Yahoo Finance VR isn't just for gamers: here's what you need to know
In case you’ve been living under a dusty old Nintendo Wii console over the past couple of years, you’ve no doubt been hearing a lot about virtual reality.
Initially targeted to video gamers who want a next-generation interactive entertainment experience, virtual reality (VR) is enjoying its “coming out” party in 2016, with a number of headsets commercially available.
“After years of false starts, VR finally works like it's supposed to,” says Toronto-based author and journalist Pete Nowak. “If you actually get a chance to experience it, it's pretty mind-blowing. It's one of those few technologies where you immediately start to imagine all the possibilities.”
If you haven’t yet tried it, you might be asking what all the hoopla is about.
And so consider this primer a look at what VR is, who it’s for, what you need, some of the non-gaming applications for the technology, and if it’s the right time to jump in (or jack in, if you want to feel like you're a character from "Neuromancer").
VR 101
No sweat if you’re new to the tech.
By donning a lightweight headset, these VR headsets – when connected to a source, such as a computer, smartphone or video game console – display “stereoscopic” images on a pair of high-resolution widescreens in front of your eyes, giving you 360-degree wraparound video and the illusion of 3D depth. It’s like you’re really transported to another place.
All of the visuals are mapped to your head movement in real-time, too, therefore if you look behind you in your chair in real life, you’ll look behind you in the game, too. Most VR headsets – sometimes referred to as “VR goggles” or “HMD,” for “head-mounted device” – are large enough to wear over eyeglasses, if needed.
Even the audio is “spatialized” in three dimensions, too, so you might hear something behind you – say, in a scary video game – and when you turn around in real life, you’ll see a monster staring down at you. Check out some of the VR “reaction” videos on YouTube, which are pretty entertaining.
Some VR platforms include or support controllers that even let you interact with digital content in a VR world. More on this shortly.
Applications for VR
It comes as no surprise that virtual reality experiences will immediately be appealing to gamers looking for something even more immersive. In fact, yours truly just spent three days walking around the E3 video game expo in L.A. and VR demos were everywhere.
After all, even while playing on a huge TV or PC monitor, you can still see the four edges of the screen, which could break suspension of disbelief. With VR, you’re “in” the game. Some games are played from a first-person perspective, while others offer a third-person “over-the-shoulder” or angled top-down view of the action.
There are a few dozen games already, offered at the two main stores: Oculus and Steam VR.
Besides games, 360-degree videos make you feel like you’re in the film, whether it’s a Jurassic Park simulation, sitting on stage for a Cirque du Soleil performance, or snowboarding down a dangerous mountain. Samsung’s Milk VR channel has a TV show-like series called “Gone,” about a young girl who is abducted from a park (produced by Skybound Entertainment, the company behind “The Walking Dead”).
Other applications for VR include education (ideal for geography, history, art and science), training (having an employee learn a new skill by virtually going through the motions), therapy (such as desensitizing someone with phobias) and, er, “adult entertainment” (that industry helped push VHS, DVD and Blu-ray into widespread adoption, so VR is next).
“Virtual reality is a new and exciting way to experience games, movies, and other content,” confirms Carl-Edwin Michel, a technology and video gaming specialist. “It’s also great to see so many independent studios competing with big studios in this new space.”
Big players, what you need
While VR is new on the scene, there’s already some competing platforms to choose from.
Purchased by Facebook for $2 billion dollars – yes, billion with a “b” – Oculus Rift is now available for $849, plus shipping, and works exclusively with Windows PCs that have an HDMI or DVI video-out port. In fact, be aware you need a pretty powerful computer to run Oculus Rift games, with a high-end video card, too. The minimum specs for Oculus Rift are listed here. With Oculus Rift, you’ll have a seat and play around with content with an Xbox One wireless controller in your hand (included). Coming soon: dual controllers that let you interact with virtual content.
Another big player is HTC with its Vive headset, out now for $1,149, and is billed as a “complete” VR solution, as it includes a headset with integrated camera that talks with two sensors you set up to establish – and move around – your play area. It also ships with two wireless VR controllers to touch and manipulate content, such as opening a drawer or turning on a water valve in an adventure game. Like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive requires a powerful PC to work (all specs available here), but unlike Oculus Rift, many games let you walk around your space as part of the experience.
On a related note, the quality and quantity of games is comparable between Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, and some games are available at both digital stores.
Another option is Samsung Gear VR ($139.99), which requires one of six compatible Samsung smartphones to experience virtual reality, by popping the phone inside the headset. Supported devices include Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+, Galaxy Note5, Galaxy S7, and Galaxy S7 edge. After you insert your phone, you can run games and apps by touching a small trackpad and buttons on the right of the headset or via an optional Bluetooth controller, if you like. LG also has a small and lightweight VR headset accessory ($299.99) for its new LG G5 smartphone, which connects by a cable rather than plugging the phone into the headset itself.
Out this fall, Sony is readying the launch of PlayStation VR ($549), which requires a PlayStation 4 console, plus there will be bundles available, too. It’ll be out on October 13, and Sony is promising 50 VR titles by the end of the calendar year, which is quite ambitious. Many were playable at the E3 Expo, with some notable highlights being Sony Interactive Entertainment’s “Farpoint,” a first-person sci-fi shooter; Capcom’s creepy “Resident Evil 7”; Ubisoft’s “Star Trek Bridge Crew”; and WB Games’ “Arkham VR,” which allows gamers to feel like they’re Batman.
There are smaller players, too, like Merge VR, Noon VR, and Leap Motion VR (each $129), and the inexpensive Google Cardboard variations ($10 to $20) that work with smartphones. For kids, there’s also the View-Master Virtual Reality Starter Pack, for $29.99.
What about AR?
You might also hear the term “augmented reality,” or “AR,” which is similar but not the same as “virtual reality,” or “VR.”
While virtual reality fully immerses you in a digital world you see by wearing a headset, augmented reality is when you can still see the world around you but it’s augmented with digital information superimposed on top of it.
For example, with Microsoft’s HoloLens technology, which isn’t yet commercial available, you can see the real walls in the room you’re in, but alien creatures could seemingly break through and attack you. In another demo, someone can see their Minecraft creation, such as a 3-D castle, on a floor or table in front of them, and be able to walk around it to analyze from all angles, but it’s not there in real life.
A Canadian company called Sulon Technologies is working on a headset dubbed Cortex, that fuses VR and AR experiences.
So, should you buy in?
For early adopters with deep pockets, it’s a no brainer. The question is, rather, which one? The experience with Oculus Rift and HTC Vive is far greater than other virtual reality offerings at this time.
PlayStation 4 gamers who prefer a console over a PC might opt to wait for PlayStation VR.
Understandably, even those intrigued by the technology are waiting for the price of admission to drop – and/or the cost of the gear you need beyond the price of the VR gear – and then there are whose waiting for the kinks to be ironed out. Or for more content to be available. Or all of the above.
There isn’t a “right” time to invest in any technology, but rather, the right time for you and your budget.
Michel also acknowledges the VR space is still “in its infancy,” and the “quality and selection has a lot of room to grow and mature,” but it could be an ideal time for eager gamers to jump in. “At least there are many options for the cost of admission, whether you can only afford Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear, or you have the full budget for Oculus [Rift] and [HTC] Vive,” adds Michel. “Whatever you choose, there’s nothing quite like it.”
