Just a few years ago, virtual reality was poised to take over the world. After decades of near misses, the revolution finally seemed imminent, with slick consumer headsets about to hit the market and industries from gaming and entertainment to social media ready to hop on the bandwagon.
But the buzz over VR has faded to a whisper. At the CES 2019 tech show in Las Vegas, FacebookB次元官网网址檚 Oculus unit isnB次元官网网址檛 holding any glitzy press events, just closed-door demos for its upcoming Oculus Quest, a $399 untethered headset due out in the spring. Other VR companies are similarly subdued. HTC announced two new headsets B次元官网网址� one with only sketchy details B次元官网网址� while Sony has some kiosks for its $300 PlayStation VR set in the main hall.
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ItB次元官网网址檚 a world away from the scene a few years ago, when VR products from Samsung, Oculus, HTC and Sony seemed omnipresent and unstoppable at CES. These days, VR is mostly a niche product for gaming and business training, held back by expensive, clunky headsets, a paucity of interesting software and other technological shortcomings.
B次元官网网址淰R hasnB次元官网网址檛 escaped the early adopter, gamer-oriented segment,B次元官网网址� said Forrester analyst J.P. Gownder B次元官网网址� himself an early adopter who chafed in 2016 at delays in shipping FacebookB次元官网网址檚 then-groundbreaking Oculus Rift system. Gownder said many existing VR setups are still too hard to use; even simpler mobile systems like SamsungB次元官网网址檚 Gear VR, he said, donB次元官网网址檛 offer B次元官网网址渁 clear reason for the average non-gamer to get involved.B次元官网网址�
VR proponents are still dreaming big, although the challenges remain formidable. Shipments of VR headsets rose 8 per cent in the third quarter compared to the previous year, to 1.9 million units, according to data research firm International Data Corp. B次元官网网址� an uptick that followed four consecutive quarters of decline . Nearly a quarter of a million units of FacebookB次元官网网址檚 Oculus Go and XiaomiB次元官网网址檚 Mi VR B次元官网网址� the same stand-alone VR headset, sold under different names in different markets B次元官网网址� shipped worldwide in the quarter, IDC said.
Those still arenB次元官网网址檛 huge numbers for a technology that seemed to hold such promise in 2012 when early demonstrations of the Oculus Rift wowed audiences B次元官网网址� so much that Facebook acquired Oculus for $2 billion two years later. Despite large sums ploughed into the field by Facebook, Sony, Samsung, Microsoft and Google, VR hasnB次元官网网址檛 yet made much of a dent in the real world.
Some of the biggest consumer complaints involve expense, laggy or glitchy graphics and the fact that many systems still tether the headsets to gaming consoles or PCs. B次元官网网址淭echnology is still whatB次元官网网址檚 holding VR back,B次元官网网址� said eMarketer analyst Victoria Petrock. Upcoming stand-alone headsets like the Oculus Quest could solve some of those problems.
More alarming, though, VR still suffers from a lack of hit software. Many major game publishers have largely avoided the field so far, and venture funding for VR software development has nosedived this year.
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SuperData, a digital games and VR market research company owned by Nielsen Holdings, estimates that consumer VR software investments dropped by a stunning 59 per cent in 2018, to $173 million from $420 million the year before.
Software makers are retrenching. IMAX said in late December it was shutting down its VR unit. Jaunt, a startup focused on cinematic VR and once backed by Disney, restructured this year. Its new focus? VRB次元官网网址檚 cousin technology, B次元官网网址渁ugmented reality,B次元官网网址� which paints consumer-simulated objects into the real world, a la the cartoony monsters of B次元官网网址淧okemon Go.B次元官网网址�
A few games have been modest hits. B次元官网网址淏eat SaberB次元官网网址� a VR game in which players move a lightsaber to music, sold over 100,000 copies in its first month and became the seventh highest-rated game on Steam, according to Forbes. But such titles are few and far between.
ThereB次元官网网址檚 one other problem: VR isnB次元官网网址檛 very social, Petrock said. ThereB次元官网网址檚 no easy way to share the experience with others on social media or within the games themselves, making a VR experience less likely to go viral the way, say, B次元官网网址淔ortniteB次元官网网址� has. B次元官网网址淵ou have your headset strapped on and youB次元官网网址檙e in a virtual world but it is solitary,B次元官网网址� she said.
VR B次元官网网址渋s still is the next big thing, but anything good takes time and effort,B次元官网网址� said Gartner analyst Tuong Nguyen. B次元官网网址淭he industry as a whole did overhype it.B次元官网网址�
He compares the current VR industry to the TV industry when HDTV first came out. People bought new high-definition sets but were disappointed when there wasnB次元官网网址檛 anything to watch in the new format. For VR, B次元官网网址渢he kind of breadth and depth of content isnB次元官网网址檛 all quite there,B次元官网网址� he said.
Mae Anderson, The Associated Press
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