If you think CES 2015 is just about smartphones, TVs and the Internet of Things, think again. Exhibitors are out in full force showing off the latest in gaming technology at this year's show.
To better understand all of the innovations in gaming at CES and what's coming up this year and beyond, I attended the Emerging Trends in Gaming panel on Jan. 6. Speaking at the panel were Richard Huddy, the chief gaming scientist at AMD, Michael Pachter, a research analyst at Wedbush Securities and Jason Rubin, the head of worldwide studios. There are a few themes that are dominating CES this year, and the gaming world is no exception.
It looks like VR and 4K are going to be gamechangers going forward, no pun intended. As technology continues to improve, people are going to want even more immersive and dynamic experiences, and both VR and 4K will give them that. Rubin, thinks that there's huge potential for a start-up to do with VR what Uber did for the smartphone, revolutionizing how people use the device and the service. In fact, he thinks VR is a platform in and of itself. Unfortunately, Rubin didn't have any updates as to when consumers can finally get their hands on the Oculus Rift.
"Oculus is not racing to release hardware to monetize," Rubin said during the panel. "Oculus is racing to release hardware that is as good as it can be."
Facebook's acquisition of Oculus last year should help bring VR to the masses, of course, or at least to a wider audience than would have adopted it.
Excitement around 4K is also building, especially with new 4K products already announced from major players like Samsung and Sony at CES 2015. But even though the technology is out there, the content to watch on TVs is still lacking. Still, Pachter thinks video games might encourage people to buy 4K TVs and that consumer adoption will eventually drive 4K content.
Of course, you needn't look any further than the CES 2015 show floor to know that the future of gaming is already here.
