Immersive Entertainment

VR and AR companies are betting on 3D virtual worlds, or trying to recreate our apps in headsets. But the real opportunity lies in immersive entertainment.

3D virtual worlds were supposed to be the next medium, but they haven’t delivered. People have made it clear that they do not care much about 3D virtual worlds. They’ve failed to capture mainstream interest. At best, you can wander around cartoonish spaces or play limited games. The experience isn’t compelling enough to justify the friction of wearing a headset.

We’ve tried to find practical use for these devices by integrating phone and the PC applications. Calendar, messages, browser, email and so on. It’s not going as well thus far. Why should I use a headset to scroll my email, while I can open a new tab on my laptop? It may be cool, but it isn’t a 10x improvement over a laptop.

What people do care about is entertainment. Picture watching a Chelsea game and feeling like you’re inside Stamford Bridge on a Wednesday night. Or experiencing a live WWE event, or the thrill of being at your favourite rappers concert. Even films could be something you’re fully immersed in. That is what users want.

Apple released an immersive Metallica concert. Users say it’s one of the greatest digital experiences they’ve ever had. From a reddit user, “It was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced.” It’s really clear that the audience fell in love.

A variation was tried in the mid-2010’s. But it was really lousy. None of it worked out. Headsets were clunky, underpowered and uncomfortable to wear. Motion sickness was basically a given, and the experience felt more like a gimmick than a breakthrough. Today, the hardware has come a really long way.

While immersive entertainment may not fully replace the TV, my guess is that people will be so amazed by the experience, that watching a series from a TV will feel as awkward as watching movies from a phone. Similar to the transition from radio to TV.

As far as the cost problem goes, if you make the experience good, people will spend their money. Music streaming is a good example. Tools like Napster made it really easy to just rip music off the internet. Paying for music online sounded insane. However, the release of iTunes proved that people will pay so long as they like what they’re getting. Turns out all people wanted was a good experience.

The challenge now shifts to production. We can’t simply point todays cameras at a stage and call it immersive. We’ll need an entirely new creative toolkit. Purpose built capture technology, new forms of cinematography and new formats that rethink how narratives unfold when the audience is inside the scene. It requires rebuilding the way media is made. It sounds daunting but it’s the biggest opportunity in entertainment since the invention of film.