The SCENE by Seymore Flix - 7 Jan. '15

Virtual Reality (VR) - It's Here - But Not Really

You have probably heard or read something about Oculus Rift, the much hyped VR headset that is going to turn digitally-based games and entertainment into a virtual life experience.  In fact, Facebook (which purchased Oculus Rift for a tiddy $2 billion) is betting that this technology is the next coming in the digital domain.

Oculus Rift Headset w/headphones

The Oculus Rift is a headset device which provides a 360 degree visual of 'whatever'. It has moved, since its intro two years ago, from a status of novelty to mainstream. "I knew that virtual reality would become important to the public at some point, but I thought it would take a much longer time", Rift founder, Palmer Luckey told CMG. "I did not take into account the fact that unlike some new technologies, VR is already an established concept."

All that said, it now appears that Facebook won't have a monopoly on VR. Google is planning to ship 500,000 units of its $45 Cardboard VR headset (it is literally made out of cardboard).  Samsung, not far behind, has a forthcoming $200 Gear VR.  Rift will be priced in the $200 - 400 range upon its release.  Price will be a determining factor as will reliability and ease of use but the technology must also have 'scale' - which means that it is being widely accepted by consumers which then draws in advertisers.

Google's Cardboard VR Headset

A recent survey by market research firm Deep Focus, reported that 51% of young adults (21-34) had heard of Oculus Rift and other VR devices, but the key driver to success will be the tie-in with video games.  Gaming will be the gateway to wide adoption of VR devices.  More VR headsets on faces will push more content - it's another chicken and egg situation, and VR content is expensive to produce - a 3 minute video is over $1 million.

My take is that VR will have a very steep adoption curve but in the long run could be used for many types of marketing by many different companies.  The virtual sense of being somewhere or in someplace is very powerful.  It brings the image to life that no regular video or screen can - it is immersive but yet confining as you have to wear a large headset (at least for now).


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Seymore Flix