2016 would not be the year for the VR because not enough gamers, indeed, a gamer will buy the VR device for at least £500 and have a very powerful computer.
Virtual reality (VR) is the big tech story of 2016. But seriously, are you thinking of buying? The fact is that the lower end VR – LG 360, Google Cardboard, even Samsung’s Gear VR – is an experience somewhere between adequate and awful, while the pricing of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive is simply too high for most punters.
• HTC Vive: wow!
• LG 360 VR: eww.
Now that pre-orders are up and running, we know that Oculus Rift is priced at $600/£500, without the 3D controllers that are a necessary part of the experience. HTC Vive is $799/£689, although that includes controllers and that system’s Kinect-style body tracking hardware.
Just to be clear, I’m not saying either system isn’t worth its price (certainly, I’d say you’d be nuts as an individual to pay $3,000 for Microsoft’s AR competitor, HoloLens, but that is far more of a business-level device). Vive and Rift are both reasonably priced, for what you get.
However, what you get is so cutting edge by consumer standards – and hence expensive – that I just don’t think that the level of take-up will be huge. It certainly won’t be enough to justify the hype that 2016 is ‘The Year of VR’. Any more than last year justified its tag of ‘Year of the Wearable’ (in fact if anything, I’d say last year saw us hit Peak Wearable, when the Apple Watch appeared, did alright, but failed to ignite the sector as many had hoped. But that’s one for another blog).
Source : T3.COM