It might look like we are headed towards a virtual reality renaissance/movement, judging solely on the fervor that the upcoming Oculus Rift, and to a lesser extent, Sony’s Morpheus for the PlayStation 4, generate, but to be honest, the average person who doesn’t follow technology or games neither knows nor cares about VR, plus has negative connotations associated with it, thanks to earlier, unsuccessful, aborted attempts at the technology.
There have been many who have said that the coming VR wave is a fad, that it will be like 3D, it will come and fizzle out. Renowned industry analyst Michael Pachter expressed that opinion earlier this year in an exclusive interview with GamingBolt.
Addressing all of these critics and concerns, Oculus Rift founder Palmer Luckey said that most people simply don’t understand the potential applications of virtual reality, which go far beyond just video games.
“I don’t think they understand why it’s relevant to them yet,” Luckey said. “A lot of people, even if they know what VR is, see it as this tool to go in your basement and play Halo. I was about to correct myself and say another game, but that’s what a grandmother would say: ‘Oh, you’re going to plug it into your Nintendo and play Halo.'”
However, he also thinks that that will change soon. “They’re going to see this is relevant to them in their daily lives as a not-pimply-faced-teenage-kid,” he said. “That’s going to be a difficult perception to overcome.”
This actually implies that Luckey is looking at virtual reality as something bigger than just gaming, which is in fact a sentiment shared by Michael Pachter too.
Personally, I’m one of those people who are simply not sold on virtual reality yet. I mean, it’s cool and everything, but no, I just don’t see it taking off.