With the announcement of Project Morpheus and the Facebook acquisition of Oculus Rift, could virtual reality become the future of interactive gaming? Throughout the history of video games, there have been many attempts at innovating the way players interact with what they’re playing. Many companies have attempted to change the way people interact with games, but only few have mastered the craft. The Nintendo Wii stands out as a shining example of how to innovate games using player’s movements. Motion controls were then taken a step further with the Kinect which relinquished the use of a controller completely. While it could never quite reach the heights of the Nintendo Wii, it had become a popular form of gaming among families. Beyond motion controls, there hasn’t been much in terms of player immersion. In a time where technology pushes the boundaries of innovation, virtual reality may just be the next big thing.
Virtual reality has been a hot fictional topic over the last couple of years. Many movies, books and tv shows have touched upon the idea of putting a person into a virtual form of reality. Tron (1982) and the eventual sequel Tron:Legacy (2010), has probably been the most popular of movies to have introduced this topic. Until now, virtual gaming had been nothing more than a futuristic dream. That is, until two years ago when Oculus Rift was first introduced to Kickstarter in the hopes of earning a measly $250,000. It ended up earning a massive $2.5 million and quickly went into production. Facebook has since purchased the Oculus Rift firm for $2 billion. Project Morpheus on the other hand, had just been announced by Sony for the PS4, to rival the Oculus Rift. According to Sony, their VR headset will offer a 1080p LCD screen with a 90-degree field of view. With out question, this form of immersion has long been anticipated. The notion that one may essentially be able to “live” through a gaming experience would leave even the most skeptical consumers with a grin.
Both the Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus could very possibly make virtual reality, a reality. Not only could VR become a reality, it could become a very profitable reality. It’s no secret virtual reality would be something very intriguing for gamers to acquire. The very idea offers so much promise, it would be hard to imagine it wouldn’t be a huge success. What do you think? Does virtual reality look like something you would get behind? Let us know in the comments.