The Sad State Of The VR Metaverse

Introduction

Virtual reality is often described as an emerging technology, but it has been around for decades. The first head-mounted display was created in the 1960s and 1970s, with some of today's biggest tech companies working on their own VR projects since the 1980s. Despite this long history, we're still not close to realizing the promise of virtual reality. In fact, many experts question whether VR can ever live up to its potential—or whether it will simply fade away like other hyped technologies before it. While that might seem like bad news for any companies investing in VR development today, there are ways to make sure your efforts aren't wasted. In this post I'll explore what I consider the three biggest obstacles preventing VR from reaching its full potential: high costs; limited market size;and structural barriers like a lack of standards and interoperability across devices and platforms."

VR's tech trajectory has been disappointing.

Technology is often touted as the panacea for the human condition. Whether it's a tool that helps us accomplish more, or a device that entertains us, we're always looking to improve our lives through technology.

However, when it comes to VR, many of these promises have not been met. In this section we'll explore why this is so and what needs to be done for VR to become a mature market.

The market for high-end VR is tiny.

The market for high-end VR is tiny.

The market for high-end VR is still tiny.

The market for high-end VR is getting tinier.

And yet, the industry remains optimistic about its prospects: "We can't get lost in the noise," says David Hall, Chief Revenue Officer at UploadVR, a virtual reality news site and conference organizer that has raised $15 million in venture funding since it was founded in 2014. "There's just so much potential here."

Some obstacles to growth are structural.

• Poorly designed interfaces. With the exception of a few titles (like Job Simulator), most VR games have not been designed to be played in social settings. Instead, they cater to the solitary player who wants to focus on being immersed in a virtual world without being distracted by other people around them. This has resulted in many players feeling awkward when forced into sharing their space with others and can often lead to tense situations where people become uncomfortable if another player gets too close or starts interacting with their game character.

• Lack of content for non-gamers. Many VR games require hours and hours of practice before you even have a chance at winning or enjoying yourself—and this isn’t something that appeals to casual gamers or people who just want something fun and easy to do while hanging out with friends or family members during parties.*Lack of content for non-gamers*

Even if they could find a game they liked enough that they wanted play it again, there aren't many options available unless you're willing pay money every month like Netflix does for streaming movies/TV shows.*Lack of content for non-gamers

AR isn't where it needs to be, either.

But even with all this progress, VR isn't where it needs to be.

In my opinion, AR is also lacking in its current state. Why? Well, let's compare the two technologies:

• Immersion: While you can make an argument for live action roleplaying games (LARPs), AR's ability to project images onto your surroundings doesn't quite have the same impact as VR. It can't compete with VR's ability to completely transport you into another world—complete with haptic feedback and environmental soundscape—and fool all of your senses into believing that what you're seeing is real.

• Responsiveness: In AR, frames take longer than in VR because there are more variables involved; your phone or tablet has to process information from its camera(s) and then send data across the internet before displaying it on screen. This means that any action taken by players is slower than in VR.

Virtual reality can be amazing but it is still in a bad state overall.

Virtual reality can be amazing, but it's not where it needs to be.

At this point, I'm sure you're thinking: "Well of course! That's why we're here." And you'd be right—but let me explain why that is the case.

• VR is not where it should be

The hardware needed to run VR experiences has gotten cheaper and more widespread in recent years—and those improvements have led to an explosion of content made for VR headsets such as Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. But even with these advancements, the experience isn't perfect yet. As anyone who has tried their hand at gaming on one of these devices knows all too well, there are certain problems that still haven't been solved yet when designing games for virtual reality.*

Conclusion

Virtual reality has a bright future, but it’s not quite here. For now, we’re still waiting for the VR metaverse to be fully realized.