A.R is going to be THE thing.
Lol, no. VR was going to be "the thing". Where is VR now.
Oh, VR, the once-promised "next big thing"! Where has it gone, indeed?
There are several reasons why VR didn't quite take off as expected. First and foremost, its cumbersome nature made it rather awkward to use. I, too, fell for the allure of VR during the 2020 lockdown, splurging on an RTX 3090 Strix and an Oculus Rift. However, the charm wore off after about three days, and I found myself using it mainly for VR chat and immersive environments, rather than actual games (except for Beat Saber, of course).
Secondly, Facebook's (or should I say Meta's) questionable decisions certainly didn't help. The requirement to have a Facebook account just to use the Rift was a major turn-off, especially for someone like me who can't even remember their FB credentials!
Third, their ever-changing strategy and discontinuation of support for relatively new products left many of us feeling frustrated and disillusioned.
Lastly, the fragile nature of VR equipment made it feel more like a prototype from a subpar company than a revolutionary gaming experience.
But let's talk about AR – a sleek, unencumbered alternative that doesn't come with a side of Zuckerberg's overbearing TOS. Its non-gaming applications, combined with AI, are genuinely exciting. Imagine data overlays that eliminate the need for smartphones, smartwatches, cameras, earpods, and even computers in the long run! Add built-in eye tracking, voice commands, and perhaps even telepathic capabilities with future iterations of Neuralink, and we've got ourselves a game-changer.
AR is the future, my friend!
(edit: stay away from VRC. very disturbing environment)