Esports VR, a New Competitive Scene

Image courtesy Upload VR

Is the Oculus going to dominate?

Although physical violence with consequences is what some gamblers have wanted to watch since Roman times and before, what most prefer is seeing real contest. It is obvious to see why virtual reality matches from shooting to boxing to puzzle-solving may soon make its way to the competitive online gaming world.

The long-time leader in VR technology with one of the most successful Kickstarters in history, the Oculus Rift was purchased by Facebook two years ago for $2 billion.

With the recent revelations that the “billionaire founder of Oculus” has attempted to funnel millions of dollars into the Donald Trump for President campaign through various means, many gamers are giving a second look to other VR headset technologies they had previously found nifty, but are now genuinely curious if a real competitor to the Oculus is on the market.

This is all happening while many Oculus-oriented projects are all fully under-way and already aiming to compete in the competitive VR/AR marketplace. Project Arena is just one such game.

What about the Playstation VR?

One thing notably lacking from the other “major” VR brands is a connection to any real titles or big name developers, at least, for any of the flagship games.

Playstation VR (connected to the PS4) may be lacking in specs compared to some of the other VR gaming systems, but the connection to big name titles like Final Fantasy and Resident Evil will surely draw a crowd.

“When it comes to overall cost and accessibility, the PS VR is a far more compelling option. For now, it's the only way to get into immersive motion-tracking VR for less than $1,000 ($400 for the PS VR core bundle or $500 for the Camera and Move Controller PS VR bundle, plus $300 for the console),” says Engadget reviewer Devindra Hardawar. “The more powerful $400 PlayStation 4 Pro could also solve some of the graphical issues I had with the PS VR when it debuts next month. Even with that machine, you'll still be shelling out less than you would with a powerful gaming PC and the $600 Rift or $800 Vive.”

Whether PS4, Oculus, or the HTC Vive will end up absorbing the lion’s share of real competitive gaming and exclusive deals, only time will tell. First VR headsets have to become a home staple and not an early-adopter niche.

Don’t forget the HTC Vive

There are a number of Multiplayer Vive games you can play right now

We’re so close to real competitive virtual boxing. FPS competitive shooters with guns as the controller. But there are still some problems.

One of the largest barriers to entry for both players and fans is that for nearly every VR game, you can’t quite fully describe it. You have to try on a headset, and experience it. For weaker VR games, it’s a nifty 360 visual game. For the better ones though, competitive gaming will adopt what gamers love the most, and competitive gaming may never be the same after.

Gambling in the VR world

Perhaps you want to place your Bitcoins on a virtual boxer instead of a real one. Well, as VR headsets are going into more and more homes, commercial ones will eventually become standardized. Before the end of the decade we should expect to see standardized VR games which we will surely see competitive gamers aiming to be the number one at, along with thousands of other betters hoping to make some real money off their competitive gaming success.