The year 2016 was the year of the start of VR when several major tech companies released immersive virtual reality (VR) systems that were the first of their kind. Tech experts forecast that the year 2017 could be the year when all this immersive VR technology will become mainstream.
VR Breakthrough In 2016
The virtual reality niche has been emerging for the last several years. The mass audience's interest grew due to technology launched by companies like Sony, Valve and Oculus and developer kits out in the wild. The tech community came to a general consensus that in the year 2016, a commercial virtual reality was going to materialize.
Now, at the year's end, we can conclude that this is what just happened. We have complete VR gadgets from HTC, Sony, and Oculus. The HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PlayStation VR have come with their own weaknesses and strengths, and feature their own standout games. We can clearly conclude that this year, VR have become indeed a reality.
The Future Of VR In 2017
There are still many people who see VR as just a fad. It might be possible that those people are right that once the initial investments dry up, there will not remain enough consumer interest to continue a VR industry. But, most likely, this will not be the case.
According to Kotaku, all three of the major VR headsets are providing grounds to be optimistic about the future of VR. In fact, it's not about which VR system has the clearest screen or the best controllers, the best operating system or the best games. It's more likely about a technological constant: the perfection of the virtual reality immersion experience and the erosion of the border between us and the digital world.
It's only a matter of time until we will immerse all into a shared digital world. The layer between our reality and this digital world it gets thinner. With VR, we can experience those digital worlds in a new way, with an intuitiveness that even the best screen-based technology could not match. The continual advance of the technology gives us the ability to freely explore the limitless virtual world.
Games like "Pokemon Go" enjoy a mainstream success, showing the potential of VR to uncover a new digital world. But VR will quickly expand its appeal beyond the world of video games. This amazing technology can effortlessly transcend the gaming niche.
In 2016, VR became real, but in 2017 it will be ready to become to go mainstream. According to Yahoo News, a IDC survey has found that cost is the No. 1 concern among potential VR consumers. But the big brands in the VR industry are already working to bring pricing under control.
For instance, when the Oculus Rift was first announced, consumers had to pay at least $1,000 for a computer able of running the VR headset. But Oculus announced recently that it is collaborating with PC maker companies in order to ensure that its VR system will run on PCs priced as low as $500.
