From Waking Up in Kathmandu to Buying VR
The state of virtual reality in one of the poorest countries in the world.
What first comes to mind when you hear of Nepal? Most likely the Himalayas, Mount Everest and Annapurna. Perhaps the country’s famed heritage temples with their rich Hindu and Buddhist history.
How about Virtual Reality? Probably no, not really. But, hey, I still decided to give it a go.
While Nepal is a mesmerizing country, it’s no secret that it’s struggling economically. The Agency for International Development lists it as the 17th poorest country in the world. Kathmandu’s busy, hectic streets don’t seem much different from what you would see in other emergent nations, but the numbers don’t lie. Its GDP, per capita income and other metrics are consistently behind many of its developing peers.
With that in mind, I was fully prepared to return from this VR reconnaissance completely empty-handed. But, the XR industry surprised me yet again.
Location Based Entertainment
While you won’t find any global LBE brands, it turns out getting your VR fix in Kathmandu isn’t as difficult as one might think. I quickly managed to locate a rather large entertainment centre called “OOPS!”
Seeing arcade games and bowling, I suspected they might also have VR — and I was right.
The entertainment centre featured a VR roller-coaster simulator and a couple of other VR systems, all developed by either Movie Power VR or FuninVR. To be honest, I’ve been quite critical of FuninVR in the past, especially for their disregard for best practices, which can leave participants feeling queasy, so instead, I decided to give VR Super Agent (by Movie Power VR) a go.
The game tasks you with infiltrating an enemy base, which is crawling with cyborgs and hostile human personnel. Before I knew it, I was fully immersed, dispatching cyborg baddies left and right.
What I appreciated about the setup was that, rather than being hung from above, the visor was actually attached to the gun itself. This made the experience frictionless and “snackable.” No need for onboarding, no need to fiddle with the headset. You just peer inside like you would peer into a rifle scope, and boom, you’re in VR. The downside? You have to keep the gun raised to eye level, which can be tiring. But for short arcade sessions, this frictionless setup worked well.
Unfortunately, Movie Power developers didn’t bother to follow any of the established VR guidelines. From section to section, the game world would suddenly start moving, accelerating and turning — all without user input. This mimics how a flat-screen shooter works, but in VR, it made me feel a bit woozy, especially towards the end. I had the same issue with game systems made by FuninVR and find it irritating that so many big arcade manufacturers pay little to no attention to comfort in VR.
Home VR
Nepalese are known to enjoy the outdoors, and with beautiful vistas such as the Himalayas, it’s hard not to see why. That said, smartphones, gaming systems and other modern technology have become increasingly common.
They’re still priced at a premium, especially compared to commercial hubs such as Singapore or Dubai, but for those who want and can afford it, VR at home should be easily accessible.
At least that’s what I thought.
Poking around Kathmandu’s shopping malls and electronic stores brought me nothing, so I turned to online shops and second-hand marketplaces.
The biggest and most popular is Hamrobazar. I decided to try it, and, bingo, finally found a Quest 3 for 80,000 Nepalese Rupees. That’s around $590, so quite a hefty price. I kept looking, but trying to find the Quest 3S or a second-hand Quest 3 came to naught. I found one listing for 52,000 rupees, but it was already four months old and probably no longer valid. The seemingly overpriced Quest 3 is the only real option for those who want to experience VR from the comfort of their homes.
What about Pico 4, HTC Vive or some other standalone headsets? Well, the only thing I could find aplenty were those dreaded Google Cardboard knock-offs. Retailing for as low as $2, these rudimentary containers seem to be the primary way most Nepalese get to experience VR.
A slight upgrade over Cardboard is the good old Samsung Gear VR, and yes, you can still find it in Nepal. It was discontinued in 2020, but various communities around the world keep the hardware alive through hacks and workarounds. There are unofficial adapters and side-loadable apps for those who want to try mobile VR on the cheap.
Prices oscillate around 3,500 to 6,000 Nepalese Rupees ($25 — $45). That’s quite a lot for discontinued hardware, but this situation isn’t unique to Nepal. In many developing countries, quality headsets like the Quest or Pico are either unavailable or require hefty premiums.
This made me sad about Samsung discontinuing the Gear VR. It’s not just a matter of revenue or profitability. After all, I doubt the average Nepalese user would spend much money on Gear VR apps. It’s more about the accessibility of virtual reality as a whole. Compared to Google Cardboard knock-offs, Gear VR offered a much better experience, had a decent amount of quality games, like Gunjack or Smash Hit, and was generally a much better proposition.
Without intermediary solutions like Gear VR, Google Daydream, or Oculus Go, virtual reality enthusiasts in countries like Nepal are at a significant disadvantage compared to their Western counterparts. They are forced to either pay a premium for imported high-end hardware or settle for the lowest common denominator.
Future Potential
This dynamic isn’t unique to Nepal. Many developing nations face similar challenges, though each has its own quirks.
For instance, when I visited Egypt, I noticed the emergence of “Meta Cafes.” These VR-focused gaming hubs mimic traditional gaming cafes but with a focus on Meta’s Quest line of headsets. Some even hijack Meta’s logo to boost credibility:
Such peculiarities also exist in other countries, but listing them all would take too long. Suffice it to say, virtual reality is surprisingly ubiquitous. Across the whole spectrum of nations, from emerging to high-income, we can see VR present in one form or another, evolving alongside the regional characteristics.
Keep on rocking in the VR world!