WHERE NEXT FOR VR?

While the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift work well enough, the price barrier is enough to prevent either from really taking off—we’re not just talking about the headsets, as you need a powerful graphics subsystem to drive a pair of HD displays at 90Hz, too. Indeed, a recent sales report puts both headsets as being minor in the overall VR market, with Google Cardboard leading the pack, and Sony’s PlayStation VR already making interesting inroads.

Even so, as many have predicted, the big challenge for VR is on the software side—creating a believable VR experience can be incredibly expensive, and even the most impressive titles so far have been either very limited in scope or very short-lived. We still think there’s plenty of room for more non-gaming experiences, too, but without a sufficient installed user base, we can’t see radically new experiences emerging anytime soon. It may be Sony’s offering that starts the ball rolling here, but we’ll have to wait and see where this is going.

What we do expect in 2017, though, is an influx of new VR headsets, something that will be partly driven by Microsoft’s bullish entry into the market. Microsoft’s interest in VR headsets for Windows 10 may well be a stepping stone to its HoloLens technology, but with the weight of the hardware industry behind it, renewed competition can only help. Headsets are expected from HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, and Asus, with suggested retail pricing starting at $299. In fact, that pricing alone may be all that’s needed to get VR into more homes, and then surely the titles should start rolling in.