12 Key Sectors for Virtual Reality Applications. Q2 2014 KZero VR Radar.

Back in January we released our first ever Virtual Reality Radar Chart showing 12 key sectors for consumer VR. Three months on, there’s been a lot of activity in the space with both independent developers, Kickstarter-backed and more established studios releasing and announcing content for (mainly) Oculus Rift users. Here’s a segment of the updated Virtual Reality Radar for Q2 2014 showing Role Playing Games (RPG), Simulation/Exploration and First Person Shooters (FPS).

The RPG segment has seen the most activity in Q1 2014, particularly within the Horror genre.  Immersive and atmospheric experiences with scary storylines are highly suitable for virtual reality and we expect even more developers to enter this segment of the market.

Other games of note within the RPG segment include Asunder: Earthbound (a cinematic adventure game set in a fictional 1930’s universe aboard a passenger airplane) and Wander (a non-combat, non-competitive, collaborative multiplayer game for PS4 and PC with Oculus Rift support).

The Simulation and Exploration category is also seeing new entrants and ongoing activity. This category includes games based around underwater experiences, with Ocean Rift and World of Diving being great examples  along with upcoming releases such as Into the Deep Blue.

Two other experiences to mention in the Simulation and Exploration group are K&L Station (‘A Cinematic Hugo meets the 5th element’) and Riverside Residence from Arch Virtual, demonstrating how virtual reality can be used in the architectural market.

The last category in this segment is First Person Shooters (FPS). As shown above, this group has the lowest number of games in it at present, but is expected to be a key focus for Sony’s Project Morpheus. One of the demos shown by Sony at GDC, The Castle is an early prototype of this genre.

The high-res full version of the Virtual Reality Radar Chart can be ordered here. We’ve also put this presentation into Slideshare.

Within our Radar analysis we’ve also assessed growth areas across the 12 categories. Shown below is the segment for Social Worlds, User Generated Content (UGC) and Mirror Worlds.

Social Worlds are virtual reality applications allowing person to person interaction in real-time – a virtual world in virtual reality. This will be a key area of focus for Facebook following their $2bn acquisition of Oculus VR as well as other companies seeking to exploit the opportunities presented by Social Worlds. One prime contender in this space is High Fidelity, the start-up headed by Philip Rosedale (founder of Second Life). During 2015 we anticipate commercial launches targeting  adults, with KT&T (Kids, Tweens and Teens) having to wait until 2016.

User Generated Content VR applications is another exciting segment – imagine being able to build (and share) brand-new objects, buildings and worlds in a virtual reality environment. We expect 2015 to be a great year for UGC in VR and with Minecraft pulling out of a planned VR version (although you can still play Minecraft using Minecrift) there is a major opportunity for companies to enter this vertical.

The high-res full version of the Virtual Reality Radar Chart can be ordered here. We’ve also put this presentation into Slideshare.

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