On the function that virtual reality technology will play in the Metaverse, experts have expressed a variety of opinions.
Given its slow acceptance rates, analysts predict that virtual reality (VR) will ultimately have a position inside the Metaverse, but not in the near future.
Few things compare to the sensation of being nearly completely submerged in a virtual environment, which is why many people think the technology will naturally fit into the Metaverse.
With the introduction of Meta accounts, which the company claims will make it easier for customers to access its Meta Horizons platform using Oculus VR headsets, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is making a significant investment on this technology.
Mary Spio, the founder and CEO of CEEK, is another person promoting the VR metaverse. According to Spio, people must be completely engaged through the use of VR equipment in order to experience its full potential.
Musicians and sportsmen may communicate directly with their following in a virtual environment with the aid of Spio’s platform CEEK.
According to Spio, her platform chose to concentrate on VR immersion because “the benefits of the Metaverse cannot be fully realized in the non-VR mode:”
“Virtual Reality enables full immersion and creates that sense of presence, real emotions and memories; no different than actually being at a time and place in real life.”
However, Spio acknowledges that in order for VR technology to be widely adopted, both VR and non-VR accessibility must be supported in their metaverse. These three factors include content, usability, and accessibility.
According to her, a “quantum leap will be in the next two to three years” for Metaverse and VR adoption.
The CEO of Everyrealm, a company that creates metaverse ecosystems, Janine Yorio, disagrees.
According to Yorio, Metaverse platforms and VR technologies should advance independently of one another without taking each other into account.
According to her assessment, only a very tiny proportion of Metaverse experiences are being developed for VR, such as CEEK, and she notes that it is unlikely that VR will significantly alter the course of history any time soon.
This is due to “technical hurdles” and people’s natural inclination for technology’s most informal uses:
“People typically game or engage with technology while they are doing something else. That is impossible when using a VR headset which effectively blocks out the rest of the world and makes the user physically vulnerable while using it.”
Her assertion is supported by statistics, which, according to Virtual Reality Marketing, show that in 2021, there will only be 2.4 VR headsets per 100 households, with a market size of roughly $4.8 billion. Compare that to Web2 metaverse firms, which have a market valuation of $14.8 trillion, and the metaverse token market, which is valued at $7.1 billion, per CoinGecko.
Rick Pearce, the creative and technical director of Human Park, adopted a neutral approach in the meanwhile.
Due to developer-side constraints and other barriers to broad adoption, he said in an interview that it may take five to 10 years before VR becomes a Metaverse-ready item, however he did acknowledge that VR implementation “isn’t off the cards.”
According to Pearce, the headgear presents the biggest challenge, which Oculus has mostly overcome by making it more widely available. But for at least the next five years, connection and gaming will continue to be significant challenges.
Pearce added that some of the limitations of integrating VR and the Metaverse may have no solution because of “physical limitations that stop those things from connecting on a fundamental level:”
“When we saw VR kickoff, you could see that there was potential. But the mechanical components to be able to deliver a sustained enjoyable experience just weren’t there, and they still aren’t now.”
Although VR has not yet been included to Human Park’s platform, it is a potential future addition.
