I feel like I'm getting too old for virtual reality, and maybe you are too
VR games like Gorilla Tag, Yeeps, and I am Cat seem like the future of VR gaming. A future that makes me feel old.
I've been writing about virtual reality for eight years now. I've seen ups and downs, and countless trends come and go. Nothing I have experienced in these years has been beyond my imagination.
That began to change with the growing popularity of Gorilla Tag, which is now the most played VR game, with over one million daily active VR players and over $100 million in revenue to date. These are staggering numbers, and not just by VR standards.
Gorilla Tag now has more than twice as many reviews as Beat Saber in the Quest Store. The immense success of the VR game has spawned numerous imitators and clones, which are flooding the Quest Store and sometimes reaching a larger audience than quality titles developed by long-established studios. VR games such as Yeeps and I Am Cat have also taken inspiration from Gorilla Tag to create their own viral formula that has seen them climb the Quest charts in a short period of time.
The arrival of the VR natives
Gorilla Tag puts you in the role of an ape. Using sweeping arm movements, you run and swing through virtual environments and play tag with others. This, along with the social aspect, is what makes Gorilla Tag so appealing to players.
Gorilla Tag is primarily played by kids and teens, a growing new generation of VR enthusiasts. They are the first VR natives, for whom virtual reality is not a strange new technology, but something quite normal alongside smartphones, tablets, and computers. Because of their young age, they are also less bothered by the physical intensity of the medium.
I recently realized how well-known and popular Gorilla Tag is with Generation Alpha when I asked a friend's eight-year-old daughter if she knew Gorilla Tag. She said she hadn't played it, but had seen videos on TikTok. She hadn't heard of the Meta Quest brand or any of the other VR games that my generation is into.
Becoming a VR Grandpa
Which brings me to the point of this article: As a representative of an older generation (I was born in the 80s), I can't fully understand the appeal of Gorilla Tag, despite my best efforts. I don't want to take anything away from the success of the VR game or other people's enjoyment of it. I just want to say that its appeal is kind of a mystery to me.
Is Gorilla Tag a fad, or does it signal the beginning of a profound change in VR gaming? It's too early to tell. But being a bit confused by the biggest VR phenomenon of the moment should give me, as a VR journalist, pause for thought. And maybe you, dear MIXED readers, too.
I put you in the headline on purpose. Anyone reading this article is probably of my generation or a generation close to it, and will feel similarly. The number of people who read our Gorilla Tag-related articles is low and shows that our readership is not interested in such games. And Generation Alpha certainly doesn't read VR blogs, they're on platforms like YouTube and TikTok.
Virtual reality is incredibly diverse, with something for everyone. Just this week, Batman: Arkham Shadow was released, a top-notch VR game designed specifically for veteran gamers like me: an immersive single-player adventure with rich graphics and a story you want to immerse yourself in.
But the real show, and we should be aware of this, is happening on other stages. And their audiences will have a much greater impact on the development of VR gaming over the next decade than those who flock to AAA titles like Batman: Arkham Shadow or last year's Asgard's Wrath 2.
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