A lot can change in ten years. As we enter a new decade and count down to the Xbox Series X and PS5’s debut, let’s look back at the tech of the 2010s that changed the gaming industry — for better or worse.
Virtual Reality
A decade ago, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii were entering their twilight years, PC gaming was allegedly in decline, and anyone that said VR was probably talking about the Virtual Boy or Johnny Mnemonic. But in 2012 Oculus revealed the Rift, a virtual reality device that aimed to truly achieve presence – the feeling when you put on a headset of being present in a virtual world.
The Rift’s success would go on to define much of the decade when it comes to tech innovation. VR was heralded as the next frontier in gaming, and Valve and Sony quickly followed suit with VR headsets of their own. Still, slow user adoption has kept most developers from dedicating major resources toward making VR games. And without games, people don’t have a reason to buy the headsets. Chicken, egg. But however you look at it, VR is here to stay, and with the announcement of Half-Life Alyx coming in just a few months, VR might finally have the killer app it needs to hit critical mass. Probably.
Source: IGN.com How the 2010s Changed the Gaming Industry, For Better and Worse