Virtual Reality: The mega trend of the future

As the year 2019 marches forward, it looks like we are heading towards a promising year of indulging in virtual rejuvenation. VR represents a platform of immersive entertainment; wherein massive experimentation is continuously going in the form of content development and the VR ecosystem will continue to advance and expand in the next few years.

So, what exactly is Virtual Reality? The idea of VR is to replace your reality using computing resources and optics with a new computer generated environment. It can be anything a game, an environment you walk around or a video that's playing around you but the main idea is to fool your brain that you are into someplace else that's your new reality.

What makes VR so impressive is the immersion factor it provides to users, the fact that you are totally in this world. So just like with headphones on, you don't listen to anything apart from music that is playing, similarly with a VR headset you are blindfolded and put into this entire new world with whatever the artiste develops and makes you experience it. This is usually achieved by amalgamation of VR headset, head tracking algorithms, optics and that you can look around the virtual environment, although the main segment of Virtual Reality is considered to be gaming.

The year 2019 was an exhaustive and interesting year for the online gaming industry and with 2020, it looks like we are heading towards a promising year of indulging in virtual rejuvenation that could completely change the way online games are made and played in the near future.

Billions of the world’s smartphone owners are already 90 per cent of the way to owning a VR headset. With a computer, a display and motion tracking technology already at hand, all that’s left are lenses and something to put it on your face.

While affordable cardboard based virtual reality headsets have now become extinct, devices such as Google Daydream View, Oculus VR and HTC Vive are now becoming mainstream and can be simply attached to your smartphone for an immersive experience.

It is also critical to understand that all virtual reality headsets or devices require external hardware to run. So, buying just a VR headset or any other Gear VR won't work and you still need a smart phone for the display and computing. The Oculus Rift certainly requires a powerful PC. Even Google Cardboard, an affordable way to experience VR, requires an iOS or Android phone of some kind. Thus, it is important to identify exactly what you're getting when you buy a VR device, and what else you need to own or purchase separately to get the best experience.

Best Applications

Virtual Reality has many applications beyond gaming and in speculating where it could go next, content creators are identifying horror as the next strongest genre, making an even more visceral and immersive experience. A few other possibilities include sport events and concerts that are live streamed in VR to create a 360-degree view of the action. VR can also benefit several governments boost tourism as these headsets can offer 360-degree virtual tours of some of the most exciting places on earth and by just downloading an application you will at your destination much faster than taking a long flight.

Challenges Ahead

The main challenges pertaining to the mass adoption of VR headsets include the rate of headset purchases, the length of time users can comfortably use a headset, technical issues with filming the content, the availability of quality content.

A look into the future..

To put it simply, VR represents a new method of storytelling that offers an entirely new platform for consumers to experience entertainment and many other types of content.