Uploaded December 2018 | Updated September 2026, 55 minutes ago

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Sam Watts (@vr_sam) is one of the foremost thinkers on VR and the Director of Immersive Technologies at MakeReal, a company that believes that immersive digital products are transforming the way we work, play and learn. MakeReal makes virtual reality experiences, augmented reality devices, collaborative ‘serious games’ and other tools that support new types of work, play and learning.

In our wide-ranging conversation, we cover many things, including:

- How psychedelics started the virtual reality movement
- Why dystopian VR is unlikely in Sam's opinion
- What areas of are advancing rapidly and causing VR's progress
- The reason a single company probably won't own the VR market
- Why immersive experiences change the equation for entertainment of the future
- The problem with consumer VR today and what needs to change to spur adoption
- What is the experience escape velocity and why is it so important?
- When we can expect to see consumer VR takeoff
- The chicken and the egg problem of content and cost
- Why 5G will drive adoption of VR
- The reason the future is likely mixed reality


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