[This item from PSFK may be of interest: Follow one of the links to download the new PSFK Virtual Reality Report (some but not all parts are free). –Matthew]
PSFK Launches The Virtual Reality Report
The PSFK Labs team explores the potential virtual reality holds as a medium for better storytelling and story-making
PSFK Labs
8 june 2015
For decades we have been on the edge of our seats, patiently awaiting the arrival of the holy grail of entertainment and storytelling: virtual reality.
We have been teased by VR in movies, serving as inspiration for a plethora of science fiction and fantasy canons, but has consequently failed to deliver on the public’s high expectations. As we are (finally) beginning to see the implications that VR will have and the opportunity it creates within the world or immersive entertainment, PSFK releases the VR Snapshot Report, or VR Mini Report, taking a broader look into the ways the technology is being used today across industries.
The VR Mini Report marks PSFK’s first venture into a less formal but more accessible report format that still captures the industry-defining comprehensiveness and vision of our standard-length reports.
Today, virtual reality is not only enabling people to escape their every day, but also creating connections and strengthening the bonds between human beings the world over.
Documentary filmmakers are using VR to further the plight of Syrian children and making their experience relatable; musical icons are inviting dedicated fans up on stage; sports teams are sharing their point of view with dedicated fans; and physicians are harnessing VR storytelling tools to help relieve burn victims of their pain.
With significant barriers to entry, the current torch-bearers shouldn’t be engineers or developers, but storytellers.
VR still has a ways to go, both in terms of its hardware, and the quality of available content, but we are finally spotting true mass adoption on the horizon. This report elaborates on the successful experiential uses of VR so far, and explores the standards and materials requisite for cross-industry storytellers to practice their craft within the rapidly evolving medium of virtual reality.
This report goes beyond the sector’s comfortable gaming ecosystem, and investigates other verticals that are successfully harnessing this mind-blowing, or rather mind-tricking technology, outlining best-in-class examples of how VR is impacting:
- Health & Fitness
- Travel & Hospitality
- Entertainment
- Retail & Marketing
- Art & Architecture
- Cultural & Social Innovation
- Gaming & Storytelling
With the poster child of this first wave of VR hardware, the Oculus Rift, set to hit the market in the first quarter of 2016, we felt now would be the perfect time to release our inaugural Snapshot Report on the subject.