| I got to try the VOID Star Wars attraction shown in the video (although it might have been set up in a smaller space than the Disneyland installation). It was a short, scripted, minimally interactive experience. The hand and prop tracking were pretty glitchy and somewhat immersion-breaking. The equipment was heavy and ridiculously cumbersome (even compared to current consumer VR headsets). I'm sure the cost/work of setting up a system like that is basically prohibitive too. I don't think it's a great reference point for predicting the VR market in the next 5 years or so, as the cost comes down and more polished and inexpensive mass-market systems come out (like the Oculus Quest) that are cordless with good tracking. Millions of people spend huge amounts of time playing games on tiny rectangles they hold in their hands. I think it's overly skeptical to assume they won't want holodecks, if the cost is $400 and the HW/SW isn't terrible. I expect it'll at least be an increasingly less-niche gaming platform as not-terrible standalone devices come out (I tried a tennis game that was pretty fun, I'm not a gamer but I could see myself playing some VR games if it was a way to get real exercise). The current non-gaming uses like corporate/sports/military training probably will grow too as the quality and ergonomics improve. I'd really like to try a system with good body/face/eye tracking. I think that is kind of the minimum for social applications with really huge appeal. It's hard to get an idea of if it's compelling or not (or how far away it is, what needs to be improved, etc) without trying it though. |