One of our team members brought their Oculus Rift in from home, and we had a lot of fun with it, but is it ready for a retail implementation?
The Oculus Rift Craig is using in the picture above is first generation. The product is still meant for developers, not the general public. The second generation is now available for pre-order, but that generation is also a developer kit.
The Facebook acquisition has the business world speculating that there must be more value to the Oculus Rift than just for PC gaming. Is there a possibility that Oculus Rift could be used for retail?
While gesture-controls, not virtual reality was used; campaigns such as “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” show the potential for interactive experiences to put the user into a virtual location as a call to action. It’s not a stretch to take the same concept and have car dealers put customers in cars virtually before taking them on the road. Real estate agents could show buyers more homes at a time by having virtual tours available. Luxury designers could even show consumers what it’s like to walk around in a pair of high-end shoes.
Our assessment is that the potential is there. Of course there is room for improvement in the graphics, but the members of our team who tried the Oculus Rift out still said they really felt like they were in the game. On the roller coaster simulation, some even reported feeling nauseated.
We’re excited to watch this technology as it continues to evolve, and even more excited for the potential creative implementations.
