There are hundreds of millions of gamers on consoles VR cardboard kits are also available. These have the and PCs, and many of them buy hardware accessories virtue of being low cost, often less than $10 and 139 141 to improve their game play . However, the vast frequently given away . But they can be fragile as 140 majority of the top selling peripherals are $30-50 . they are self-assembled and because of the material. Only a minority of these gamers may want to spend Low cost variants lack features such as nose supports, over $300 on additional equipment such as graphics causing discomfort with prolonged use. Most of them cards, liquid cooling for processors or other special lack the strap to attach it to your head and require devices. a person to hold it in their hands; this in turn eliminates the motion sickness caused by slow phone refresh rates, ‘Mobile VR’ incorporates a high-end smartphone’s but reduces the immersion that the user is experiencing. screen into a special case, enabling the headset to fit more-or-less snugly on the user’s head. This is likely to As for VR content, we would expect most revenue cost from about $100, and we forecast that at least half generated to come from games sales, with titles sold a million units will be sold in 2016. Mobile VR requires at between $5 and $40, generating over $300 million. smartphones with large, high resolution screens, ideally Many of the apps created for smartphones are likely to with greater than 400 pixels per inch (PPI) resolution, be available for under $10 or free, with the latter serving 142 which is higher than that for the average premium primarily as marketing tools . smartphone. We expect that VR-ready smartphones will cost from $750 and up but that most purchasers of We do not expect VR to be used to any great extent mobile VR will already be owners of a suitable device. in television or movies in 2016. A key reason for VR’s minimal impact on TV and movies this year is that little Both types of VR would provide a high quality VR VR content exists, with a fundamental constraint being experience, with the caliber of full feature VR being the lack of broadcast grade or even hobbyist cameras noticeably superior, at least in 2016 and out to 2020. capable of capturing VR content. VR apps will be The processor and pixel density requirements require available, but we expect these typically to offer a view a lot of power, with plug in power being ideal. of a virtualized living room which includes a virtual 143 A smartphone being used for VR may exhaust its battery television set, displaying regular TV programs in 2D . after half an hour. Mobile VR will rely on accelerometers for tracking and lacks positional tracking, which may By the start of 2016, we anticipate a small range cause a little lag. Furthermore, the field of vision in of suitable cameras may have been launched onto full feature VR should be slightly superior, at about the market, but the cost of purchasing or renting 100 degrees or wider, while a smartphone tends to offer professional grade devices may initially be prohibitive for 144 a field of 96 degrees at most. many projects . VR can be experienced with lower specification PCs, Furthermore, as was the case with 3D filming for consoles or smartphone, but the quality degrades television, there is likely to be a learning curve in 145 accordingly. A normal PC would deliver lower screen determining best practices for shooting for VR . refresh rates, lessening the efficacy of the simulation. Regular filming places the set in front of the camera, The images shown may lag the pace of a turning and the production crew to the rear and out of shot. head, in turn causing a feeling of nausea, as the image VR filming may require the crew to disappear entirely, presented would not be what the brain expects. which may complicate the directing of the shots. One can also use standard resolution smartphones, but For VR sports, it is not yet certain where best to place you would likely see pixelated, less convincing images. the camera: placing it in the center of a field and in the A smartphone screen that is pixel free at normal viewing mid-point of the action would likely constrain players’ distances (10 cm) is likely to appear pixelated when movements. a mere 1-2 cm away from the eye. Smartphone vendors are unlikely to over-specify pixel density unless they can monetize it. Also, mobile graphics chips have to get powerful enough to cope with such high resolutions. Technology, Media & Telecommunications Predictions 2016 23