VR Casino
Virtual reality, VR, has become one of the latest fads in the technology industry. In the past year, the technology has gotten a lot of attention and spread around the world – mainly because of the launch of Oculus Rift VR-glasses. Those glasses did somewhat represent the future of entertainment, and was the first really successful VR-concept on the market. The idea of VR in gaming has been around since at least 1995, when Nintendo launched the “VirtualBoy” in Japan. It was a truly original concept, but the market just wasn’t ready for that kind of equipment, and the “VirtualBoy” was discontinued after only a year. Back then, technology wasn’t as far come as it is now – and even though a cool idea, the VR-part of it all just couldn’t get the same wow-effect as it can today. Because the Oculus Rift truly can give the feeling of a true virtual world. The VR-concept has spread through a number of different areas – and now the turn has come to the online casino business.
The success of VR in other businesses
VR glasses enhances the effect, experience and the feeling of being in a real world. The technology has for the most part revolutionized the video game industry lately, and there is already quite a few companies, games and consoles specializing on VR – since it’s considered to be the next generation of video games. Most of the big companies behind the most popular game consoles on the market have some kind of VR-project of their own going, and you could expect to see a steady stream of them coming out on the market soon.
The Oculus Rift VR glasses are the top of the shelf technology at the moment. The glasses offer something different from what we’ve experienced before – whether you’re watching a VR-movie or stepping in to your favorite game, it feels like you’re really there. The advanced technology of the Rift glasses is combined with its precise, low-latency tracking system which enables the sensation of presence. This is what makes all the difference from the entertainment we are used to. Instead of just playing the game or watching the movie you get to be in the middle of the action.
World’s first VR casino
The beauty about VR technology is that it can be adjusted to almost anything, as long as the point is to get the feeling of being in the middle of the action of something. What that something is isn’t as important. That’s why the VR glasses and technology continues to spread to new industries all the tie. By now it has reached the online casino business, and is set to revolutionize the entire concept of online casinos.
The first VR casino in the would was launched by SlotsMillion, and is based upon the Rift glasses. There, you get to walk around a virtual casino, with bars, sofas and of course – slot machines. Instead of just offering the games of a casino online, the VR casino offers the entire experience you would get at a real casino. The casino is built like your typical real casino would be, and you can stroll around and interact with other players if you want, or have a drink at the bar. In other worlds, the VR technology truly brings the concept of online casinos to a whole new level.
The SlotsMillion VR casino really has the potential to be the future in online casino just by the things mentioned in the last paragraph, but what makes it really interesting is the games inside of the casino. When you walk around in the virtual casino rooms, most of the games are set up like they would be in real life – like slot machines like one armed bandits. Some of them though, take Starburst for example, are set up on big screens with huge 3D animations instead. While playing, the VR technology makes sure that you get the gaming experience of a lifetime – no matter if you’re playing on one of the slot machines or on a big screen.. In a way, this way of playing slots is even better than playing at a casino in real life – since you end up being in the middle of the game. When you score a winning combination in a slot game, stars and money will start flying around you. Go for the jackpot and fireworks will go of, while you are right in the middle of it all. If that won’t make your gambler heart beat a bit faster, I’m not sure what will.
At the moment, the SlotsMillion VR casino offer around 40 different slot games for you to play in a virtual reality experience. In order to start playing, all you have to do is to download the particular app from the SlotsMillion casino, and connect your Oculus Rift. It’s also possible to play the VR casino without the glasses, which will make it in 3D on your PC. That’s neat as well, of course, but it can’t really compare to the full VR experience.
Why VR casinos?
Today, there are millions of people playing on casinos online, and there are countless of different online casinos out there. This creates competition between the different casino sites, that always has to come up with something extra in order to attract new players. The most common way to do so is to offer welcome packages with deposit bonuses and so on, but that will only get them so far.
Many of the players that register today are rather young, which means that there is a whole new audience for the casino business to reach out to. Most of those new players has grown up with games where you can interact quite a lot with other players, such as World of Warcraft and others, which makes that the standard that they are used to. To really attract that kind of players, the online casinos must offer something more than they do today – and maybe VR will be that something.
The future of VR casinos
The VR online casino concept is just at the very start, so it is a bit hard to say how big it will become among the online casino users. At the moment, there aren’t too many players using VR casinos, simply because of the limited amount of games available, as well as the price of the equipment needed. The Oculus Rift glasses, which are essential for playing at the SlotsMillion VR casino, retails at around 700€. For most players, that is a lot of money to spend – especially since there aren’t more than 40 slots available at the VR casino.
But in the future, when the price of the gear has gone down, when more slots are available, and the technology has become something a bit more colloquial, the amount of VR casino users will probably rise rather quickly. The VR technology itself is believed to be the next big thing in technology, and will with certainty become more common in the next couple of years. As it does, the casino business will most likely develop the VR casino in different ways, foremost with more VR casinos than the SlotsMillion one, but also with better graphics, more available games etc. The concept is still just at the very beginning, but we will with all certainty see more of online VR casinos in the future.