In the past three years, virtual reality technology has continued to improve making it more affordable and engaging for the mass market. The new Oculus Rift headset was released earlier this year and looks as though it may reinvigorate the VR market and encourage further innovations.
We are still some way off the VR possibilities predicted by the mainstream media in the 80s and 90s. Despite that, the future looks bright for VR, especially outside of the gaming world where the technology could revolutionize a number of industries such as…
Gambling…
The internet has had the most significant impact on the gambling industry in the last one hundred years and VR could have a similar effect. Live streaming casinos are already a reality for online gamblers and virtual reality casinos seem to be the obvious progression.
In the United Kingdom, online gambling casinos account for a third of the country’s annual gross gambling yield. A move towards VR casinos would only tighten the remote sector’s grip on the industry.
VR could be lethal for established gambling hubs such as Las Vegas and Macau, driving punters away from land-based casinos in favor of gambling headsets. VR casinos don’t seem too far off either with a number of industry leading companies already heavily invested in bringing the technology to market.
Sports…
The English Premier League is the richest sports group on the planet, largely thanks to eye-watering TV deals from domestic and foreign operators. To put the financial strength of the Premier League into perspective compare the incomes of two teams.
Huddersfield Town finished rock-bottom of the Premier League last season with just 3 wins to their name and one of the worst point tallies in the league’s history. Yet they scooped over £100 million from TV rights.
Their West Yorkshire rivals Leeds United finished just three places below them in the football pyramid. Leeds were also featured on TV more often than Huddersfield yet brought in just 7% of the revenue owing to the fact that they were not in the Premier League.
Some of England’s largest football clubs feel that the equal distribution of TV cash in the Premier League is unfair on them. After all, viewers tune in to watch the biggest teams, not the also-rans.
In a bid to cream off more profits, some of the world’s largest football clubs are trialing the sale of VR season tickets. This would give clubs the opportunity to sell just one seat to an unlimited amount of fans across the world, thus further increasing their revenues.
Tourism…
What one thing ruins the world’s hottest tourism destinations? Tourists. There’s no denying that the enjoyment of visiting a world-famous destination is often ruined by the throng of tourists fighting for the best vantage point for their selfies.
Tourism is also detrimental to the environment of specific sites and the wider world in general. Sites of outstanding natural beauty all over the continent are buckling under the pressure of foreign tourism.
Glaciers, waterfalls and mountain peaks are littered with broken selfie sticks and food wrappers and that’s before mentioning the environmental impact the air travel that brings in the tourists.
Many tourist boards are now looking to VR as a way to reduce the actual levels of tourism whilst maintaining the integrity of their beloved monuments and nature reserves. As we move to a more environmentally aware society VR tourism looks likely to take off.
