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Virtual reality galore at E3 but no 'killer app'

LOS ANGELES — The virtual reality experiences on display during the Electronic Entertainment Expo are only the beginning.

LOS ANGELES — The virtual reality experiences on display during the Electronic Entertainment Expo are only the beginning.

During this week’s showcase of the video game industry's future, publishers revealed the first big wave of games leveraging the VR platform, immersive experiences that promise to let users fly a Star Wars X-Wing fighter or put on Batman's mask. 

But has VR gaming found its "killer app" that will make players keep those bulky headsets strapped on? It was hard to tell. 

“VR, as well as AR (augmented reality), are in very early days of adoption,” says Digital World Research analyst P.J. McNealy.

On Monday, Sony said it will launch its PlayStation VR platform for its PlayStation 4 home console in the U.S. on October 13. Between launch and the end of this year, Sony projects PlayStation VR will host more than 50 games.

Among them: Batman Arkham VR, which places players inside the suit of the caped crusader; a Star Wars adventure; and RIGS Mechanized Combat League, where players sit inside giant robots and compete in a sporting event.

“For us, it is not simply an add-on to your PS4,” says Shawn Layden, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment America during an interview with USA TODAY. “We look at it as a new medium for interactive entertainment.”

Other publishers are making the jump into VR, including Bethesda Softworks, which will launch its action game Fallout 4 on the HTC Vive next year. Ubisoft is developing several VR experiences such as Star Trek: Bridge Crew, where players team up in social adventures as members of the USS Enterprise crew.

“One of the amazing things about VR is we’re just figuring this stuff out,” says Star Trek game director Brian Tate. “There are tried and true game formats for consoles and PCs that don’t really translate well to VR. But we’re discovering new types of games we couldn’t make without VR.”

Based on the multiple VR experiences here at E3, there's certainly lots of potential, along with eager developers excited for the possibilities. But content rules, and VR won't really take off unless there's one game that users simply love.

Think about Nintendo when it launched the Wii in 2006. The reason everyone ran to buy a Wii was Wii Sports. The potential for motion controls was thrilling, and Wii Sports was the best showcase of that promise. VR needs that moment where you really want that headset in your home.

This is expected to be a huge year for VR, with global sales expected to surpass $1 billion, as predicted by Deloitte. The consulting firm forecasts consumer spending on VR hardware of about $700 million and $300 million on content.  

While many of the experiences here look phenomenal within the vacuum of E3, whether they pan out into full-fledged breakthroughs for VR is still unclear.

As game developers experiment and figure out what types of experiences work on VR, the selection will grow, but not right away. “I think it’s going to take a while before we get a big enough variety and depth of games for people to think it’s worth it to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on it,” said Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter.

Layden says Sony is working with retail partners including Best Buy and GameStop to create in-store demo experiences to give consumers as many chances to try its VR platform ahead of the October launch.

"There's no way to express in a pamphlet what a VR experience looks like," says Layden. "People have to go in and try it on."

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.

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