In Defense of Cardboard VR

The Oculus Rift finally hit the market, HTC is betting heavily on the Vive revitalizing its flagging brand, Sony is releasing its PlayStation VR, and Samsung is pushing its own mobile version of Oculus' technology with the Gear VR. But, all these choices require slapping down hundreds of dollars, which is a lot to ask of consumers, especially on such an unknown commodity.

Google, however, has been humming along with its Cardboard VR platform for a while now. It's literally a cardboard enclosure for a smartphone, which uses it as a display you can attach to your face for a makeshift VR headset. At around $20, Cardboard has nowhere near the level of technical capabilities of the more expensive choices, but that doesn't mean it can't impress or isn't a worthwhile portal to virtual reality.

We spoke with several champions of the mobile VR world about why they're betting big on Cardboard (and mobile VR in general) as opposed to flocking behind the more expensive alternatives. The answer, unilaterally, had nothing to do technology and everything to do with user base and cost of adoption.

"Targeting mobile users is the future," Richard Broo of Wemersive—makers of a variety of mobile VR apps since about 2009—said. "Although HMDs [head mounted displays] are projected to sell up to 20 million units by 2020, they are still costly for your average consumer. It's still estimated there'll be 6.1 Billion smartphones worldwide by 2020."

That 6.1 billion is a hard market to resist.

So why are developers not publishing their VR games on Cardboard?

"The answer is because it's bad," Darknet developer E McNeill told the audience at the Game Developers Conference during his talk, Two Games, Four Platforms: A VR Platform Comparison. "The technical quality of the experience is low enough that I don't want people experiencing my game through that lens. My games require a whopping two buttons and Cardboard can't support that. From what I heard from other developers, sales on cardboard haven't been great so far."

Andy Goldstein, of Otherworld Interactive—a developer who's been making everything from creepy VR horror games (Sisters) to educational apps—agrees with the extensive reach Cardboard offers. "If you want people to easily be able to access your content, mobile is the way to go," Goldstein said. "That being said, it can be less immersive than the Rift, Vive, or PlayStation VR—a smaller field of view, no ability to track hands, and no way to walk around in the real world and have it mirror the virtual."

So, maybe games aren't really the focus for Cardboard. Scout out the Cardboard section of the Play store and you'll find games, sure, but so-called "VR experiences" are the real focus. Short flights of fancy meant to show off some foreign or fantastical location or just stories are far more prevalent than traditional interactive apps and games.

Daniel Moroz of Ascape VR creates "virtual vacations"; that is, 360 degree VR trips to exotic locations, not unlike a less immersive version of the goggle experiences William Gibson described in his novel, Virtual Light. "I'd like to think that there will be 'mobile VR' and 'hardcode VR' [Vive, Rift, etc.]," Moroz said. "Cardboard is a cheap, cool, and fun device that will definitely play a big role in the entertainment market. I think Cardboard will evolve into something a bit more sophisticated and become an entertainment device that almost every family is going to have. Like the iPad, you don't really need it, but it is a lovely thing to own."

"Companies can send their consumers a branded Cardboard, much like Coachella just did," Goldstein adds. "This allows for more people to see the power of virtual reality."

And Coachella wasn't the first to self-promote with Cardboard. The New York Times and Pornhub also sent out free Cardboard units to their audience, giving VR access to thousands, and showing that it wasn't only for games.

Unlike the Oculus, Samsung, and HTC headset there's a low level of commitment with Cardboard. You just pick it up and look through it, and hand it to someone else, like a modern day Viewmaster. That's one of the big reasons Craig Dalton, the CEO of San Francisco's boutique mobile case maker, DODOcase, leapt into making cheap, easily available Cardboard head gear right from the start. He's adamant about the future of the platform because of its unique social nature. "Smartphone VR is destined for 'snackable' content," he said. "The beauty of Cardboard is that you can just hand it over to someone and give them a VR experience with no big commitment."

The low commitment of Cardboard VR is a big deal for the average consumer. Those of us used to adopting new technology might not think twice about strapping a display to our heads (with noise-canceling headphones to complete the immersive experience), but it could be an imposing prospect for non-techies.

"From an 'experience' standpoint—well, you have consider that goggles with a head strap will evoke a much worse sense of motion sickness and the user can't really take it off easily, like Cardboard," Moroz said. "So they are either in VR or not. With Cardboard though—you can take it off easily and pass it along to a friend sitting next to you. So, it's also a much more 'shareable' experience."

Every time someone shares Cardboard VR content this way, they increase the chance of getting a newcomer hooked on more immersive experiences. Most will likely stop at Cardboard, but plenty won't, leading them to move up to higher technology standards. Samsung's Gear VR is a natural next step for Android users (and offers a surprisingly significant increase in performance in every regard), and Sony's focus on adopting console users will likely be a logical next step for more casual gamers.

In the meantime, there are hundreds of Cardboard and general mobile VR apps to satisfy the VR itch for millions of smartphone users. "I believe the future of Cardboard remains bright," Goldstein says. "One of my beliefs is that anyone who is going to drop more than 400 dollars on a Vive, Rift, or Playstation VR, is likely going to mess around with a Cardboard before buying a high-end HMD to make sure that they enjoy virtual reality."