Coronavirus could be a catalyst to revitalize virtual reality headsets

For more than 90% of Americans who have been locked up in their homes for more than a month, the reality is beginning to bite. There are only so many Netflix series you can watch consecutively, so many movies you can start and stop, and so many video games you can play before the awkward gloom descends. A change of pace is surely in order.

Technology companies hope that this change will come in the form of virtual reality headsets, and some analysts say the orders to stay home could finally be the Hail Mary pass they were waiting for.

After all, it’s been six years since Oculus founder Palmer Luckey said virtual reality “was going to change the world.”

“It is a bit early to find out if people are having more virtual reality experiences now, but I think this crisis could boost interest in it,” said Kirk Soderquist, a partner at Perkins Coie, a law firm focused on the gaming industry. interactive entertainment. . “I think we can look back on this and see it as a turning point for the sector.”

The truly immersive virtual reality experience transports people to other locations, both reality-based and simulated. You can take walking tours of your favorite cities and visit national parks and places of cultural interest. You can climb Mount Everest with Everest VR, swim with whales with TheBlu, even explore the surface of Mars with Titans of Space.

While people aren’t competing to buy the expensive headphones and consoles that are sometimes needed to go with them, they are in love with the technology when they try it out. “I was impressed when I had my first experiences with it,” said Norm Rose, a senior technology analyst at Phocuswright, which tracks emerging technologies. You bought an Oculus Go VR headset two years ago. “It’s not always the best experience, but when it works, you feel like you’re someone else somewhere else.”

But virtual reality is not just limited to traveling. Industries like healthcare, automotive manufacturing and education have accounted for most of the roughly $ 19 billion spent last year on virtual reality and augmented reality products, according to estimates by consulting firm IDC. To date, games have surprisingly not been the most popular segment of the consumer virtual reality market, but even there, virtual reality games face stiff competition from traditional computer-based products.

The technology can also be used for social media and business meetings. And the pandemic appears to be fueling this renaissance: Altspace, one of the first virtual reality social platforms, is suddenly inundated with requests to host a variety of virtual reality events, and Facebook is working on the launch of Horizon, a lively world. of Oculus headphone avatars. The tech giant is also likely to offer professional conferences, social gatherings, and conferences in its new virtual world.

However, Omdia senior analyst George Jijiashvili sees a major problem: “I don’t think this crisis is a great opportunity for virtual reality, because there just aren’t enough headsets to make a big impact.”

Consumers currently own just 26 million virtual reality headsets worldwide, according to data from technology consulting firm Omdia (formerly Ovum). That’s far less than the technology’s exaggerated expectations several years ago.

For years, major tech companies have tried to stimulate the market. Both Google and Samsung introduced low-end devices several years ago that consumers could pair with their smartphones for a virtual reality experience. Cardboard and plastic products were cheap, and Google actually gave away millions of its Google Cardboard headsets. But it didn’t go very well with consumers.

“The headphones were awkward, the experience was not very good and there was not much support in terms of content,” said Jijiashvili. “I think a lot of those headphones are in intact drawers.” Last year, Google essentially abandoned its Daydream VR platform.

The industry suffers from the well-known chicken and egg syndrome common to many technology markets. Without a large enough installed headphone base, developers of VR content are not motivated to produce enough expensive applications. And without enough interesting content to access, consumers have been slow to buy the headphones. “Before this crisis, the [consumer VR] the industry was at a point of disappointment, “said Phocuswright’s Rose.

Since Facebook launched Oculus Rift in 2016 after buying independent headphone maker Oculus two years earlier for $ 2 billion, advocates have stated that the next trend would be virtual reality. But the Rift never made much noise, largely due to the $ 599 price tag. Still, tech giants, including Google, Samsung, and Sony, joined the race to bring consumer-ready headsets to market, and many sponsors began investing billions in content development. But even with the introduction of lower-priced headsets like Sony’s Gear VR, LG 360, and PlayStation VR, sales are slow.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on tourism. industry due to the resulting travel restrictions. Air travel has declined by more than 95%, and grim economic data and a rising unemployment rate are increasingly doubting when travel will return.

But Rose, who also runs a travel technology consulting business, believes there is a great opportunity for tourism companies with virtual reality apps – not to provide an entertaining escape for consumers, but to help them plan real vacations and trips. There is an ongoing debate in the industry about whether virtual reality tourism experiences could reduce the number of people taking real vacations. Rose doesn’t think so. He believes VR technology has the potential to complement, rather than replace, consumers’ aspirations to travel.

“If I were a major travel company, I would be making deals with equipment manufacturers to put headphones in the hands of consumers,” Rose said.

“Because the virtual reality industry has so far disappointed, the travel industry believes it doesn’t work,” said Rose. He believes travel companies should be investing in virtual reality technology now to prepare for the post-pandemic environment. That can be a difficult sale, given that consumer travel has essentially stopped for the past six weeks.

“The real value in virtual reality is in the trip planning,” he said. “Virtual reality can help people plan a real vacation.”

Further evolution of virtual reality technologies will be required to enable that, including the ability of people to organize their research and conduct real transactions through virtual reality applications. It will be a great step for the industry if people can experience destinations, check accommodation, save information, and actually book tours and rooms through virtual reality apps.

It stands to reason that the industry gets there, especially since Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is a true believer in technology and still believes that virtual reality technology will play a much bigger role in people’s lives, including how they engage in other computing activities. . The company’s latest headset, the Oculus Quest, received rave reviews last year, and many analysts see it as a breakthrough for the industry.

“Costs are going down, headphones are going down, and their power is going up,” Soderquist said. “The industry is going to get there.”

In the meantime, you can go climbing Mount Everest.