How virtual reality can reach the mainstream Indian market

VR is the future of gaming. That might come off as a rather bold statement, but it was the impression I had after walking away from a demo of the Tesseract HMD, Bangalore-based startup Absentia’s homegrown answer to the Oculus Rift. We were lucky enough to hang out with the Absentia team at their absurdly expansive flat, have some pizza, and do some serious VR gaming. We’ll give you an in-depth update soon about the Tesseract and how it stacks up against the Rift, the HTC Vive, and others. But today, we’ll be focusing on where exactly VR is headed.

However, let me correct that statement. VR’s not the future of gaming. VR is the future. VR, AR, and their associated input devices represent a fundamental paradigm shift in how people can interact with other, and this has implications that go far beyond gaming. However, if VR is go mainstream, the most important thing is for VR to reach the mainstream. With the high prices we’re likely to see with first-generation consumer VR sets like the Oculus Rift and Tesseract, VR will be a tough sell to your average, price-conscious Indian end user. But a bit of enterprising spirit can go a long way towards getting the New Big Thing out to masses. Let’s have a look at how Indian entrepreneurs can profit from the VR revolution and bring the tech to the public.

VR Cinema

A traditional multiplex experience is great. Provided that it’s not too crowded, that you get the right seats in the middle, that the screen’s not too dim, that the price is right, that you remembered to bring your glasses, that…I could go on, but I think it’s fairly evident that there are more than a few drawbacks to the way we’ve been consuming movies on the silver screen for the past uh century or so. Consuming media content in VR is a superlative experience. I watched the entirety of Game of Throne’s fifth season on a Converge smartphone HMD and I’ve simply not been able to justify watching media content any other way…well, except on the gigantic 55-inch 4K set back home. Dedicated VR headsets such as the Tesseract will sell for between Rs. 20-30K. At least initially, this will put these sets out of the hands of many end-users. Getting the technology out to the common man is critical if VR is to go mainstream. VR cinema halls offer a great opportunity for this.

Imagine a theatre hall with no screen at all, and possibly no balcony: Just 500 plush seats. Movie-goers will collect their VR headsets from the ticket counter, just like they’d pick up 3D glasses for a conventional 3D movie. They’ll be treated to 7.1 Dolby Atmos sound, but not through absurdly loud wall-mounted speakers. Instead, surround headphones and positional audio tech will get the job done. And they’ll not have to shell out 300 bucks per movie: With capital expenditure for the theatre a mere fraction of that for a conventional “screen theatre,” Hollywood movies could be viably screened for Rs. 100, or even less. This isn’t a crazy pipe dream. No, we’re not detailing it here, but per our industry sources, there is someone in India right now, who is setting up a VR cinema theatre powered by high-end HMDs.

VR in Internet Cafes

Getting the tech out to the public is crucial for VR to go mainstream. There is a certain demographic that will happily shell out 20K for a VR headset (something we’ll be doing very soon). However, on account of how price-conscious the Indian market is, selling directly to end consumers is a tough proposition. Firstly, it’ll be hard to break the perception that VR HMDs are “just another pricey peripheral.” There might be a few people out there who swear by million-DPI Razer gaming mice in the five-figure range. However, most of us can live happily without said mice and have a pretty good gaming experience to boot. Though their design might be highly suggestive of it, the thing about VR HMDs is that they’re not “just another peripheral.” The Tesseract is meant to be a drop-in replacement for your high-end gaming monitor.

Why spend over Rs. 30,000 on a mere 27-inch 2K monitor when you can get what’s effectively a 100-inch 2K monitor for less? For high-end consumers, VR is no-brainer. But again, your average guy out on the street needs to have an awareness of what VR entails if it is to go truly mainstream. What’s the solution? VR as a value addition in net cafes. If you’re a net café owner, 10 VR HMDs are going to cost you in the ballpark of 2 lakhs, not much more than the likely initial outlay for monitors. VR gaming sessions at an attractive hourly rate will bring in the Counterstrike crowd and hangers-on, for the novelty if for nothing else. The low price of entry will ensure that your average, price-conscious Indian consumer will be familiar with VR gaming. It won’t be some kind of unattainable elitist holy grail. It’ll be what you do in the net café near school after class.

Stay with us here: We’ll be bringing you updates on the Tesseract. Where do you see VR headed? Let us know in the comments below.