Just imagine putting on a headset and seeing a computer game not as a flat screen but a three-dimensional image right there in front of you. And when you move your head, you can look around this imaginary world just how you would in real life.
You don’t have to dream this up. It’s real. A company called eMagin released the Z800 3DVisor in 2005 for $1,000. And there were others before the Z800, like Virtuality and VPL. These companies had expensive, not quite effective virtual reality equipment.
It is easy to forget when using Oculus Rift prototypes that this is not the first attempt at creating VR for the masses. Oculus is working to build a high-quality product, to create an ecosystem of games, and to make a VR industry that will survive this time. But it may all fall apart once again. Let’s take a look at how that could happen.
While gaming may be a huge industry, reaping over $15 billion last year in the U.S. alone according to the NPD Group, it’s going to take more than that to turn VR into the world-changing technology many believe it will be. The content must go beyond games. If VR does not find uses in other industries, it will remain an enthusiast’s gaming rig.
“The most interesting industry for widespread adoption is film,” says Oculus VP of product, Nate Mitchell. “What is a VR trailer? What does a Pixar short look like in VR? That’s something we’ve been investigating. And it’s something that we are seeing a lot of people in the film industry get excited about.”
Read the full article at Co.Labs.