VR has a massive hurdle to get over. You can't expect people to drop $600 on a headset _and_ (at least) $1k on a machine that can run it.
Costs will come down, but 2017 won't be the year. I expect VR to grow, but only in the gaming market.
Costs will come down, but 2017 won't be the year. I expect VR to grow, but only in the gaming market.
I'm more interested in AR, personally. But it's hard for me to articulate why exactly because honestly I don't have much experience with it yet. It just seems more interesting to me. I'd really like to get a Hololens to start experimenting with, but can't really justify the cost of it right now.
(disclosure: I work for Microsoft, which makes Hololens. Not meaning to promote it, these are my personal opinions)
I work at an AEC firm. We give money and some privilege to 2-3 people at work to experiment with VR. It's interesting to some degree but, beyond being a marketing tool, I don't really see it being useful as a professional tool any time soon.
These things are hard to call though, like anything in future tech (or the future in general). They consider it revolutionary new tech whereas I'm on the side of "shiny new toy" and "wait and see" but the powers that be have no issue spending the money on it while I see some of core competencies and actual training for the future being ignored (transitions to BIM and training in better 3D modeling programs).
Not my company or money though.
I, and I think enough other people, already have a $1k+ PC for the huge amount of non-VR games it gives access to.
But the big catch for me is that there just doesn't seem to be enough content that will work with and (more importantly) be enhanced by a VR experience. I simply don't have the cash-on-hand to justify spending ~$800 to make Elite Dangerous slightly more immersive. But if a good VR headset was more in the $200 range (like the very similarly limited hotas I bought for the same reason) I would probably jump.
It does seem like this year may bring the cost of the devices down low enough that more devs and more audience can get on board and bring it in to the main stream because it is very nearly there already.
* Headset Pricing: Major OEMs will be releasing headsets starting at $300 [0]
* Lowering system specs for VR [1]
* Not just a gaming focus: Windows 10 creators update puts an emphasis on 3D and Mixed-Reality, including a 'holographic' interface [2]
[0] http://1reddrop.com/2017/01/06/microsoft-announces-299-windo... [1] http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2016/12/08/microsoft-unveils... [2] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/upcoming-features
It honestly feels like only minor improvements in size/speed/usability will make it massively useful in normal life very soon.
Take theaters for example. They have been looking for a market for years but since people have screens and streaming at home they don't tend to go as much. However they could find a new life by purchasing VR headsets in bulk and selling livestreams of plays/musicals/operas, and possibly sports games as well. These will always be experiences better seen live, but VR would be a significant step above television.
That way someone could enjoy VR at a very low cost, and possibly spur them to buy a headset themselves, when the price is right.
GTX 970 = $155: http://ebay.com/itm/371833128329
GTX 980 = $235: http://ebay.com/itm/291993305929
Gaming PC with GTX 970 = $540: http://ebay.com/itm/112250177638
Gaming PC with GTX 1070 = $690: http://ebay.com/itm/222369412011