Virtual Reality: The Future of Technology or a Passing Fad?

Conquering the world of virtual reality has been a huge dream since the late 60's. Being able to escape reality and place yourself in a different world has become such a huge thing for man kind that there are even TV shows and movies about it. Which is odd, because we watch TV and movies to escape reality, and we have to watch shows about escaping reality.

So for about the past two years we have been hearing about these huge breakthroughs in VR technology, especially after Facebook bought Oculus. Around that point is when things started getting real (no pun intended). Now Samsung and Google have their own versions of the VR technology and are coming out with their own gaming headsets. Everyone has it set in their minds that this is going to be the next big thing in the gaming world. And with all of the hype building up over the past 50 years or so, they could be very right.

The gaming world is also closely related to the world of anime as well. Some people might not see that, but gamers know what I'm talking about. Realistically, the anime "Sword Art Online" is, arguably, one of the best things that could have happened to the companies who are making these headsets. It is one of the biggest anime series to come out since Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon and it is all about being trapped in a virtual world created with a virtual reality headset. So it is a fact that the market for these devices just doubled.

There could be a down side though. Remember when 3D TVs were the biggest deal in the world? Yeah, me either. That's because no one cared, even after all the hype. No one wants to look like an idiot with 3D glasses on while they watch TV, and no one wants to spend 5 bazillion dollars on a 3D TV that doesn't require glasses, especially when it will probably get boring after about 48 hours and you'll just want to watch regular TV like a regular person anyway. Will virtual reality headsets be the same? Will it become more hassle than it's worth to the average gamer? Will the novelty wear off?

There is probably about a 50/50 chance in my mind. It could be the biggest deal in the world if executed correctly. And that means the systems, the headsets, the games, everything. There is just too much hassle and risk involved to make something sub-par. There really isn't that much to say about it. If the fun doesn't outweigh the annoyance, virtual reality gaming will disappear along with the dream of it.

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Is Virtual Reality The Next Step In Gaming Technology?

As many of us gamers are well aware of, graphics are getting exceedingly better as our game systems progress. Remember when we saw Crash Bandicoot for the first time and though "Holy crap! This looks awesome!". Then we saw "Mercenaries" or some other PS2 game and thought the same thing. Then came the PS3's graphics. We saw "Resistance: Fall of Man" and thought "Sweet mother of yes, this is incredible!". "The Last Of Us" came out towards the end of the PS3's life cycle and everyone drooled at how incredible it looked. Around this time, we started seeing a few new "devices" that might take their place next to our game consoles. Tech such as the Oculus Rift VR headset. That takes us now to the PS4 and we all can see that the graphics are getting scarily close to photorealism, and I'm pretty stoked on that.

Graphics will continue to get better and more fluid as time goes and technology advances, but with that advancement in gaming tech, a question arises: Are we going to see VR headsets coming to our current gen consoles?

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Will PlayStation 4 Bring VR To Consoles

We've seen a few different immersive techniques performed by our boys at Sony Entertainment. Remember the EyeToy? Not many people took a hold of it, but the few that did started to play with their first versions of augmented reality games. Now the new PS Eye for the PS4 is able to give you the same thing while incorporating the use of the new Dualshock 4 controller. Everything from the touchpad, to the vibrating motors in the controller are used in conjunction of the Eye to make the augmented reality a bit more believable. That being said, they're now also developing something a bit different with their own VR headset, codenamed Project Morpheus. There isn't too much detail on the project as of yet, but it will be used for "social screen" gaming. Essentially, it will work with companion apps so that whatever the person wearing the headset sees, so too will the people running the app see. Should the person be playing in a haunted house scenario, the everyone will be able to see what's inside.

The Oculus Rift

If you've not heard about the Oculus Rift as of yet, you may be living under a rock. They're still very much in development, but definitely towards the later stages. Instead of being used mainly for console gaming, this company is going for more mobile gaming (possibly due to the company being bought by social network Facebook). They're still sending out DK's to specific developers but also have DK's ready for just about any publisher or developer who wants to take it for a spin. They've made heavy improvements to their older model. They're now making an Oculus Home and Oculus Cinema to go along with the new device. Oculus Home will be a place to download and start new VR content, much like the PS3 Xross Media Bar. Oculus Cinema is basically a movie theater for your face where you can watch whichever 2D or 3D movies you have stored.

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Is It Practical?

The thought of having VR gaming is nothing short of titillating. The idea of being able to place a headset on your noggin, and physically turning your head to look around in the game world would be a truly incredible, almost scary, experience. The only problem is that with today's technology, we are still a bit behind in what we could actually accomplish. To say that we are ready for VR technology for our gaming consoles might be a stretch. Technologically wise, we're not there...yet. In our gaming hearts and minds, we've been ready since we've seen them shown on cartoons and movies that showcase them. It still might be a while till we see games through a headset instead of a TV Screen though.

Needless to say, I think we will be seeing photo-realistic graphics before we see VR headset technology. There is just a lot more to take into consideration when dealing with VR technology, especially since they cater to the physical motion of the user. We're a lot closer to "movie-quality" graphics than we are VR gaming. It's sad but true.

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An Oculus Competitor That Works On Xbox One, Playstation 4, And PC

Almost 8 years ago, we were shown a virtual reality headset for the Xbox 360, but it never came out. Now, after Facebook purchased the top company in the VR world, it has finally come back.

True Player Gear has made a virtual reality headset the looks a lot like the Oculus one. It straps to your head, gives you a 1080p OLED display, you get the idea. The crazy thing though, is that this one device will work with the Xbox One, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC, and even MAC according to the company. This is huge news, and a big potential slap in the face to Facebook if it takes off.

This new device from True Player Gear is setting the bar in my opinion. It has some major differences than the devices being made by other companies. A few examples would be the face that you can use it with more than one platform (by a LOT), it supports older games that weren't even intended for virtual reality, the head-mounted display has its own lenses so that players can adjust the focus, meaning that they won't have to use their glasses or contacts while playing any of the games. That alone is a huge selling point that I'm surprised these other companies haven't thought of.

There are also two cameras so that users can see what's actually around them in the outside world at any given time. These cameras will also be used for future augmented reality games that the company will be putting out themselves. As if all of these awesome features weren't good enough, it even has it's own built in processor so that the console or PC doesn't have to take on the extra load. What else could you honestly ask for? Everything a 90's kid ever dreamed the 2000's would be like is finally here.

In case you were wondering, This device does not yet have a set in stone name, price, or release date yet. But this should all be announced soon. I'll keep you updated.

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