Moreover, this won’t just affect the gameplay of regular video games but is also expected to highly influence the online gambling world.
In fact, online casino play will feel the same as playing in a land-based casino with other players, and a dealer in front of you, except you’ll be at home wearing VR glasses. Many casino sites, like Simba Games UK, are already gearing up for the introduction of VR technology to the mass market that is set to completely change the online gambling industry (and probably hurt the brick and mortar casinos.)
But, before we scratch the surface of this topic, for those who are not familiar with Virtual Reality, here is a brief guide to the basics of this technology. So-called “Virtual Reality Modelling Language” (VRML) was first introduced to the world in 1994. Since then, the progress in this field had an amazing exponential growth, and today Virtual Reality is becoming an integral part of everyday life and activities.
A wide range of fields has already merged with it to improve or modify some components for achieving better results. For example, one can come across VR technology in healthcare and therapy managements, military, space and medical training, fine arts, engineering, etc.
How Virtual Reality Emerged With Gaming
Virtual Reality is currently side by side with the gaming industry and, part of the reason for this happening is that the VR industry tends to change the way how people interact with computers and different types of gaming consoles, which can be considered as a huge step forward in this interaction.
All current games involve the player on the one hand and the fictional main character on the other, who gets controlled by the player using a variety of control pads or sticks (commonly referred as joysticks).
But, in Virtual Reality, the player becomes that main character and gets immersed into the game. Through Research and Development (R&D), new and modern Virtual Realities are being tested and produced, that can stimulate our organism, influencing all our human senses, so a player completely becomes an integral part and the crucial component of the game itself.
The fact that tells the best how fast is the growing tempo of the VR technology is that the global Virtual Reality gaming market size was estimated at USD 4.29 Billion in 2015. That is a result of one of the newest trend in the electronic games industry – use of crowdfunding by start-ups in the VR for developing innovative software and accessories (for example Oculus VR, Sony’s Morpheus Project VR, etc.).
Gambling In the VR World
The progress of Virtual Reality didn’t bypass the online gambling industry, mostly because of the new way of interaction between a bettor and the gambling machine of any kind. In 2016, the Slots Million Casino company designed the first ever virtual casino. It quickly became one of its main attractions, since casino slots, as offered by Prime Slots, are by far the most popular online casino game.
Players who tried this VR casino had only positive impressions about how this technology makes gambling even more enjoyable. The brick and mortar casino experience is becoming more expensive.
Especially in Las Vegas, mega casino operators are trying to cut costs on the expense of the players, even cancelling the long standing Free Drinks policy, as explained in this article, it makes more sense to gravitate toward the virtual experience.
Still, there are benefits for the casino too. Several types of research have shown that players spend more time playing and tend to keep on playing more frequently with VR involved.
Are There Any Downsides?
And the last, but not the least, one ethical problem regarding the conjugation of Virtual Reality and gaming, is the common addiction problem. The very nature of today’s games is that they tend to be hyper-addictive, which is already a global issue. But, with the incorporation of the VR technology, according to some psychologists and scientists, as well as the actual research that is being conducted on some of the leading universities, this new trend can strengthen that dependency.
So the main question remains – will we tend to use Virtual Reality to enrich and to make games even more enjoyable, or will this perhaps take the wrong turn towards developing the new, stronger form of gaming addiction?
