Virtual reality has been around for 30 years, but the technology has been too clunky and expensive to gain much favor with the public. That will finally change in 2016, The Economist boldly predicts. Virtual reality products will generate an estimated $3.8 billion in revenue in 2016, and tech companies are already clamoring for their slice of that pie. But gaming isn't the only way virtual reality will make a splash next year, The Economist says: Journalism, architecture, shopping, and medicine will also take advantage of VR technology in new and interesting ways. Most of the video, in fact, focuses on an Iraq War veteran getting help with posttraumatic stress disorder through virtual reality. Watch The Economist make its case for a very VR 2016 below. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Labubu: the 'creepy' dolls sparking brawls in the shopsIn the Spotlight Craze for the pint-sized soft toys has reached fever pitch among devotees
-
The top period dramas to stream nowThe Week Recommends Heaving bosoms and billowing shirts are standard fare in these historical TV classics
-
Women need more pain management during gynecological proceduresUnder the radar Pain should no longer be ignored
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
