Advertising in VR Gaming – Metaverse Predictions

3

October

2021

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Ready Player One (2018) is a popular movie that follows the story of Wade Watts, a typical young adult, who dives into a Metaverse system called OASIS as do many of his peers. The technology in that sci-fi movie depicts a world in which people can fully immerse themselves within the Virtual Reality game. Of course, an infamous company’s CEO Nolan Sorrento, has for objective to gain ownership over the OASIS system in order to have full advertising power over the players.

Although this is purely science-fiction, the ethical questions that the movie encompasses can become very relevant indeed, and in the near future! Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would become known as a Metaverse company. As in any industry, if there are opportunities of profit, they will be seized.

Facebook’s VR Gaming Brand Oculus has known a global success with the launch of its latest VR Headset, the Quest 2. Having sold over 5 Million units since its launch in October 2020, making it the most popular VR console ever released, surpassing HTC, Sony, HP and Valve equivalents. The Quest 2’s success is greatly attributed to its affordability at a price of about $300 for its most basic version.

Although the industry is at its beginning stages, Facebook has started making moves with regard to advertising and the future of the Metaverse. In June 2021, publisher and creator of its popular game Blastron, Resolution Games, was the first to sign up for advertising trials that Oculus was looking forward to.

First trials of putting Ads in VR Gaming

Facebook had envisioned the ads as being a background with an emphasis on context and relevance. For example, these ads may be shown as part of the virtual environment, where there would be ads if it were in real-life. As shown in the picture above, these ads would be posted in a banner-type style as additional decor.

However, due to poor communication on Facebook’s part, the news was turned with a different narrative. Instead of being passive advertising which would melt in the environment without removing any sense of immersion, the VR community believed that the ads would come in between Menu screens, and be completely detrimental to the VR experience. Many thought that this was only the start and that it would eventually resemble what the villain in Ready Player One (2018) wanted to achieve.

The players complained that it was unfair for advertising to be added to a payed-for game. Oblivious to the fact that the extra revenue stream would be destined towards the developers, the community rejected the concept and called upon a boycott. Due to a high level of backlash, Resolution Games came back on their word and decided that their game was not a good fit for advertising trials. Against their will, Facebook was forced to postpone their advertising trials.

What does the future of VR Gaming hold, and what type of advertising will be implemented?

Sources :
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57568039
https://uploadvr.com/facebooks-head-of-vr-responds-to-ad-criticism/
https://www.counterpointresearch.com/xr-headset-shipments-almost-triple-yoy-q1-2021/
https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/16/22535511/facebook-ads-oculus-quest-vr-apps
https://www.theverge.com/22588022/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-ceo-metaverse-interview

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Augmented Reality: The Tool To Empower Your Workforce

13

September

2017

5/5 (5) When the “augmented reality” term was first used by Boeing’s researcher Tom Caudell in ‘90s, it was perceived as another artificial concept. Now, when the technology has become much more mature, it has potential to shift the way we cooperate with each other by enhancing employee training, business processes and workflow.

Augmented reality, unlike its close cousin, virtual reality, which creates fully artificial world, integrates digital information with the real environment. It allows us not only to see virtual objects but also to interact with them. Imagine working on a project where you need to have a quick access to specifications, have an open programming application and want to follow a screen of your colleague sharing with you his ideas via skype at the same time. To really solve this problem you either need multiple screens or the augmented reality glasses. You can wear these glasses at work, at the airport or at your favourite cafeteria, having an immediate access to all relevant information and leaving both hands free. This amazing technology offers endless opportunities to improve your work-life whenever and wherever you want as if it was a Hermione’s bottomless bag.

GE, with its healthcare team in Waukesha, is an example of the company who has recently started experimenting with the use of AR. In this case, technology is used during the manufacturing process to project work instructions as well as to monitor and give immediate feedback to operators. If an error occurs, given augmented guidelines on following procedures, operators can quickly react to an issue. The technology has been created by the Light Guide System and its main goal is not only to improve efficiency but also to prevent from critical mistakes during an assembly process. First results at GE healthcare are inspiring – a warehouse worker supported with the AR technology completed a task, with no harm on accuracy, 46% faster than when following standard procedures and using standard technology. Other similar cases show an average improvement in productivity of 32%. This success has encouraged GE to further develop the programme as well as to expand it to other areas.

GE’s example is not isolated and we can observe other companies equipping workforces with the AR technology (e.g. Volkswagen, Ford, DHL or McKinsey). There are also numerous other cases where AR could have a significant impact. First of all, training platforms with dynamically changing animations. Imagine hiring a new employee to manage complex machine and able to fix it when a problem arises. Instead of sending the employee for a long training, you can equip him with the AR glasses, which will serve as a guide through any process, step by step, assessing his performance in real-time. It is both much faster and cost-efficient solution. Similarly, remote collaboration could be meaningfully enhanced thanks to an ability to visualize work and test solutions in safe augmented environment (e.g. Ford engineers are using Oculus to collaborate on virtual models of cars).

I believe that AR, especially in the form of headsets, could potentially replace computers. There are still, however, some obstacles to overcome. The first major issue is hardware. While there are already some solutions available on the market, similarly to virtual reality, there is still a room for improvement in terms of usability. Another big proble is the AR content, which requires lots of programming effort as well as personalisation in most of the use cases. Finally, people are still not educated about the potential use of AR, which by some is mostly considered to be a gaming solution. Nevertheless, I am excited about the future of this technology and its implications on our work-life.

 

Sources:

  • www.forbes.com/sites/maribellopez/2016/11/11/augmented-and-virtual-reality-fuel-the-future-workplace/#64cb6322185d
  • hbr.org/2017/03/augmented-reality-is-already-improving-worker-performance
  • www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/07/18/how-augmented-reality-will-reinvent-product-design/#2164ab282940
  • www.ge.com/reports/game-augmented-reality-helping-factory-workers-become-productive/
  • www.tonyrobbins.com/career-business/augmented-reality-at-work/

 

 

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A different taste of VR

5

October

2016

No ratings yet. The virtual reality world is changing rapidly, Google just announced their vision (no pun intended) on VR headsets with the Google Daydream View. Many other companies have their headset already on the market and our now developing applications for these devices (Lamkin, 2016). Consumers are slowly starting to get into virtual reality, Deloitte Global predicting that at the end of this year VR will have about $700 million in hardware sales. Of which the vast majority is focussed on video games but in the longer term VR is likely to have multiple applications (Lee & Stewart, 2016).
Virtual reality hardware offers visual and audio content to replicate a realistic environment. Immersing users into a simulation that allows them to feel like as if it was reel. However this illusion remains incomplete, only satisfying sight and hearing. So that’s why Ubisoft developed the Nosulus Rift, which will offer gamers a different immersive experience while playing the game “South Park: The Fractured But Whole”. This game has a new character whose superpower is farting. And since a fart is not visible, Ubisoft created a new VR wearable device that users need to strap onto their nose and will make them able to smell the farts of the characters (Passary, 2016). Ubisoft is showcasing this device at game conventions where people can try-out the game as well as the headset. Some of the reactions give a good indication of how well the device works. “A horrible, noxious gas” according to Farokhmanesh (2016) and Dingman (2016) says “it can make you retch and feel like you want to die!”
Then the questions arise, is this a good development for VR? Will it help VR become the next chapter in the continuing disruption in technology and innovation? The Nosulus Rift is more than just showing a new way to experience VR, it opens a large field of new opportunities in the sector of VR. Helping VR become integrated into our lives and workplaces in the near future.

Sources
https://www.wareable.com/headgear/the-best-ar-and-vr-headsets
http://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/tmt-pred16-media-virtual-reality-billion-dollar-niche.html
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/174579/20160822/forget-oculus-rift-meet-nosulus-rift-this-wearable-tech-will-let-you-smell-fart-in-new-south-park-game.htm
http://www.polygon.com/2016/8/19/12550744/south-park-fractured-but-whole-nosulus-rift
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3116197/software/south-park-the-fractured-but-wholes-fart-simulating-nosulus-rift-almost-made-me-vomit.html

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