The adoption of virtual reality (VR) technology is a polarizing topic within the tech community. It is now six years since the first generation of Oculus Rift headsets appeared on Kickstarter. The company was snapped up by Facebook in 2014 before the second Oculus headset was even released.
Market forecasts predict that VR and AR will grow to $209 billion within the next four years. To put this into context, that is more than seven and a half times bigger than the current market size in 2018.
Despite these predictions, technology journalists continue to debate whether or not VR will ever achieve mainstream adoption. Some claim that there isn’t a big enough user base and the market is too fragmented with different headset manufacturers. Others cite a lack of content and the price of headsets as being barriers to adoption.
Blockchain Integration
In a bid to realize the potential market growth in VR through continuous innovation, one company is confronting these perceived barriers head-on. Ceek is the first company in the VR space to adopt blockchain as part of its offering. In doing so, the company is building a tokenized entertainment “metaverse.” Fans can use CEEK digital tokens to buy concert and event tickets to virtual performances by their favorite artists or sports teams.
Image Source: Ceek PR
Even pre-ICO, the company had already established partnerships with big-name artists such as Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Megadeth, and U2. By producing a wide range of content capable of luring in such massive fan bases, Ceek is lowering the barriers to mainstream adoption of VR technology. Besides, its VR headset currently retails at a very reasonable price of $99, making it highly accessible to a broad consumer base.
Brand Ambassadorships and Content Partnerships
However, Ceek is also pushing forward in its efforts to continue innovating and reaching new audiences around the world. The company recently announced a partnership with Dani Carvajal, star defender of the Real Madrid soccer team, which won the Champions League title three years in a row. Carvajal will serve as brand ambassador for Ceek, bringing instructional soccer via VR to young people attending his 2019 summer camp in Miami.
The main idea behind the partnership with Carvajal is to develop a behind-the-scenes VR experience for fans, showing an in depth view of his personal life as he travels and plays around the world. Given that Carvajal has a following of 6.6 million on social media, and Real Madrid more than 200 million, this partnership offers Ceek unprecedented access to an entirely new VR user base.
Dani Carvajal, Real Madrid
Image source: Ceek PR
In a similar vein, the company is also partnering with the Great American Rivalry Series to showcase their games in VR. This is the biggest and longest-running American high school football series, with 100 games across 42 states this year. This partnership offers Ceek the opportunity to showcase its VR experience to millions of students across the country.
The company is also hard at work building its content portfolio. In June, it announced that it would be collaborating with Hollywood director Brett Leonard (Lawnmower Man) to develop a multi-conceptual film called Hollywood Rooftop.
This will consist of ten episodes of VR content, telling the story of a group of upcoming talented actors as they try to make it in Hollywood. There will also be a 2D feature film that accompanies the series, which aims to stimulate discussion around VR storytelling and its relationship with traditional cinema.
Platform Agnostic
If the criticism that industry fragmentation is creating barriers to adoption, then Ceek is also working with other VR headset manufacturers to integrate its software onto their product.
Ceek’s VR content delivery app has been developed as platform-agnostic, and the company is set to launch integrations with Oculus and the Samsung Gear VR headset. Further integrations are planned next year with Microsoft and the HTC Vive.
The Future of the VR Industry
While it is true that VR has not exploded onto the consumer consciousness in the same way that such technologies as smartphones did, the market is still relatively young. Blockchain technology is still going through iterations and has barriers to adoption, and VR is experiencing the same.
However, if the growth forecasts are to be believed, this is all set to change. This time in 2022, it may be that we are crediting pioneers such as Ceek for pushing VR technology to its tipping point.
