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August 9, 2015

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Home 禄 Sunday 禄 Technology

Virtual reality ready to explode

By Zhu Shenshen | August 9, 2015, Sunday | Print Edition

If technology companies get their way virtual reality is going to become a much bigger part of our lives and will be used for much more than games.

Nokia, Sony, HTC, Microsoft, Oculus and LeTV are staking their claims to the growing market. In 2016, sales of virtual reality gadgets, such as headsets allowing players to play games without using their hands, will hit 140 million units, compared with “very limited sales” thus far, according to researcher TrendForce.

Games have so far been the major application for the technology because it requires relatively less investment. In the future, virtual reality is expected to be used in online shopping, tourism, social media and even for virtual sex.

‘It’s a dreamland’

Firms like Intel, Sony and LeTV all showcased prototype products at ChinaJoy, the country’s biggest game show held annually in Shanghai that ended on August 2.

Mio Chen tried Sony’s Morpheus headset and was watching a virtual Miko concert.

“It’s a dreamland,” said the veteran IT website editor. “It’s a better experience than the real concert I was at in the Mercedes-Benz Arena.”

She was able to get as close as she wanted to Miko and even “touched” her.

Sony said it was the product’s first demonstration on the Chinese mainland.

LeTV, which offers online video content and TV, showacased virtual reality devices including a wearable headset and a gun for first-person shooting games. It aims to offer up to 20 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion) to share revenue with game developer partners to develop this side of its business.

Users can shoot and run in supported games as the device connects with TVs wirelessly.

Nokia plans to launch the Nokia OZO VR Camera, which looks like something from another dimension. It’s a ball-like camera for 360-degree 3D virtual reality capturing. It includes eight sensors and built-in microphones.

Although Nokia said there was timetable for its commercial debut, the OZO is widely expected to be a hit in Hollywood and with advertising firms.

Facebook, which paid US$2 billion for virtual reality game device maker Oculus in 2014, and plans to integrate virtual reality technology with the world’s largest social network. One day in the future a virtual coffee meeting between two Facebook friends in Shanghai and New York may be possible.

E-commerce websites also are interested in the technology. They believe shoppers will be encouraged to buy more apparel and other products online. Though it’s still in its infancy, it’s just a matter of time before shoppers are able to “try on” shoes, glasses and clothes through devices such as Nokia’s OZO.

Virtual reality is also expected to have a big impact in the adult content arena. By 2025, adult content will become the third largest segment — behind only games and sports — of the virtual reality market with a value of US$1 billion, according to Marketwatch. As Chen said, “It’s the start of a whole new era.”

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