As someone that is passionate about the gaming industry and the technological advancement of video games I often wonder about what the near future holds for the global gaming community. With an endless list of options and possibilities the truth is the could go in virtually any direction. I've written on this blog recently about Virtual Reality, its applications and limitations and I must say i believe that Virtual The truth is where the gaming industry is naturally heading. Gamers are trying to find a far more immersive experience with regards to gaming, that is evident with releases from the three game giants Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony in the form of the Wiimote, Project Natal and the Sony Motion Controller (yet to be officially named). I believe these control systems are just the beginning in the industry's quest for a fully immersive video game experience and we can expect some much bigger developments in the foreseeable future. Our desire to have an immersive gaming experience originates from an inner have to escape from the stress and worries of the real world and the necessity to add spice to our lives with adventure, video gaming can provide that and I really believe will provide that to some extent.
Although Virtual Reality is not a new technology I really believe it will create a revolution in the gaming industry and provide a whole new era of development. The reason why we're not seeing it emerge in the market yet is down to the enormous cost to implement the technology and for this reason I believe that video game arcades will experience a revival. Even in the future the price of Virtual Reality will obviously reduce but the price will still be significant so it is unlikely we'll see a full home application for Virtual Reality for some time. I believe this can result in in what I love to call the VRcade (most likely not a genuine name), a gaming arcade arranged in booths kitted out with the equipment necessary for an immersive gaming experience where the customers pay per hour to use a Virtual Reality simulation booth. Imagine combining https://www.adventure-vault.com/deerfield-beach/virtual-reality including the omni-directional treadmill, voice recognition, motion sensors and Virtual Reality and applying them to a VR booth in the conceptual VRcade. You'd have almost a completely immersive gaming experience enabling you to walk, run or crawl in a virtual environment and also speak and connect to computer generated characters. You could even interact and talk to real life characters in the virtual environment by networking the VR booths.
This concept might seem generations away but just by looking at Xbox's upcoming control system Project Natal you can see that already most of the technologies necessary for the virtual reality experience are there. Voice recognition has been developed to a sophisticated stage, motion sensor technology is now highly advanced and computer graphics reach an even where they're close to photorealism. It again boils down to cost of implementation and the amount of time and money it would take to create a new gaming platform of the magnitude and apply it to gaming arcades. It could be a large gamble to have a project of this description on and this gaming experience obviously wouldn't be accessible to everyone because the VRcades would need to be located in areas with a high population density to be profitable.
It is highly unlikely that we'll see anything such as this being developed in the immediate future but I really believe VR technology is definitely the savior of the video game arcade and will provide an experience far superior to the one you can get from the home console or computer. Eventually I'm sure VR will fully integrate itself in to the home and advancements in technology provides an experience like the VRcade but I imagine a fully immersive VR system for your bedroom is decades away which is a complete different article to create. I will be keeping a detailed eye on VR technology as I'm almost certain that VR is the inevitable future for the video game industry.