Virtual Reality (VR) has been long been viewed as the next big thing to change how one interacts with the digital things whether it is entertainment, health or any other sector in the near future. Among the many trying their hands at the VR tech, Walt Disney is one more which wants to explore this dimension and its interactive unit is considering bringing Disney Infinity or other video games into the world of virtual reality.
Disney Interactive, president, James Pitaro, said in an interview that it is considering adapting elements of current titles. Disney also might create new games specifically for VR or for another emerging platform known as augmented reality, he said.
The technology has been much spoken about for decades but never reached mass adoption, and the entertainment industry is debating whether it will take off this time as well.
Virtual reality headsets offer a 360-degree view that immerses players in fantasy settings, while augmented reality projects computer images onto real-world settings.
Disney Infinity, which has achieved $1 billion in global retail sales, mixes characters from Disney, Pixar and Marvel franchises. Star Wars will come to the new edition set for release this fall. The game includes a toy box mode allowing players to mix backdrops and characters from different franchises.
“You could easily imagine a scenario where we were to expand the toy box component of Infinity into AR or VR,” Pitaro said in an interview at the E3 video game conference, although he added Disney does not have that project or any other VR projects in development.
Disney is talking to the VR platforms without specifying which companies. Facebook Inc’s Oculus unit, Sony Corp’s Project Morpheus and other companies will offer modern VR headsets to consumers later this year and next year.
Microsoft Corp generated buzz at E3 with a demonstration of its HoloLens AR headset using the Minecraft game.
Pitaro said he was impressed with recent VR technology and was enthusiastic about its possibilities.
“I do not think this is going to be a fad,” Pitaro said.
Some other companies showed VR prototypes at E3. Ubisoft, for example, demonstrated an experience that features its Rabbids characters and makes viewers feel like they’re riding a roller coaster.
Other gaming executives have voiced caution, waiting to see if consumers embrace VR.
Barclays analyst Christopher Merwin said he believes VR will become a viable platform, eventually. Consumers will likely wait until there is enough software available to justify the cost of VR hardware, he said.
“Virtual reality is the future but it will take time,” Merwin said in a research note.