VR's New Reality

Virtual Reality’s got hype, hardware and content. Will 2018 be the year of mass market appeal?

- Marty Swant

Each January, tech experts at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas peer into their crystal balls and declare that “this is the year of something.”

For about 10 years, it was the “year of mobile.” After that it was the “year of connected cars,” which was then eclipsed by “the year of smart devices.” Now, some say 2018 could be the year of virtual reality. In fact, nearly 170 VR-related companies of varying types and sizes are expected to pitch their products on the crowded CES showroom floor, up from 70 last year.

While the annual electronics show is largely focused on hardware, on Wednesday the CEOs of Hulu and Turner will take the CES stage to discuss the future of media, focusing in part on VR content—what might it look like when viewers and stories are unbound from the confines of a two-dimensional screen?

“We’re calling this the ‘Race to the Center,’” says Turner CEO John Martin. “Traditional digital and tech players are trying to become much better at creating premium content, while premium content such as ours are trying to become better at creating technology.”

This “race” Martin references is also the make-or-break question the VR industry faces as it looks to hit a critical mass. But what needs to happen first is the “chicken-and-egg” question: mass hardware adoption or the creation of compelling content?

THE COST OF PRICEY HEADSETS