Would You Actually Devote An Entire Room To VR?

After finally experiencing several exhilarating demos and games using the HTC Vive, I am sold on room scale VR. Valve's Lighthouse technology, which grants the ability to physically walk around in and navigate a game space has forever changed how I want to interact with video games. It's without a doubt the HTC Vive's killer feature, but is it a feature you'll rearrange your living space for? Jason Rubin, head of worldwide studios at Oculus, is skeptical.

"Some people will really want room scale," he told Polygon. "We have the tech ability to provide room scale [...] We don't believe that the consumer has the space in general."

So even though the Rift VR headset, which launches next week, could deliver that experience, it's clearly not something the company believes should be a priority. Are they right?

The maximum space an HTC Vive can accommodate is a large 15-foot-by-15-foot square, although its software can scale that down to 5-feet-by-6.5-feet. But the latter number is the minimum space required. That's not an enormous chunk, but for regular usage it may require a deliberate change to your living room, office, or bedroom. And your VR-Ready PC will need to be there as well.

There are other requirements: no mirrors and no direct sunlight, and preferably no sharp edges or furniture to bump into. The system's excellent Chaperone feature and its front-facing camera protects you from incident, but I'd prefer to be more fully immersed in the VR world by being worry-free in the real world.

Poll: Given your current living situation, would you devote an entire room to the HTC Vive and its room scale #VR?

— Virtual Jason (@killyourfm) March 23, 2016

I remember clearing a space in my living room whenever I wanted to play Wii Tennis with my friends (there were more than a few backhands to the face), and Vive users have that same option. To me, however, the ultimate VR experience means devoting an entire room to my HTC Vive. A VR playground where I can walk in and disappear at anytime without hassle.

At first this may seem like an extreme scenario, but let's consider a few things. First, the Vive is a significant investment at $799. Worth every penny, but still significant. Plus, remember that gaming only represents a fraction of what virtual reality can offer us. Things like virtual tourism, aversion therapy, health and fitness applications, and short films that invite you to walk around the entire scene are just a few examples. And one can only imagine what the porn industry will do with the technology.

My point is that as VR becomes more widely adopted and the costs are reduced, it stands to become a very active and perhaps significant part of our daily routine, and rearranging our physical spaces to accommodate it will less and less absurd. But how many of us can realistically do that?

It's an open question, and I'd love to hear from you via the Twitter poll above, or by sounding off on Twitter and Facebook. Perhaps you live in a one-bedroom apartment and it's simply not a possibility. Perhaps, like me, you're preparing to gleefully jump off the deep end and devote your entire home office to VR. Either way, let's chat about it!