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PSVR

Virtual reality has the potential to reshape the entire gaming industry, but its early days for the engineering. A recent survey by the UBM Game Network, which runs the Virtual Reality Developer's Conference, GDC, and Gamasutra.com polled VR developers on their preferred platforms, game development plans, and long-term confidence in the medium.

The first surprise was that game developers prefer the HTC Vive over the Oculus Rift, though the gap between the ii is adequately small, at 5.4 percentage points. This question immune for more than one answer, which is why the percentages add up to well over 100%.

VR-Developers1

There are a few things to go along in listen when evaluating this data. Outset, the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are Windows-specific, while Google Cardboard and GearVR are both Android-only. At that place are 3rd-party utilities and some workarounds to go some Windows games working in VR on Samsung's headset, only nothing officially supported past Samsung itself. PlayStation VR is a minority interest, at least among the developers Gamasutra surveyed. There are 19 games currently listed on Sony'due south PlayStation VR site, but but seven of them are launch titles for the platform's debut. We may see increased programmer interest if the PSVR sells well.

VR-Developers2

Asked which platform they would support with their next title, developers didn't give Oculus a lot of positive news, though the survey notes that "a large number of respondents skipped answering this question." Developers, it seems, are very bullish on the potential for VR (upwardly of 95% thought VR and AR were a sustainable growth market place), but non certain they'll go along to pump their own funds into it. It'due south not hard to see why — another survey question reveals that well-nigh 50% of VR developers are currently cocky-funded. Current success will exist critical to kick-starting a larger ecosystem and alluring development dollars.

Most of the developers surveyed (78.1%) said that they would create content for multiple platforms rather than accepting some type of vendor lock-in or exclusivity. The survey didn't specify time frames, which means developers could have answered the question thinking that the exclusivity was temporary or permanent.

The hurdles

Developers identified the same major hurdles between widespread VR adoption and the current state of technology that nosotros've written almost over the past few years. Nausea and cost are critical barriers to VR's overall success — if a game makes people sick, or costs thousands of dollars to allow a family to play together, it'south not going to fly. Killer apps are also seen equally a must-have, and again, Sony'due south PSVR is seen equally essential.

"AR is more than feasible for mass market adoption than VR since information technology tin can be washed with phones (eg Pokemon Become) while VR volition continue to have to figure out a residuum for hardware," one respondent wrote. "I predict that pre-built standard computers will eventually become the norm for VR because of the convenience to the consumer (similar consoles). If Sony'southward PSVR takes off it could shape the future of this applied science a lot."

Locomotion was also named as a cardinal problem facing the VR market. Solutions exist, just for now the problem of managing thespian motion is critical to creating games in VR space. This is a non-trivial issue — movement was one reason why Kinect never took off, along with a lack of buttons or whatsoever ability to interface with one's surroundings. Room-scale VR requires substantial dedicated infinite, and there's no standard or agreed-upon solution for managing the issue.

Obviously it's still early on days for the VR industry, and nosotros'll see programmer opinions continue to change and evolve as games and platforms ship. Still, it's interesting to see the importance fastened to Sony's push into VR, as well as the focus on the HTC Vive over the cheaper, heavily hyped Oculus Rift.