Why Did VR Gaming Not Become As Popular?

Virtual reality technology has been around for a couple of years now, and it has been revolutionizing the world of gaming ever since.

However, no matter how much VR technology is celebrated in recent years, it seems like it still has no match to the success of augmented reality technologies.

With big names like PlayStation and Xbox having aligned themselves with the vision of VR as the future of gaming, why does it still seem like VR is struggling to reach long-term popularity?

Lack Of Games And Content

According to Inside Telecom, one of the main reasons why VR can not revolutionize gaming like it is expected to is because there simply are not enough VR experiences available.

Even with two decades in, the VR industry still has few impactful, innovative, and unique games that can compare to traditional console games players know of.

This need for a big game to finally emerge in VR is often met with mediocre response from developers who have insufficient resources to make their vision a virtual reality.

Additionally, the risk in investing on the VR market is nauseatingly high as compared to the small budget dedicated to the VR experience.

Furthermore, users often find it not worth it to buy VR equipment as the number of games available are too few for the purchase to be justifiable.

Bad Low And High End Experiences

VR games are not the most comfortable games to play given the headsets, and the many components the setup requires to play a game that gives users motion sickness.

Because of this, users invest in the most popular VRs that often cost a fortune for the best possible immersive experience they can have.

However, according to Uviaus, even the fanciest equipment does not provide users with an exhilarating experience, which diminishes their joy in VR time after time.

With this, most users just opt to get the more accessible and cheaper options of these VR games with their smartphones instead of spending tons of money on high-end equipment.

While VR on smartphones almost works, there are still a number of issues that generally put off users from the VR experience like the odd pixel density of the games.

How Can VR Take Off

It is true that in order to achieve popularity in the market, VR has a lot of catching up to do in many areas.

But, with the growing interest of companies like Meta, Apple, Sony, and Microsoft, it is undeniable that the future of VR gaming might actually be bright.

Through the introduction of Meta Quest Pro and Sony's new PSVR2 which will be released to the public early next year, VR aims to extend its influence.

According to HSBC, the VR industry can grow in 2030, and be at an estimated cost of $45 billion through social networking VR apps and VR gaming.

This is not an impossible feat since VR is not only trying to develop better gaming experiences, but they are also venturing into fitness, education, and healthcare.

Despite its struggle its first couple of years, Uviaus writes that the new widened scope of VR might actually reverse VR's fate and make it more popular in the future.