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A new report published by the VRDC (Virtual Reality Developers Conference) shows that over a third of Virtual Reality developers would publish their next title exclusively for the HTC Vive, making it the most popular platform for developers.
The VR/AR Innovation Report has some fascinating figures with developers saying the focus of their VR, AR or MR production is ‘Games/Entertainment’ and that currently over 50 per cent of developers are currently developing a title for the HTC Vive.
However, developers still appear to be critical of the medium’s shortcomings including a lack of shared standards, nausea and the cost of adopting the technology. "Not subsidizing the cost of headsets. This is what caused smartphones to get such adoption. If the iPhone cost $1,200 when it first launched, we would have seen the same slow growth as VR,” said one respondent to the survey.
Developers also believe that the profitability of the mediums are going to be in the medium to long term and a vast majority of 95 per cent believe that the markets are also sustainable in the long term, indicating that interest with developers is still incredibly high.
There are also a few interesting points that we at Develop noticed in the report. Despite having the most units sold, only around a quarter of developers are looking to develop titles for the Samsung Gear VR. Google’s Daydream and Cardboard offerings only equate to around a fifth of future development. However, some of the best examples of AR and VR specifically have been mobile titles like Pokemon Go and Google Earth VR and developers still believe that AR has the easiest learning curve for consumers using the technology.
It indicates that, while apps are still being developed for all of the platforms, including around a fifth for the PlayStation VR, it is processing power and visual quality that developers prefer or at least strive for with 50 per cent of respondents citing the PC-based VR platforms as their preferred choice either in development or for future projects.
