Too much has been written about Virtual Reality and how it is going to be the ‘game changing technology’ in the industry that keeps innovating at break neck speed. Companies like Oculus, Sony, Samsung have all been in the news for their VR headsets and how their next-gen tech will allow players to get more immersive experience from games.
Since then there has been no stopping the number of names coming up with their own VR headsets, or teaming up with the existing ones to get a leg up in a industry that one can easily state is in the advanced stage. With Game Developers Conference happening next week, announcements are flying around that Valve too has bitten the bullet and are fancying a showcase of their VR headset – SteamVR.
In its blog post, Steam said, “Steam is bringing the best games and user-generated content to exciting new destinations. At GDC 2015, we’ll be giving demos of the refined Steam Controller, new living room devices, and a previously-unannounced SteamVR hardware system.
“With the introduction of SteamVR hardware, Valve is actively seeking VR content creators. Are you a developer or publisher interested in experiencing the new SteamVR hardware? We’ll be giving scheduled VR demos during the week of GDC, 4-6 March 2015, at Moscone Center in San Francisco.”
Steam has been a vocal supporter of VR and has a separate section for VR games in its store. It previously showed off an internal prototype of a virtual reality headset that used two Samsung Galaxy S4 displays last June at a virtual reality event in Boston — though at the time, Steam was quick to be clear that it was for testing purposes only.
Nvidia too is one company that is set to share stage at the GDC with its very own VRheadset, possibly named the ‘TitanVR’. Invites to an event dated 3 March include a tease from the company’s president Jensen Huang, that reveals “more than five years in the making” and will “redefine the future of gaming.”
So the road to VR has taken a really sharp turn; Oculus is not the only company to be working on the technology. With every company now having a foot in the door, gamers may be boggled to choose between the innumerous headsets that will be on offer when they are ready for sale.
