Is VR Roulette Still Likely to Come to Fruition?
When virtual reality first burst onto the scene in 2016, people were hailing it as the next tech revolution. Unfortunately, it ended up being a damp squib at the time and still hasn’t taken off six years later. That didn’t stop developers scrambling to develop content for it, though, and there are many who still see the technology as the future.
One of the landmark prototypes of the early VR craze was VR Roulette from Microgaming, an offering that even won an award for its innovation. The concept imagined what it would be like if online casinos adopted VR, but the industry may have already moved on from this idea.
Online Roulette Has Changed in the Last Six Years
People have been able to play roulette online for more than 20 years now, and thanks to the competitiveness of the industry the games have evolved a great deal in that time. There are now plenty of immersive offerings online, with Roulette First Person and Lightning Roulette First Person giving players the sense that they are standing at the wheel.
The live streaming industry has also boomed in the years since the initial release of VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, and the online casino industry pounced on this craze. Live roulette options are growing in popularity every year, and players enjoy being in touch with a real-life dealer from the comfort of their own homes. Anyone designing a VR roulette game now would have to consider these developments and think of ways to incorporate them.
Live Streaming Could Be Combined with VR
Microgaming’s vision of VR Roulette involved players standing in front of a virtual table in outer space, facing a robot croupier. This was a novel idea, but it wouldn’t go down too well with today’s audiences who are clearly in search of realism.
The ideal way to make a VR roulette game now would probably be to combine it with elements of live streaming. If there is one thing that could be improved about this platform, it’s the closeness that people feel to the action. Instead of viewing everything through a screen, VR would make people think they were present at the table. They would be able to look around and see a real dealer in front of them, just as they would in a land-based casino.
Augmented Reality is Hard to Ignore
Of course, there’s a chance that augmented reality could have a bigger impact on the online casino industry than VR. If this comes to pass, then there might not be any VR roulette games at all. AR could be adapted to integrate the live dealer experience as well, only this time, the dealer would be transposed on the player’s home surroundings. This would certainly be interesting and could happen if AR usage spikes upon the release of Apple’s AR glasses like many people expect.
Some analysts predict that VR and AR could be huge in the next few years. If it does blow up, online casino developers will jump on it. However, the VR roulette concepts that existed in 2016 would have to be adapted, as the industry has moved forward since then.