MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

The consumer market for virtual reality headsets is beginning to outperform optimistic sales expectations around entries by Sony PlayStation, HTC, and Oculus. Nearly 1.5 million headsets were sold in 2018 and revenues (including software) reached $3.6 billion. Currently nearly 9 million headsets are in the marketplace with economic forecasts expecting continued growth.

While virtual reality headset technology began to emerge in the late 1980s, the technology is only now reaching a level of visual and sensory immersion. Outside of the limited graphics, the major impediment to a successful experience was the social isolation required to interact with the technology. Like the early kinetoscopes, the experience was more novelty than engaging.

The true power of the current iteration of virtual reality lies not in its content (remediated video games, simulated travel experiences, interactive narratives, etc.) but in its capacity to integrate social media into its interface. If virtual reality is to succeed it needs to offer possibilities for social connectives, even when the body is physically isolated.

This fact is highlighted by FaceBook’s acquisition of Oculus. Virtual reality will reach its potential when it creates a sense of community for its users, similar to the way that FaceBook succeeded over the past decade.

The current analysis explores recent advances in virtual reality related to social connectivity and connects the current rise and interest in the technology to two recent movies, Ralph Wrecks the Internet, and Ready Player One. What are the emerging narratives surrounding virtual reality and what do they tell us about our hopes and anxieties with new media?