Interactive Entertainment (popularly known as Video Games)is fast becoming the world’s most popular form of entertainment and experiential art. Virtual reality is poised to take it to the next level and beyond, literally.

Virtual Reality is all about “in game” immersion also referred to as “Presence”. The power of “presence” is a powerful augmentation for the Video Games medium, directly influencing perspective and “agency” or the ability to interact and influence. While the current generation of VR experiences has its own share of challenges, ongoing research in display, audio and motion tech as well as VR optimized UI/UX design holds great promise for users.

VR’s ambitions go beyond education and entertainment (both passive and interactive) to becoming Empathy Machines, thanks to people like Chris Milk or acting as conduits for Experiential Healing (therapeutic music with in a virtual rain doused atmosphere). Experiencing Clouds Over Sidra will help you gain a better understanding of the Empathy Machine part.

For the entire Video Games Industrial Complex, Virtual Reality is right now quite possibly the Holy Grail and Video Games are the gateway through which VR is going to become mainstream.

There are people who take immersion in video game experiences very very seriously and I’m one of them. There’s a special place in my heart for first person interactive experiences (The Witness and Doom, as of July 2016) and I can’t wait to try them in VR.

Quite a few tech giants are vying for the hearts and minds of a brave new tribe of tech explorers who’re craving for rich, exotic and immersive experiences.

So, from the halls of Sony, ladies and gentlemen behold, the PlayStation VR (PSVR).