Since the first gaming console and playable titles were discovered, gaming has come a long way. Several decades of advancement and design have taken what was a few pixels on the screen, to now developing massive worlds, experiences, and adventures for everyone to enjoy. The years to come, are going to be the same. We are living in a world where virtual reality and AI are becoming an important part of our lives, game developers are doing unique things with classic titles that we love, and PC and console manufacturers are improving their hardware to offer us the best experiences. With smartphones getting advanced and apps that keep getting improved, technology is moving forward at a high speed. Here, we are going to discuss the impact of Virtual Reality on gaming.
Microsoft and Sony unveiled their new consoles a month back. They announced that those consoles are the future of gaming.” Considering their power and specs, they are going to change the world of virtual reality games. Experts believe that day by day we are getting closer to gaming that includes “mixed reality.” This is an idea that combines both augmented reality and virtual realities.
The one disadvantage of VR at this moment is its price. A VR headset is incredibly costly, you require a powerful system for running it and the games that are available are restricted, and most of them are uninspiring and do not utilize the technology fully.
There is also a disconnect due to this, people want to feel as if they are in the game rather than watching it using a headset. This is where augmented reality comes into the picture. Pokemon Go made players feel as if they were a part of the game. So, want to know how high are these expectations? What is the impact of virtual reality on gaming? Several studies and researchers predict that augmented and virtual reality markets will dramatically grow from over $9 billion in previous years to $215 billion by the year 2021. That amazing 118% compound yearly growth rate would make Virtual Reality one of the fastest growing industries in this world.
As we have covered half of the year, questions about virtual reality technology and the virtual reality impact on gaming still remain the same. Though 2017 did not live up to the forecasts, VR gaming has learned many things and come quite a way since it started in the year 2014. As brands continue to check and experiment within the realm of Virtual Reality, the arms race will continue to develop the right product and best experience for customers.
What can we expect from virtual reality games? Here are a few trends to watch for.
Impact of Virtual Reality on Gaming
VR Headset adjustments in recent years
As popular brands, including HTC, Samsung, PlayStation, Facebook, and Google) make their move into the Virtual reality market, customers are hesitant to buy for several reasons. One of the main factors making customers hesitate is the cost of the equipment.
While Sony has seen initial success with its not expensive PCVR system sold more than 2 million headsets in 2017, other firms are following suit to make their VR headsets more accessible and affordable. With more and more VR headsets coming in the market, a price war is expected to follow as firms will undercut each other to enhance sales.
Not only are they realizing that it is a cost elastic and saturated market, but they also find that the customers are interested in ease of portability and use. With this in mind, stand-alone headsets will make its way to the front.
Standalone headsets will permit customers to just put the headset on and utilize it without the need for any separate installation. There are no hanging wires. All you require is the device that is linked with the headset. Products like Oculus Go will permit users to download apps, games, and other experiences from their phone and sync them to the headset. There is no need to connect it to a Virtual-ready computer, which produces as the Oculus Rift needs.
VR arcades are a “new old” development in the industry of video games
The focus on demographics for video games continues to alter and evolve, but one thing that remains the same is gamers are looking for the best gaming experience. Virtual Reality makes its repeated push into the new world of gaming, players are searching to experience this new kind of play and may want to do it at an affordable cost.
Virtual Reality arcades are becoming quite common in the gaming community. They are permitting players to totally experience Virtual Reality gaining without having to buy a headset of their own. The VR gaming as a service industry earned about $286.7 million last year, as per the SuperData Research, but could expand the $2.3 billion industry by this year. Despite being largely prevalent, VR arcades are serving a growing and targeted community.
Arcades like Yokey Pokey in Brooklyn, which opened in late 2017, has 42 VR headsets ranging from VR Playstation, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear, and HTC Vive. Prices start at nearly $25 for nearly 30 minutes. These game arcades can serve different varieties of customers and can be catered to various events and parties.
Virtual reality allows for all kinds of gamers and all kinds of people who simply want to experience good things.
VR video games used for educational purposes
An important impact of Virtual Reality on gaming is related to educational purposes. When you think about video games, you possibly think of experiences that foster learning. The thing you may not realize is that some forward-looking organizations are scoring huge with different educational games.
Similarly, as teachers have various teaching methods, students also have different methods of learning. Educators have found that interactive games or computer-generated games can be an effective way for students to absorb the material inside the classroom.
There are companies, like for example, zSpace that creates “Virtual Instruction Programs” powered by equipment and VR classroom apps. These new improvements keep the students engaged as well as interested, and create awesome lesson content for the teachers. There are endless possibilities, restricted only by the creativity of content creators. The Educational Industry (EdTech) industry is now aware of what VR might bring to the education world, as seen by the fast spending already happening in the space.
Still, there are many challenges that VR gaming developers have to overcome, but as the demand and popularity grow, innovation also follows. The industry of video games is changing for years and has done so at a slow pace. Virtual gaming has not seen the fast growth and that they initially anticipated, however, the future is bright and will be more mainstream before we even realize it.
Considering the future and impact of Virtual Reality on gaming, we must not ignore the fact that technology is moving so faster than it was 10 years ago and considering we had games that were detailed at that time, just imagine what we can have in the coming 10 years?
Currently, gaming is being taken to such a level that no one ever thought about it. It will continue to exceed the expectations as the technology moves forward and more powerful consoles and PC’s attain. Whichever way you look at games, it is growing at a fast rate. We are making an entry to the beginning stages of game worlds being combined into the existing world, and there is nothing left to do apart from sitting back and enjoying the game.