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Uncover the challenges facing virtual reality (VR) gaming as it strives to break into the mainstream market

Virtual reality was set to take over at one point. Game developers were pushing out as much content as they could in an attempt to capitalize on the market, and consumers were ready for it. Even though VR had a lot of hype, especially within the gaming world, things quickly took a turn. Sales started to slow and VR suddenly wasn’t such a big deal anymore. It’s still a very niche market when you look at the bigger picture, but why?

Uncover the challenges facing virtual reality (VR) gaming as it strives to break into the mainstream market

Photo by Bradley Hook

Lack of Convenience

One big reason why virtual reality is such a niche market is because it’s simply not convenient. VR’s biggest market is gaming, and convenience is a driving factor here. As time goes on, more and more people are playing games on their phones, with a lot of them providing realistic experiences. An example here would be the fact that you can play slot games with prizes online. Games like this provide the same experience you’d get if you visited the casino, with a handful of changes but with way more convenience, such as the ability to make deposits digitally.

By going mobile, developers have also been able to expand into different themes, such as the Wild West or even deep sea fishing. As a result, the market has exploded. With VR, you have games like riding a virtual roller coaster, which is great as again, this takes the real-world experience of riding a rollercoaster and enhances it, to the point where you can do it from within the comfort of your own home. Although this is great, and it certainly replicates the formula of success when it comes to realistic gaming, there’s a major pitfall. It’s limited to the home, as you can’t just take your VR headset with you on the bus, and you can’t use it between business meetings as a form of entertainment.

The biggest challenge that VR faces as a result of this is the lack of convenience. This is a major hurdle for the tech, and unless it can be made smaller and more portable, it will probably stay as a niche market for the foreseeable future.

Uncover the challenges facing virtual reality (VR) gaming as it strives to break into the mainstream market

Photo by Fauxels

Source: Pexels

Novelty and Short-Lived Content

Another reason why VR is so short-lived is that the content available tends to be based on novelty. Most virtual reality games are fun at first, but they lose their appeal quickly. Although there are driving games out there that use this tech, and this is great as it lengthens the experience, there are some additional problems. One of them is nausea. People often find that when they play VR games, such as driving games, the constant virtual motion makes it difficult to enjoy the game over the long term. On top of this, it also makes it very difficult to immerse yourself in the experience, which is the whole point of VR.

Although VR does have other markets, the main driving force behind its adoption is gaming, and until these two problems can be solved it seems that the market will remain niche for the foreseeable future.


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