The Case for Keeping Virtual Reality in Browser

When you think of virtual reality, what comes to mind? For most consumers, it's something like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive - and for them, the price point is unobtainable. The thing is, virtual reality is not synonymous with really expensive headsets. We should be creating single VR experiences that elegantly adapt responsively to all hardware, from high end headsets to laptops to tablets and smart phones.

Take IMAX theaters, for example. Big film studios don’t just make movies that can only be experienced in IMAX theaters. IMAX is just one way through which movies are watched - along with theaters, TVs, computers, and phones. The same is true of VR headsets and immersive, 360 degree digital experiences - let's reach people on devices they already have.

For the record: I'm talking about interactive Virtual Reality and not 360-degree video. Some people think the term VR is mutually exclusive. I'd argue that it would be the same as saying that using a fully functional scientific laboratory is the same experience as watching a video of a laboratory.

When you require a visitor to download an app and purchase specific hardware like HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, you immediately narrow your reach before your experience even comes to market. It’s like releasing a blockbuster movie that is only going to play in an IMAX theater. Sure, you’ve created this cool software experience that can be interacted with using the latest technology, but what does that matter if only a percentage of your potential market will see it?

GOOD NEWS: People want to try VR: 41% percent of adults are interested trying VR but only 11% of the online adult population in US have tried VR. That's a healthy market!

BAD NEWS: only 5 percent of households with broadband own a VR headset. 

BAD NEWS: No one wants all this crap in their house.

BAD NEWS: U.S. smartphone users download an average of zero apps per month.

You could put your eggs in one very selective and expensive basket.... or...

Enter: WebVR

(I didn't make that crappy logo BTW)

We love making WebVR experiences and games — experiences that are cross-browser compatible and work on most web browsers and devices. This doesn’t mean we never create experiences for specific VR hardware when appropriate or necessary (like the portable tradeshow VR display we created for Reading Bakery Systems), but it does mean that with WebVR we are able to tap into a much larger audience than other companies creating apps one headset at a time. 

A recent WebVR experience, Genius, is a perfect example of this. Users can encounter one of Einstein’s thought experiments with a single scroll or tap. It’s a 360 degree experience that takes place without ever having to download an app or wear hardware (users have the option to use a headset, but the experience isn’t limited without one).

It even works in Facebook's built in browser! A seamless experience for social surfers.

The same is true of Make Mars Home. Created for National Geographic, it includes five different space simulations like navigating a ship through an orbital entry and landing a rocket on the surface of Mars. Each simulation can be experienced on any device and browser, from Google Chrome on a desktop to Safari on an iPhone in a cardboard VR viewer.

Guess what? People loved it! An average of 21.5 minutes was spent in the recruitment section and the games were played over 200,000 times in the month before premiere.

Creating WebVR experiences doesn’t come without its set of challenges, of course. When it comes to quality assurance, we have to test the experiences we create on everything. There is no device or browser that goes untouched and untested.

Yes, it can be tedious and time consuming for us (the designers and developers) but, to the client, the return far outweighs the investment: they’ve already tapped into a larger market than the competitor investing in a single app for Rift or Vive.

In the same way that consumer accessible VR has created a gateway into the future of entertainment-based games, we’ve created a gateway between your virtual experience and its largest potential reach: the 77 percent of U.S. households that own a smartphone. We don’t want to create a barrier to entry, but rather make it easy for people to experience VR in the browsers they already have installed. We can’t wait for high-end headsets to be affordable and available in every living room!

For now, with WebVR, we are eliminating the need for downloadable apps and headsets puts our clients’ games into the hands of as many people as possible from day one—and it doesn’t get much more real than that.

DM me to learn more!