As one of the founders of Oculus VR, Palmer Luckey has done more in his twenty-two years than some do in a lifetime. His Oculus Rift headset is going down like gangbusters in the PC gaming community; and as developers line packed conference halls to learn about its latest SDK, it’s clear that this young kid has tapped into something great.
Still, despite Oculus Rift’s pre-launch success, Luckey admits his company faces serious challenges going forward. One of such quandaries is showing the public why the VR concept is worth a purchase. To this point Oculus’ most popular demos have been games. However, Luckey sees his hardware’s main source of success in working beyond those roots. Speaking with CNET, he said “perception is going to change as virtual reality becomes more mainstream and [the public] get[s] to see things like VR cinema or 3D-360 degree panoramas or communicate with people over long distances.” In that sense, fostering emotions in other mediums is a long-term focus of what Oculus Rift is truly about.
This idea is further established when you consider Oculus’ recent reveal of the Gear VR headset that works with Samsung smartphones. By tethering VR to such pervasive devices, there’s a huge opportunity for such hardware to break far beyond the confines of hardcore gaming. It’s not that Oculus will stop being important to gamers, but that the company sees its products as devices that speak to a much grander message. In its early phases Oculus Rift will bring consumers closer to their favorite games, but down the line, Palmer Luckey sees Oculus Rift as a window to further connect people with the world they live in.
Do you understand the potential of VR, or is it a fad that will soon fade away? Tell me your thoughts in the comments!