ENTER THE MAINSTREAM How does a platform go from niche to mainstream? First, it needs a device that showcases the technology’s capabilities yet is not out of reach of all but the wealthiest. Ideally, the manufacturer will already have significant brand awareness. Mixed reality certainly has that, with Apple and Meta
rolling out devices in the last year. While the Apple Vision Pro’s £3499 price tag isn’t mainstream, the 128GB version of Meta Quest 3S is available for £289. That’s on par with a Switch or X-Box Series S. Plus, the recent Meta Orion glasses announcement has heralded what might be down the track: integrating immersive experiences with artificial intelligence. Second, there must be demand. It certainly has that: a study found that more than half (52%) of consumers felt an association with Apple on AR and mixed reality would make them more interested in the technology. Meta, meanwhile, saw a huge boost in sales when it dropped the price of the Quest 2 in the run-up to the 2023 holiday season. To date, it has reportedly sold upwards of 20 million Quest headsets. Third, the platform needs content. This is an area of focus for mixed reality companies, with games currently in short supply. Yet there needs to be a balance: publishing games that
don’t fit the platform will harm, rather than support, mixed reality’s growth. What’s required are games that use the full potential of the platform’s mechanics. We can only reach that point if the industry knows how people will use mixed reality. That means knowing what
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resonates with audiences, identifying those games with high levels of engagement, and focusing on improving them. This is a step change from putting everything into one stand- out title and a shift towards rapid prototyping. It’s rapid prototyping, quick releases, gathering feedback and usage data, iterating, and improving where necessary. There will certainly be bumps in the road on the journey to
mixed reality’s move into the mainstream - Microsoft recently discontinued support for Windows Mixed Reality headsets, for instance. But if we get those three things in place, then it’s likely that mixed reality will be the next platform that helps gaming take a quantum leap forward, reaching new audiences in new ways for many years to come.
Hell Horde - Mixed reality gaming that’s. fun for all the family
Putting the world to rights in MixRift’s puzzle game Fractured
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