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, Facebook91裸聊视频檚 Oculus unit isn91裸聊视频檛 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 91裸聊视频� one with only sketchy details 91裸聊视频� while Sony has some kiosks for its $300 PlayStation VR set in the main hall.
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It91裸聊视频檚 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.
91裸聊视频淰R hasn91裸聊视频檛 escaped the early adopter, gamer-oriented segment,91裸聊视频� said Forrester analyst J.P. Gownder 91裸聊视频� himself an early adopter who chafed in 2016 at delays in shipping Facebook91裸聊视频檚 then-groundbreaking Oculus Rift system. Gownder said many existing VR setups are still too hard to use; even simpler mobile systems like Samsung91裸聊视频檚 Gear VR, he said, don91裸聊视频檛 offer 91裸聊视频渁 clear reason for the average non-gamer to get involved.91裸聊视频�
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. 91裸聊视频� an uptick that followed four consecutive quarters of decline . Nearly a quarter of a million units of Facebook91裸聊视频檚 Oculus Go and Xiaomi91裸聊视频檚 Mi VR 91裸聊视频� the same stand-alone VR headset, sold under different names in different markets 91裸聊视频� shipped worldwide in the quarter, IDC said.
Those still aren91裸聊视频檛 huge numbers for a technology that seemed to hold such promise in 2012 when early demonstrations of the Oculus Rift wowed audiences 91裸聊视频� 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 hasn91裸聊视频檛 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. 91裸聊视频淭echnology is still what91裸聊视频檚 holding VR back,91裸聊视频� 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? VR91裸聊视频檚 cousin technology, 91裸聊视频渁ugmented reality,91裸聊视频� which paints consumer-simulated objects into the real world, a la the cartoony monsters of 91裸聊视频淧okemon Go.91裸聊视频�
A few games have been modest hits. 91裸聊视频淏eat Saber91裸聊视频� 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.
There91裸聊视频檚 one other problem: VR isn91裸聊视频檛 very social, Petrock said. There91裸聊视频檚 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, 91裸聊视频淔ortnite91裸聊视频� has. 91裸聊视频淵ou have your headset strapped on and you91裸聊视频檙e in a virtual world but it is solitary,91裸聊视频� she said.
VR 91裸聊视频渋s still is the next big thing, but anything good takes time and effort,91裸聊视频� said Gartner analyst Tuong Nguyen. 91裸聊视频淭he industry as a whole did overhype it.91裸聊视频�
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 wasn91裸聊视频檛 anything to watch in the new format. For VR, 91裸聊视频渢he kind of breadth and depth of content isn91裸聊视频檛 all quite there,91裸聊视频� he said.
Mae Anderson, The Associated Press
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