It’s finally time! After years of teasing, prototypes, and previews, we’re going to lay eyes on final and near-final versions of consumer virtual reality headsets at CES 2016, as well as the content you’ll experience through them.
Oculus will dominate a large booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center, where you’ll be able to try a wide range of demos. HTC’s promising a “a very, very big technological breakthrough” for its “room-scale” Vive VR headset. Both AMD and Nvidia are pushing VR hard in private suites, and a big chunk of the LVVCC’s South Hall is dedicated solely to VR/AR technology. VR peripherals will abound as vendors pitch the idea of navigating virtual worlds with the help of treadmills, bikes, and even controllers built for your feet!
Hardware’s nothing without software to use on it, though, and the explosion of VR content is almost as thrilling as the arrival of VR headsets. There are games a-plenty, of course—that’s a natural killer app for virtual reality. But there will be a slew of non-gaming content on display too, from exercise aids to 360-degree videos to virtual tours and, uh, VR porn. I’m not sure if I’m thrilled or terrified about that last one. —Brad Chacos