The VR gear we wear on our face is a portal to new places that we’ve never seen before like Mt. Fuji, and be put in situations where us non-astronauts are unable to venture like outer space or another dimension altogether! VR is the ground floor for the seemingly limitless skyscraper of opportunities in business, entertainment, fitness, and well-being.
Better Headsets, Better Business
Technology is evolving at rapid speeds and the VR industry is at the forefront. In an industry that’s always learning and growing, 2018 was a big year for major headsets. The Vive got an upgrade with the release of the Vive Pro and Oculus started shipping their standalone Oculus Go headset.
The premiere of the Vive Pro and Oculus Go means a lot for business. Like the Vive, the Vive Pro can be tethered, however, much unlike its previous version, the Vive Pro will soon get a wireless adapter that will make it a professional grade wireless headset.
Adding the adapter to the headset will not only remove the annoying wire you’ve been stepping on or getting wrapped up in, the headset itself will have large room scale tracking that can be great for action-packed location-based experiences like The Void, Dreamscape Immersive, and IMAX VR.
A headset like the Oculus Go isn’t a mirror image of the PC-run Oculus like you’d think it would be. The Go headset is a consumer-friendly version of its heartier and wired precursor and exists as a standalone headset that’s fully wire-free. It supports Netflix, Hulu, and other fun games and experiences.
The main difference for us is that it cannot be played in the dynamic and active way that the CV1 Oculus can because of the lack of PC processing power and Touch controllers. Oculus is currently rumored to be developing their own wireless PC-powered headset.
Having PC-powered and wireless headsets boosts business in the VR industry because it gives studios and the people working on games, experiences, products, and even marketing those products a way to leave their mark on players, fans, and consumers looking to embrace the technology. Manufacturing better headsets also helps the large community of users become untethered and freer to move around naturally, making them more motivated to keep coming back.
Importance of Entertainment
For the VR industry, first-person action games and rhythm games have been pumping up and exciting the community more than ever. We went to the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 2018, and got a glimpse of what games VR enthusiasts can expect in the future.
A notable trend for the entertainment and gaming industry is that PlayStation VR is welcoming games like Creed: Rise to Glory, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, and Beat Saber, among other titles to their lineup of movement heavy games. Seeing the PSVR get more games that require the body to really move around and react to a game that’s happening real time is a welcome change for users that craved a less sedentary game and wanted a break from the standard button mash or mouse click.
Gaming is so important to the industry that major names like Intel, Survios, and SEGA touched down at VRLA 2018 as well. Intel and Survios joined forces to showcase the new game created after the film franchise called Creed: Rise to Glory, while SEGA’s Space Channel 5 VR got us busting a move to the music. These VR focused companies showed us how they are building up the industry by supporting and creating games that are realistic to play to the body and immersive to the mind.
Even a household name like Disney knows its a smart move to get in on the VR action! They’ve partnered with innovative MIT engineers and have created a Force Jacket. The Force Jacket is a wearable haptic jacket that simulates the feeling of having huge muscles, replicating a hug, or reproducing the impact of a snowball. We can’t wait to see what a haptic Disney adventure or game could look and feel like when we’re at the park or in VR at home in the future.
VR isn’t landlocked, it’s seeing some air time with iFLY Indoor Skydiving. Yes, you read that right, skydiving! People who are looking for an interesting date night, a reason to get your heart racing, or a way to get over the fear of heights can wear a VR headset and jump out of a virtual airplane at 13,00 feet with spectacularly filmed views. Skydivers strap on a headset, wear the flight suit, are kept safe by being held onto by an attendant, and take the plunge with wind flying through their hair and the epic force of falling being replicated.
Above All, Fitness and Well-Being
If you’ve been following VR Fitness Insider you know that we take VR gaming and fitness seriously and want to help our readers take steps small and large towards health and well-being. We know that improving your virtual experience can begin with a helpful adjustment to your headset like adding a pair of prescription lenses from VR Lens Lab or it can mean finding new VR fitness games!
VR has been super effective for Kevin William, Gabriel Moss, and has helped many others lose weight, feel more confident, and are keeping those pesky pounds from creeping back with VR fitness. Readers come to our site to get helpful tips and have even gone on to become contributors that keep us in the know about which games are best for conditioning and fitness and how to turn games like Skyrim VR into a 1000 calorie burning exercise routine!
Virtual reality is becoming so mainstream in the fitness industry that there are athlete-backed gyms and exercise machine companies like the award-winning Black Box VR cable resistance machine and the Icaros flying simulator and ab workout machine (for home and business) seeing success. Both fitness machines come equipped with immersive, challenging, and results-based games to keep your mind off the grind and onto your goals!
When our brain needs a moment to reboot or to recharge, the body will feel less motivated to go one more round against a flurry of jabs or hitting beats on Expert or Hard. A company like Orpheus Technodelics has meditative and trippy experiences like SoundSelf and Microdose VR to help navigate your mind away from what worries you and more towards what will help you get to your own happy place.
We use tissues when we sneeze and wash our hands with soap and water to make it hard for unseeable germs and gross things like sweat to be passed onto other players. With all the sweat and oil from a player over time, it’s no wonder VR Cover has created disposable covers that are great for businesses that require individual covers for headsets that are used frequently and at high volumes. They also have washable fabric covers that are better for home use and can be swapped out between players easily, so your friend who just got over a cold won’t have to borrow yours when they play.
Cleanbox is a small to large scale hygiene solution for VR venues like VR expos, festivals, location-based experiences, arcades, gyms, and anywhere VR headsets pop up. We first saw Cleanbox at VRLA and saw the ease of loading a VR headset into their machine and watching the UV system sanitize and dry it quickly for use. If you have a line of players out the door or are accumulating a following, businesses will get a chemical and waste-free option for creating a clean playing and gaming environment for their visitors every time they use a VR headset.
The Wrap Up
We’re only halfway through the year and VR is the newest frontier. There are so many opportunities in business, entertainment, fitness, and well-being that exist and many more that are waiting to be discovered. We’re excited about what the industry’s top and future innovators will come up with next.