Photo Credit: Cullen Steber via Wikimedia Commons

The Current State


Virtual reality and augmented reality have had a rocky start. Virtual reality after over a year of being out to consumers still has issues getting large pieces of content. While augmented reality has choked from the cancellation of Google Glass and the very slow rollout of HoloLens. Both VR and AR show promise of a new generation of technology and could push ideas to new and unexplored heights. Already VR has made its mark with the few offerings it has, but it is definitely still a niche item. Let's take a look at the current state of content and how it could move to be more implemented in a mainstream environment.

AR Content and Hardware


The current main contender for AR is Microsoft's HoloLens. A developer kit as of this writing costs $3,000 and is not ready for mainstream release. The main content for AR now is small apps on mobile devices that either have figures pop out of cards, or have 3D animations play on top of the surface you are pointing at. If you have not seen anything about the HoloLens, I highly recommend that you go on YouTube or otherwise search for information about it. The possibilities of overlaying information, screens, games, and more in a person's normal field of view could bring a revolution. Of course this will be somewhat dependent on the content that is available, price, and availability of the HoloLens or any of its future competitors.

PC VR Hardware


Currently there is three main contenders for VR hardware. The first is the Oculus Rift. The Oculus Rift was the first dedicated VR device that started to come out to the market. It started with a Kickstarter and had a couple of developer kits that were available for some time  before VR was released officially to consumers. The Rift originally released to consumers with a tracking system that uses LED's on the headset and a tracker that connects to the computer. The Rift unlike other VR platforms did not originally include motion controllers as part of the launch lineup. Of course the Touch controllers were later added and have some capacitive touch and grip features that its competitors currently lack.

The second contender for VR currently is the HTC Vive. The Vive was created as a collaboration between HTC and Valve. The Vive works mainly through Steam VR. It also has a somewhat backwards tracking solution in comparison to the Rift. Instead of LED's being placed on the headset, the base stations have infrared lasers that move in patterns tracked by sensors on the headset. Also, the while the Vive is somewhat more expensive than the Rift, the Vive comes  with motion controllers by default. Both the Rift and Vive have PenTile OLED displays at a resolution of 2160x1200 (1080x1200 per eye) running at 90hz.

Console VR Hardware


The third contender is Playstation VR (PSVR). PSVR was released after the Vive and Rift, but instead of relying on a powerful computer, it relies on a Playstation 4. This allows for a more consistent target platform. PSVR is somewhere between the Vive and Rift on the controller issue since while it launched with motion controller support, it was released with bundles with and without the motion controllers. PSVR uses a OLED display that can reach up to 120hz, but only has a resolution of 1080x960 per eye.

VR Content


Both Oculus and the HTC Vive have programs that support development of content to help developers get started. This generally is reciprocated with either timed or permanent exclusivity to the platform. This does cause some console-like exclusivity and fragmentation between the PC options. PSVR also, as is normal with the Playstation platform, has some exclusives, including some AAA titles.

Most of the current games for VR are indie based. This in general means smaller games and not the same level of content that is delivered by AAA studios for other platforms. This is one of the constant concerns of many people who either already have or are looking at getting into VR. Some of the AAA titles coming to VR soon are re-releases of previous games such as Skyrim and Fallout 4. This asks of whether people will be willing to pay full price for a game that they may have already bought and played.

Moving Forward


Content is a major issue for VR. Games being re-released with VR support for the full price of the original content, even for those that own the original will push some boundaries. This is likely publishers dipping their toe in the water to see if they can successfully sell AAA games on the VR market, but this strategy may come back to bite them. In general though, getting more unique content to the platform will be the major driving force for VR, as well as any price drops that may occur in the future for the VR headsets or the needed hardware.

AR has a separate issue. Since it has not really seen a consumer release yet, it will need to make a good impression, likely drop some of the price of the developer kit, and have a respectable content launch.

Both VR and AR could make a huge change in the way we see the world, games, and daily tasks, but first they will need to move from the edge, to a more mainstream adoption.

Feedback


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