What started out as a simple game peripheral may soon evolve into something far beyond that.
If that old saying about absence making the heart grow fonder is really true, at this rate I’m likely to be head over heels in love with the Oculus by the time if finally drops. Of all the new pieces of gaming-related tech on the horizon in 2015, the possibilities found within the field of VR are what by far pique my interest most. However, there is a very specific reason I now use the term “gaming-related” to describe it.
That reason is simple: those at Oculus are not 100% convinced the Rift’s success will take root in the form of video games at this point. While the team remains focused on their original premise, they are not closed off to other avenues that could result in generated revenue. Naturally the appeal of the mainstream is just as valuable to those in charge, if not more so. It appears the practical applications of such an innovative design could very well reach beyond just gaming, perhaps finding its way into other facets of media. Oculus VR’s vice president Nate Mitchell spoke with the LA Times regarding these now wide-open possibilities, specifically touching on how Oculus could innovate home theater setups moving forward. “We’ve said from the beginning we’re big gamers, and we started Oculus to deliver consumer VR and revolutionize games. But it may well end up being that VR is more about film than games. We don’t know what the killer app is.” he states.
But the latest build previewed at CES also highlighted another major hurdle that must be overcame if the headset is going to find lasting success in video games, film or any other industry for that matter. In this market, wireless is an absolute must (I’d even call it non-negotiable). From controllers to headphones and beyond, we as consumers want to remain untethered. According to what Palmer Luckey said during a recent interview, this may become a huge hurdle for the Oculus in its earliest stages. “…it’s definitely a necessary improvement, but the same thing can be said about cordless phones and wireless phones. Obviously they got a lot more useful after they became wireless…to be honest I think in the very long term rendering on board is going to be the path that it takes. It’s a much more efficient, elegant solution and the technology to stream wireless video with low latency with high frame rate, high resolution. We’re just now getting to the point where you have decent real time 1080p video transmission and they’re not trying to go above 1080p or up to 90 frames per second.” Luckey admits.
So what started out as a grassroots campaign to bring fully immersive 3D environments to the gaming world is slowly but surely evolving into something more expansive than many had ever dreamed. Overall I’d count this as an evolution in the right direction, as long as it doesn’t pull their attention too far away from their original development target. Stretching branches out into other forms of media is obviously a great way to garner mainstream attention, but we can’t lose sight of the original goals.
Let’s hope Oculus doesn’t fall too far down the rabbit hole while trying to serve so many different masters during its initial roll-out.