Rebellion have to date had a good run with virtual reality (VR) videogames with the release of Battlezone and the upcoming Arca’s Path. That said though, CEO Jason Kingsley has recently discussed how the adoption rate of VR is less then the company had hoped for in an interview with Pocket-lint.
“I’m a great believer in VR. It does something different to non-VR,” Kingsley explains. “It hasn’t become mainstream yet in the way that we would hope. But, at the same time, it’s a very compelling technology when you’re properly immersed in something. Each medium brings its own things and VR is one of those where you can truly feel that you are exploring a different landscape.”
What is interesting about Kingsley’s comments on the growth of the VR market is the focus on the long term goal rather than the short term. He mentions that the investment from the users is strong and a very exciting factor in working on VR titles. He notes the slow adoption rate of colour TV which, when it was introduced, took some time for a majority of households to bring the technology into their house. With the ever growing hardware options available to consumers and prices slowly coming down, the long term adoption of the technology will surely be larger.
“I have high hopes for VR. I think VR games are a bit different. We’ll know in a few years.” Kingsley adds. “The great thing about the games industry is it is no longer niche. We are arguably one of the biggest creative industries in the world, so we can afford to sub-divide ourselves down a little bit. Like different categories of music, there are different categories of games and there should therefore be different categories of display. VR is one of those.”
Rebellion are playing the long game with their VR strategy and if they continue to deliver strong titles, it will surely pay off. The market is already seeing some big steps forward both in software and hardware that will ensure it lasts for years to come and it will be interesting to see if Rebellion were right for aiming long term. VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest from the company in the future so make sure to stay tuned for more.
via Mint VR