Last week, I moderated a virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) panel at the SLUSH Future Brunch, hosted by organizers of Helsinki's "must know" SLUSH digital media and tech conference held annually in November. My panel included some of the most important thought leaders and innovators in the VR space – (i) Mike Rothenberg of Rothenberg Ventures (in which Manatt Venture Fund is an investor) -- Rothenberg runs the first VR accelerator called River); (ii) Danny Gabai of Vice Media (producers of some of the most inspired VR “experiences” to date, including "Clouds Over Sidra" about which I wrote previously); (iii) Andy Cochrane of Mirada Studios; and (iv) Neville Spiteri of WEVR. We covered a lot of ground during the session, including:
(1) The state of VR today – and the prospects for the future – with all on the panel predicting mass consumer adoption of tens of millions of VR headsets within a couple of years (I completely agree with that assessment -- and my team and I at Manatt Digital Media are working with a number of VR companies to accelerate that pace);
(2) The fact that it is available content, rather than “ready for prime time” hardware, that is the bottle-neck for such mass adoption right now;
(3) The unique power and opportunity for VR not only in the obvious areas of story-telling, but also for (i) live events (think of yourself being transported to your favorite music artist’s live event and sitting in the front row – would you pay for that? I would – and just think of the potential of this new revenue stream for the music business), (ii) travel (being immersed in a foreign land rather than watching videos on a box), (iii) education (think of the power and potential in the classroom) and (iv) empathy and social change (e.g., "Clouds Over Sidra");
(4) Andy Cochrane emphasized that the distinction between VR and AR is blurred and artificial – and rather than thinking of those two as being distinct concepts, they together represent what he singly calls “immersive and interactive” experiences;
(5) Andy also underscored that we should be careful of placing VR experiences into a box like “VR gaming”, because VR experiences are entirely different in terms of structure and simply cannot follow typical games branches;
(6) Mike Rothenberg, while massively bullish on the overall VR opportunity, also pointed out significant risks associated with VR experiences. Motion sickness is the most discussed right now (but is fast being addressed by the industry). But, less discussed – and significantly problematic – is the sheer overwhelming, and potentially extremely dangerous, immersion into high intensity contexts. Think the video game “Call of Duty.” Imagine the potential post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that could flow from being placed directly into battle and violence. These risks are real – and companies are rising up now to address those dangers. Think further of the potential for VR abuse in the hands of those with malevolent intentions (think ISIS). It is for these reasons, that Mike anticipates a need for real regulations in this area.
It was a fascinating discussion cut short only by the need to end the event.