Right now, virtual reality is undergoing a renaissance driven by
hardware improvements. The Oculus Rift is creating much of this
perception, as the consensu opinion is that it offers a VR experience
that is a clear shift towards offering the much-talked about sense of
“presence” in an experience. Samsung,
in a rather savvy move, has partnered with Oculus to offer a similar
experience to owners of certain Samsung handsets with the Gear VR. But
with all of the moves being made in the world of VR hardware, it will
ultimately be the content that makes or breaks the emergence of VR.
Samsung is looking to address this fact with the creation of Milk VR.
A Speculative Move
Samsung
is standing out by making a first foray into offering VR content at a
time when VR content is scarce. Milk VR is an extension of Samsung’s
Milk Music and Video, which are hubs that are currently offered in the
United States for streaming content. Milk VR will extend these services into the world of VR, both for Samsungs own Gear VR device, and the popular Oculus Rift.
The early model of this service appears to be
offering free video content, primarily VR movies, perhaps with a
Youtube-like ad revenue model to emerge at some point. What’s most
surprising about the service is that it is entering a market where VR
video content is not particularly prevalent, perhaps in an effort to
push for more content for these devices.
Content Must Catch Up to Hardware
In
order for VR to make a lasting impact in the market, the content must
be both compelling, and constantly updating. The current VR hardware
offerings have been compelling, and Samsung has been praised for
offering a capable experience with Gear VR, which is little more than a
headset that the Galaxy Note
4 handset can clip into. However, technology users have grown
accustomed to a constant stream of new and updated content, and VR will
remain a niche product until the content becomes undeniable. This is the
challenge that Samsung is looking to address with Milk VR.
Easy Entry Point into Virtual Reality
The
Samsung Gear VR offering has a distinct advantage in luring people who
are on the fence about VR, but already own a compatible mobile handset.
The Gear works by taking a Galaxy Note 4 handset and attaching it to the
$199 headset mount. The headset contains lenses allowing for a VR field
of view to be created on the Note 4 display, and buttons for
controlling the Note as a VR device. Though $199 is certainly not a
trivial amount of money, it represents a savings over the $350 needed to
buy an Oculus dev kit. For those that already own a Note 4, simple curiosity may be enough to overcome the price hurdle for the Gear VR.
Funding the Shift into VR Movies
Not
only is Samsung looking to create a central source of compelling VR
content, but they are looking to populate that source, leaving nothing
to chance. The company has partnered with content providers including
the NBA, Red Bull, and Refinery29, as well as executives from TV shows
like The Walking Dead. Though Samsung maintains it is not entering the
VR space in order to be a content company, it is certainly taking some
initial steps to ensure that its hardware has plenty of compelling
content to run.
Oculus Agrees: VR Moviemaking Will Be Big
Samsung
isn’t the only VR company that is making a big bet on the future of VR
content. Oculus has recently announced the creation of Story Studio, a
moviemaking arm of the VR company. Story Studio has recruited former
execs from cinema giant Pixar, and appears to be focused on producing
content that is largely CG in the same vein as Pixar movies. This seems
like a reasonable opening move as computer generated movies lend
themselves to 3D VR experiences readily. With the two major players in
the VR space making big moves into VR movies, it seems self evident that
these companies realize that content is critical to the staying power
of VR.
source: about.com
