In a a recent interview with Starbreeze Games Chief of Technology, Emmanual Marquez, Dean Takahashi of GamesBeat asks the gaming executive his thoughts on VR and where VR is headed in the near future. Starbreez overall is still very bullish with VR but not necessarily with the home enthusiasts:
We’re doing Star VR. Since day one I knew it would be difficult to install VR in the home. We all know why. It’s expensive. You need space. It’s difficult to set up. It’s for geeks. When I created Star VR as a piece of hardware at Starbreeze—first of all, I did it because we believe in content, and I knew we could develop at the same time. We always planned to go for the arcades. I envisioned the console model. Console games grew out of the arcades. People played Pac-Man in cafes for years before consoles ever became successful as something everyone had at home. I think VR will follow the same path.
Admittedly, many people are disappointed with the lack of progress VR has made of the last two years. iMyth has been very bullish on the Location based, Mall driven market. In fact, iMyth has never presented itself as a Game company but rather an Immersive Experience company. Here is what Marquez had to say on the subject:
People that are disappointed by VR right now are the same people who were enthusiastic two years ago. It’s hobbyists and researchers. There are a lot of other markets, as we all know, and we work with them too, all the verticals outside of games. We know it works. We’re monitoring IMAX VR centers and stuff like that. It’s successful.
My conclusion is that the audience isn’t necessarily gamers. It’s not the normal gaming audience. It’s anyone. It’s families out on a Sunday trying this out the same way they’d go and see a movie. It’s every age, so you need to provide an experience that works for everyone.
When you get in the John Wick experience, you’re holding a real gun. Or not real, but it’s an exact replica. You don’t need an explanation of the game mechanics. You get in, you pick up the gun, and you shoot. It’s like going to the fair, the same principle. You play, win, lose, have fun, and come back. You rack up a leaderboard score and your friends try to beat you. Then you have an experience that people play together. The immersion becomes very social. VR is fun to play, but it’s also fun to watch and share.
Indeed, Immersive Experiences are meant to be social experiences. However, where Starbreeze will focus more on the Esports, game driven community, iMyth will focus on the narrative seeking community. We both have different perspectives how social collaboration will happen. Regardless, that social collaboration will be one of the keep components of VR’s success.
