Why Virtual & Augmented Reality is the next big thing
Behind the hype
1. The tech giants joined the game
Ever since Facebook acquired Oculus the game was on. Nobody took VR too seriously until then. Like Palmer Lucky said: “This is how you wake the giants”. Right now every big company from Google, Sony, Samsung, Microsoft, Apple, all the way to smaller startups like Meta, LeapMotion, MagicLeap, Virtuix Omni are investing resources and lots of money into VR or AR.
2. John Carmack left id Software to focus on VR
Game industry veteran John Carmack, one of the founders of id Software(the company who created the first Doom), joined Oculus 3 years ago. This move, coming from one of the most influential and respected name in the industry, was a huge hint that VR was going to change the future of gaming.
3. Goldman Sachs and other investors are betting on VR
Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s most influential investment banks, is calling virtual and augmented reality “the next generation computing platform.” VR and AR market will reach $80 billion by 2025, roughly the size of the current desktop PC market. So you can make an idea, last quarter investors made 42 VR/AR investments totalling nearly $240 million with only 37 VR/AR investment deals made in all of 2013.
4. GDC and CES was all about VR and 360 cameras
Yes, I know, you’re going to say that a few years ago at CES it was the same case with 3DTVs. Everyone was making 3DTVs because it’s the next thing in entertainment, but it didn’t go to well. The thing is you can’t compare 3DTV with VR/AR, it’s like comparing apples to oranges.
VR is a totally different medium, it’s about presence and immersion, take into account the social ramifications of VR/AR and you have something that goes well beyond TV, mobile or other 2D mediums.
360 cameras are everywhere, forget standard video, in a few years no one is going to remember how 2D video looked like. We have Youtube and Facebook that already embraced this new medium of visualising photos and videos right in the browser. And now we have the Virtual Desktop app that let’s you use your entire PC in VR.
5. The VR/AR startup scene is heating up
The startup scene is blooming with small companies that started to work on all kinds of VR/AR related products. From hand tracking companies (LeapMotion, MagicLeap, Manus) to virtual reality treadmills like the VirtuixOmni who recently just opened an already successful series A round of funding. And there is the Void that’s trying to build the next Arcade, the IMAX of Virtual Reality.
Also let’s not forget about Meta, a company that is currently competing head to head with HoloLens, to bring AR headsets to the mass market. The AR devices are still where VR was 2 years ago, but they’re off to a great start. With the Oculus that ships today and Vive about to release soon, we’re going to see a lot more startups joining the VR wave.
6. Robert Scoble quits Rackspace to focus on VR/AR
I don’t know about you guys, but having Robert Scoble, one of the most influential guys in tech, joining Upload VR to follow and concentrate more on VR/AR tech, it’s an obvious sign that a big shift is happening. You can read more about this news here.
7. Unity, Unreal and Crytek developing tools for VR
With the giants behind some of the most used game engines, focusing on developing special tools for developers to build inside VR, it’s clear the stakes to get this right are higher than ever. These tools will change the way we build 3D worlds, such an example is the new Unity VR Scene Editor which is currently in it’s prototype stage, or the Unreal VR Editor which you can see it in action here.
8. AR/VR was hot topic at TED
This year Augmented Reality took the stage at TED, the Meta and HoloLens presentations made it clear that AR/VR is a big step in the future of computing, and right now we’re witnessing the dawn of a new era.
9. VR devices are selling out like crazy
No matter how you look at it, even if you think VR is just hype or the next 3DTV, you can’t ignore the fact that these devices keep selling out like hot cake, be it Oculus, Vive or PSVR. Whenever I see such news, I always think about Apple when they release a new iPhone and people stay in line to get their hands on the next hot thing.
10. Even Nasa started to build experiences for VR
The project is an experience featuring Mars with footage taken from Nasa’s Mars rovers, which aims to simulate life as one of the first astronauts to arrive on Mars. It’s called Mars 2030, a collaboration between the US space agency, MIT’s Space Systems Laboratory, Fusion Media and game developers from the former studio Irrational Games. You can read more about it here.
If you enjoyed this article, don’t forget to hit the recommend icon below so more people can read it. Cheers!
