My qualms with VR don't have anything to do with the technology itself. Having been blown away by the Vive, I know just how far along we are and firmly believe that a photorealistic experience can be had.

What I am saying is that most people have been assuming that the general population is interested in such an experience, and I don't think they will be.

Things the varying subsets of the general population show interest in:

  - addictive phone/puzzle games
  - big budget games (CoD, etc)
  - movies
  - travel
  - porn
  - immersive escapism
  - customising their surroundings

I think we'll see all of these things play out in VR. Travel and interior design are both expensive and VR can provide some steps towards both. You get home from work, shattered, eat and then just lie around in your little apartment. Why not have it feel like it's palatial, like you have epic views over islands or in space. With videos playing on huge virtual screens within that.

My brother lives interstate. With VR, we could watch a video together as though we were in a cinema beside each other. Or play Xbox as though we were in the same room. In either case, it's not as though we need contact or photorealistic avatars - it could be a dark shape next to you.

Right now, many people watch abysmal TV nightly just to relax. I think we'll see people just hanging out in VR worlds as an alternative to the depressing reality of many real lives. I think if you had some decent approximation of the world of Avatar (as one example), there'd be millions of people who would spend hours each day existing in that neon/blacklight environment rather than switching on TV and watching any old junk.

Perhaps not the general population, but among moderate and hardcore gamers (a billion dollar industry) it will be a must-have. I'm also convinced that when talented directors start to produce blockbuster movies and television shows in stereoscopic 360 while leveraging tasteful artistic nuance to produce quality content, the general population will soon follow.