2020 is VR's make-or-break year
In the nearly four years since the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive hit retail shelves, VR has gone from being the most exciting new computing medium around -- something that could be as transformational as the internet itself -- to a niche accessory for gamers with too much money. New headsets have come and gone, cheap mobile VR was briefly popular (before going extinct) and standalone virtual reality devices have finally arrived. It'd be wrong to say there's been no progress in the world of VR, but it still feels as if we're waiting for it to truly take off as a medium.
Where's the killer app? Where's the affordable hardware that everyone can buy (that doesn't deliver a dumbed down experience)? How, exactly, will developers make money without releasing yet another zombie game? There's still so much left up in the air for a medium that arrived amid a torrent of hype.
Looking ahead to 2020, though, there are signs that things could shape up. Valve's upcoming
Half-Life: Alyx is exactly the sort of VR exclusive that could push gamers to pick up a headset. There's already an uproar among Half-Life fans about the game being available only in VR, with no way to play it on a traditional monitor. Clearly, Valve is leaving money on the table by doing that, but it's also a sign that it's dedicated to the new medium. And if it's a success,
Half-Life: Alyx will also prove to other developers that it's worth taking a risk on VR.
