The annual GDC or Game Developers Conference, kicked off on Monday at the Moscone Center in beautiful San Francisco. Unlike E3, where gaming companies show off their latest games or platforms, the GDC 2015 is focused on those who are deeply involved in the programming, drawing and writing of these games. The hardware of the future is also a big topic usually when this conference is held and this year is no different.
Some of the industries biggest players like Sony, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Samsung and Valve are present, showing off their newest products and inventions and this year marks the second year in a row where Virtual Reality is a main focus.
Sony’s “Prometheus” virtual reality headset and Facebook’s Oculus VR got a lot of buzz but this year other players like Google, Valve, Nvidia and Mountain View startup Lytro promised to make a mark in the VR world.
Another big theme of this years conference is the ever growing field of ” E-Sports”
These are big scale Video game tournaments held in real life venues and streamed online. Some tournaments have been known to sell out arenas and garner a massive audience much like the the World Series or other big time sporting events.
Recent surveys have shown that people were willing to pay upwards of $200 to see such an event in person and further research shows that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to E-Sports.
Conventions like the GDC, lay the foundation for what is next in the gaming universe and it looks as if we are not that far away from being able to play the first Virtual Reality Sports game in the comfort of our living room.