Is Augmented Reality Ready for Primetime?

People are known to gravitate towards the familiar. Consumers choose to engage and become loyal fans to TV shows and entertainment vehicles that are familiar to them. This is one possible way to look at the question of whether or not augmented reality is ready for primetime. There needs to be more immersive media that taps into pre-existing interest and passions – and it needs to be happening repeatedly.

Consumers are looking for moments that thrill, but even enthusiastic VR and AR users have said that they eventually stop using it. Consumers already have the ability to snap a picture with characters and bring them to life, but how sustainable is that appeal? The industry needs to be pushed forward by useful things that make the consumer feel like it’s going somewhere.

“We need to make sure that we learn as much as we can as fast as we can, share that knowledge and then apply it to enhance and improve what we do,” says Magid’s Senior Vice President, Global Media & Entertainment, Mike Bloxham.

It is apparent that there is still a long way to go to reach richer content that can be used to extend stories and programming. Because even though there is AR content out there to be utilized, it needs to be created to be successful while integrating augmented reality into TV. “Immersive media is in the steam-driven era right now and we’re going to look back in five years, maybe even three years, and say wow how quaint,” further states Bloxham.

View this insightful panel session with Bloxham from the Augmented World Expo in late May 2018.

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• The future world of “Ready Player One” has already begun
• ‘Ready Player One’ Will Help, But Not Change The VR Industry
• Focal Point: Will Ready Player One Prompt A VR Sales Boom?