Inside Asian Gaming

July 2016 inside asian gaming 39 product, SlotsMillion aims to provide a complete entertainment experience that only virtual reality can provide. The idea is that when players put their VR goggles on, they will discover worlds where anything is possible. As Tomic says, not just a new reality but a “better one.” “I mean, with the new devices you can see every shadow, every little thing,” he explains. “It’s like a dream. It looks so real. And when you spend a number of hours there, when you take the goggles off the first thing you think is that the reality around you isn’t real. That’s scary! “Because it is so realistic, your brain starts to get used to the new reality so when you come back it takes a while to get used to the old reality. Another reason is because in the virtual world it’s bright whereas in the real world it looks dark – when you come back it doesn’t look so shiny. “That’s the great thing about it though iGaming in Depth iGaming Blue Pages – it can be anything you want. Maybe you like Las Vegas with all the bright lights. We can even have you flying in over the Las Vegas Strip in a helicopter before you arrive. Anything is possible.” It’s this ability to enhance the overall experience thatmakes virtual reality such a good fit when it comes to iGaming. But why now? Ultimately, it comes down to technology. With the PC virtual reality market expected to be worth around US$16 billion by 2020, a number of companies have invested heavily in producing products such as headsets and goggles that are far superior to previous technologies, which were renowned for causing motion sickness in those who used them. The most famous of these is the Oculus Rift. The brainchild of a 17-year-old science junkie from Long Beach, California, the Oculus Rift headset features 1080x1200 resolution for each eye, a refresh rate of 90 Hz, integrated headphones to provide a 3D audio effect and a USB stationary IR sensor that allows the headset to have rotational and positional tracking, So impressive is the experience provided by the Oculus Rift that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg paid US$2 billion in 2014 to buy the technology outright. Facebook is set to release an updated and even more impressive version of the Oculus Rift in early 2017. Will this, then, signal the way of the future for gaming? “Virtual reality is such an immersive experience that it is so much more real than anything else its users have experienced before,” says Tomic. “Everything that takes place inside the virtual world feels like it is happening for real. It isn’t just real life – it’s better than real life because you can experience things that aren’t possible in the real world. “That’s the advantage virtual reality has over every other form of gaming out there.”