A lot of people are claiming that 2016 is going to be the year of virtual reality, and rightly so. That’s when we’ll see the first wave of VR head-mounted displays (HMDs). Gamers in particular are getting pumped about the first true innovation since online gaming; PlayStation VR and Oculus VR are going to change everything. Oculus VR is the name with which we’re more familiar, and we’ve seen and heard some incredible things from the E3 show floor and from conference goers. I cannot wait to get my hands on a pair of Oculus Touch controllers. With so much hype focused in on the first fiscal quarter of 2016, you may have failed to realize that an Oculus-powered HMD is ready for you to try out right now. Samsung’s Gear VR is here, and it’s only $99 (you provide the phone, of course). In honor of the dawning of the virtual age I’d like to point out three things that VR will bring to you in addition to true presence in your games; things that you need to be excited about; things you can experience this holiday season.
The best seats in the house:
It’s been a long day. Your boss was kind of a jerk about numbers this quarter, when you opened your fruit cup at lunch all of the juice spilled out (that’s the best part!), and to top it off you realized mid-day that you put your socks on inside-out this morning. No one else will know, but you know, and it’s eating you up on the inside. It’s been a long day, but not a bad one. In fact, you’ve been chipper through it all because tonight you’re sitting courtside next to Jay-Z for the Nets game. You can even look over and stare at him (or Beyonce) the whole time and it won’t be weird. If that doesn’t float your boat, imagine watching and listening to a symphony live from the Sydney Opera House; you’d sit in a prime box seat where the acoustics are just right, or you could swap over to a behind-the-orchestra perspective to watch the conductor and musicians do their work, all in real time and all without leaving your living room couch.
This isn’t a distant future pipedream; people are on this. In fact, one of the first things you’ll be able to do with your Samsung Gear VR is view virtual reality footage of the 2015 NBA All-Star Game. If you couldn’t quite justify paying the pay-per-view price for that match you’ve been waiting for or that fight you’ve been dying to see before, VR is going to make the viewing price worth it and then some. Forget taking a smoke break, disappear out back, pop your phone into your Gear VR, and check the score of the game by visiting the stadium and looking at the scoreboard yourself.
Your own, private theater:
Yeah, I know, you already have a home theater. That 48-inch flat screen is pretty cute, but when I say theater I’m talking about the real deal: a giant screen that fills your periphery, a big dark room, immersive surround sound… You’re going to be able to recreate this with your VR HMD. If your partner goes to sleep before you do and you’re left alone wanting to have a big, cinematic experience with The Dark Knight Rises , just power up your headset. Heck, if they’re a heavy sleeper you could probably even watch it while lying in bed next to them. Or make every date night at home a theater night! You’ll look like a bunch of anti-social nerds both wearing headsets, but you could load up a scary movie filmed specifically for VR and make it a contest to see who can leave their headset on the whole time. If you want, you can even complete the cinematic experience by aimlessly walking around the living room before the movie and arguing over the best place to sit.
A world-class, personal tutor:
Imagine learning about the history of Japan by actually visiting sites of historic relevance and learning about them from renowned historians and knowledgeable locals. While taking a slow walk through some of the oldest temples and pagodas, you could press a button to switch between a photo-realistic, CGI rendering of the area you’re in as it was hundreds of years ago and its current state, filmed and captured specially for VR. Personally, I’m waiting for Neil deGrasse Tyson to announce a special VR mini-series where he walks you through (literally walks you through) some of the most puzzling problems in the world of quantum and astrophysics. The way we learn about and interact with the world around us is about to change forever.