Virtual reality has been the talk of the tech world for quite some time. Over and over again, consumers hear about how VR technology will push the standards for technology higher and farther than we could imagine, most notably in the video game industry. When new technology emerges, we see new powerful consoles and more powerful computers. We are finally at the point where consoles and computers can run VR.

Even though many people can run a VR system, there are many variables that come into play when thinking about picking one up. For one, there is the price. The Oculus Rift is $599. The HTC Vive goes for $799. And the cheapest Microsoft HoloLens requires the consumer to drop $3,000. These are the big names on the VR market and these systems are not cheap.

Jared Lonnegren, a Business major at SCC, thinks that VR will not blow up in 2016 due to the price.

“For that reason alone, probably not this year,” Lonnegren said. “But it’s noticeably getting more popular [despite the price].”

Despite the price tag for these systems, Lonnegren is correct in that they are garnering attention. Back in July, Ben Lang of roadtovr.com wrote about the Vive nearing the 100,000 sales mark.

But there are some people doubting already if VR really is the future of gaming. A June 21 article written by Adi Robertson of The Verge explains that while VR was displayed at the world’s biggest gaming convention, E3, it showed that VR wasn’t ready to carry the future of gaming yet. Buggy games, unfinished games and game developers going away from VR showed that VR had a slump during the summer.

Maybe that will change with Sony’s PlayStation VR system, which was released on Oct. 13. This VR will focus on video games, whereas the other VR sets have many applications other than gaming. Whether Sony can persuade the gaming public at large with its new VR headset will be determined by how well its plans for the system are executed.

Kyle Flores, a Fine Arts major student at SCC, was pulled in for a different reason other than gaming.

“I do like that you can do a lot of creative stuff with VR,” Flores said. “I didn’t know about that until I saw a video. But when I saw a press conference for the Microsoft HoloLens. When they’re building like a drone that caught my attention. That’s what wanted me to purchase one. The more creative part of it, not the gaming but the creativity part.”