The technology needed a little bit of time to become relevant, but virtual reality is officially a lot of fun. Yeah, the headsets cost a lot, and of course we can expect the games and other experiences to get better. But there are great games to play already, and the technology has already expanded and improved by leaps and bounds. In another few years, VR entertainment might be more or less what we hoped it would be in our glossiest dreams.
Improved games are a given. But here are some more awesome VR entertainment possibilities we don’t talk about as much….
1. First Person Films
It was actually pretty early on in the VR revolution that film started to be involved. The most famous experience was probably one revolving around the popular film The Martian, which essentially put users in the role of Matt Damon’s character doing this and that to survive in a Mars colony. Somewhat surprisingly there haven’t been many imitations of this program, but it’s almost a guarantee that there will be. The 2015 film Hardcore Henry may have actually given us the best hint of what to expect, as it put viewers in the first person perspective of an action hero. That was an ordinary film though. The same concept applied to VR, for a full-length movie, would be – and will be – an incredible experience.
2. Live Betting Action
The idea of watching sports in virtual reality is pretty exciting in and of itself. Imagine that instead of watching your favorite basketball team on TV, you can virtually seat yourself in the arena and watch at least somewhat as if you were there in person. Now, however, add a more interactive element to things, and you can theoretically enjoy the same experience, gameified. In-play services are becoming popular at betting platforms already, with more and more bettors preferring to place bets on events that have already started. And the chance to do this while engaging with a sport in virtual reality is already something that’s being discussed. You could be virtually enjoying a game from a stadium seat and simply call up betting options to appear before you in real time.
3. Brand New Sports
We’ve already discussed sports a little bit with regard got betting, and there are already a few different ways in which VR interacts with sports. It’s said that in addition to viewing random games and betting, anyone will be able to “attend” the Super Bowl, for instance. It’s also believed that in due time developers will figure out how to make engaging sports games in VR, though it hasn’t really happened yet. But the potential for new sports has been undersold. Virtual reality simply allows us to do things that human beings can’t do: flying, jumping massive distances, using inhuman strength, and all sorts of other things. These virtual capabilities open the door to limitless creativity in conceiving new sports altogether, which in the future will likely be played in virtual leagues.
4. Social Networks
This is at the same time a simple and somewhat mind-blowing idea. Basically, imagine your favorite social networks now as if they were traversable in interactive, 3D space. It’s actually almost like what Nintendo tried to pull off with its “Mii” characters, which acted as users’ avatars and could visit and interact with each other across the Nintendo network. The same thing from a VR perspective, however, and with a bit more of a realistic socialization quality, could revolutionize the very idea of social media.
