in education "to provide resources to people who can't travel," in journalism "to convey an experience to somebody using storytelling techniques," and as an "empathy machine" that allows us to transport ourselves somewhere else and assume someone else's viewpoint.
Getting there, reaching all the magical possibilities virtual reality can offer us, rests on developers to create successful and engaging content and experiences that will move users enough to invest their own time and money into this young and promising industry.
Annenberg Media