Augmented Reality might be the future of VR

  • -

Augmented Reality might be the future of VR

Category:Latest News

The market for consumer VR is now in full swing, but despite bullish forecasts from companies with large investments in the space, the rapid emergence of augmented reality technology seems increasingly likely to steal its thunder.

At the DICE Europe conference in Barcelona last week, Unity Technologies CMO Clive Downie made a knowingly “bold” prediction: within the next 10 years, the number of people interacting with virtual reality on a daily basis will reach 1 billion.

Downie acknowledged that, right now, we’re in the “gap of disappointment” with VR, where the installed base is small, and the existing content, while good, is, “nowhere near what we’ve been promised.” Nevertheless, Unity – one of the biggest players in the VR space – is “100% certain” that the technology will have a huge impact on the world.

“Mobile is going to get us closer than ever,” Downie said. “No disrespect to the excellent Vive and the excellent Rift… But really, mobile is where the scale is going to be. Back to my point earlier, I think there’s going to be a billion people in VR in the next ten years, and that’s going to come from mobile.”

Downie wasn’t the only VR enthusiast to take the stage at DICE Europe, but there was one notable voice for the opposition. Klaas Kersting, CEO of the mobile focused Flaregames, expressed major reservations about the VR market ever growing beyond a niche concern.

“VR is very immersive. On the other hand, it’s not very social,” Kersting said. “You wear something on your head, you filter everything out that’s around you… That creates a hurdle to using these devices. Even if the technology gets smaller and more digestible, that will still be there.

“Nobody wants to wear several kilos on their head… It’s something that will go away with time, but it will take a while. And it will take longer than people think.”

The idea that AR devices might eventually supercede VR headsets has been put forward before, not least by Epic’s Tim Sweeney, who told the crowd at this year’s China Joy that, “AR will be the biggest technological revolution in our lifetimes.” The open question for Sweeney was how long VR had before AR hardware made it surplus to the majority of requirements. That may be the window in which platforms like Rift, Vive, Gear VR and Daydream have to overcome the kind of obstacles that Kersting described – some of which are more grounded in social and behavioural norms than the technology itself – and it’s a window that may not be open for too much longer. The heavily funded AR startup Magic Leap, for example, has forecasted widespread penetration for its device within the next five years.

The eventual primacy of AR over VR is now an increasingly common point-of-view. This week, Apple CEO Tim Cook told Good Morning America America that AR will be “the larger of the two, probably by far,” citing similar reasons to Flaregames’ Kersting. “Virtual reality sort of encloses and immerses the person into an experience that can be really cool but probably has a lower commercial interest over time,” he said. “Less people will be interested in that.”

Niantic’s John Hanke – who, admittedly, has a great deal to gain from AR winning out – expressed a similar opinion on the Recode podcast. “AR is the direction that I think is far more interesting and promising – for technology and, really, for humanity,” he said. “In a VR situation, you’re isolating yourself from everyone around you and entering this completely virtual space. AR is designed to add, enhance the things you do as a human being: Being outside, socializing with other people, shopping, playing, having fun.

“AR can make all those things better.”

Via gamesindustry.biz


Showcase

TMNTHyperkinSteelseriesKontrolfreekStrikepackSteel Series Arctis 3Overcooked All You Can EatHyperkinPower A WirelessSteel SeriesChronus

1080partners Twitter

In case you were curious to know what Mr. Toad's glamour might've looked like in #TWAU Season 1 - if he could've afforded it - here's some concept art for you.

Now how could he not afford a glamour and yet afford to drive a car in NYC? 🤷

#TWAUs1fables.

Following the news that Sony will increase the price of the PlayStation 5 in several markets, Microsoft has confirmed that it will not adjust the price of the Xbox Series X and S. https://bit.ly/3ANCOxx

Load More