For decades, writers and directors have envisioned the possibility of creating virtual realities where people can immerse themselves in a world different from their own. When reading or watching these stories people awed at the idea in disbelief that it would ever be conceivable.
How wrong we were!
As we proceed further into a technological age, what we could only have been imagined in books or movies is becoming more and more probable in the modern world—with all the major technology companies, such as Samsung, Sony, and Google, working relentlessly on developing these products for the common man to enjoy.
A vast amount of money is already being spent on these services, with around 14.7 Billion spent last year on developing these products. This is already set to nearly double this year, with experts projecting that by 2022, expenditure on VR is likely to grow to more than $209 Million.
Already today, you can pick up a decent headset for between $90-$400 with ease and experience your first taste of VR. However, with that amount being spent, what we could have in 5 years would make current devices primitive in comparison as we move towards what we previously could have only dreamt of.
Is the future Now?
Of course, the main stakeholders of these types of devices are the entertainment companies in the world. Whether that be movies, gaming, or anything that requires the use of your eyes to create an immersive experience.
The advancement of visual technology has already seen the quality of these mediums improve at an intense rate over the last 50 years. One example of this is the Star Wars franchise. If we compare how the first Star Wars looked in the 1977 and how they look now, it is incredible to see the change. The same goes for gaming. If you were to look at the gameplay of Pac-Man and then at the massively popular Call of Duty series, the changes are remarkable.
Even casino entertainment has changed its whole dynamic with the amount of gambling happening online now. These online casinos include live online casinos, with real people dealing the cards that you can interact with, which you can find more about at livecasinoonline.ca. In contrast, some online casinos have even launched their own virtual casino services already.
The fact is in the modern age; people need to not only be able to sit and enjoy entertainment, they need to be part of it too. That’s why nearly all forms of entertainment are starting to be created by the people for the people.
YouTube paved the way for this form of entertainment in the early 2000s, being one of the first platforms to allow people to create content and then pass it on to a global audience with ease. Now we have many different platforms for this, with the platform Twitch.tv allowing users not even to play themselves but watch others live to stream their gaming experience. Although some may be confused about what there is to gain from such a practice, it is trendy, with thousands of users tuning in to watch these streams every month.
Moreover, a huge increase in E-sports, where people compete either in teams or alone against others in a computer-generated world, has been witnessed too. There are even e-gaming tournaments where you can win millions. In fact, Esports have now become so popular that people are now willing to bet on them, and they are already being considered as a potential Olympic event.
With this considered, there is already a solid argument to say that there is very little difference between real-life experiences and online ones, barring the fact that latter happens on a screen?
With Virtual Reality, the line between the two will become increasingly more blurred, and at the rate, it is growing, it might not be long until more and more of us will not only get our kicks from the virtual reality world, but also make our money and live our lives on it.
Whether this sounds like a dream come true or the worst dystopian nightmare you could imagine, the likelihood of its occurrence is one thing that is becoming more and more real.
