THINKERBIT DARK MODE

VR headset launch trailers

April 7, 2016

Here's the launch trailer for the Oculus Rift (careful of the volume):

Loud music paired with a deluge of brief game clips from a first-person perspective. To the layperson who's only barely familiar with VR, it's inscrutable. It doesn't convey what VR actually feels like, and it over-emphasizes the headset (and dinosaur cliché).

Now here's SteamVR / HTC Vive's launch video:

It's longer, sure, but it's far more enjoyable to watch and explains everything from the setup process to the safety grid while gradually building up excitement.

Using a green screen was extremely smart, and so was using realistic groups of relatable people. The experience and fun of VR is emphasized instead of the goofy-looking hardware, and it concludes with people enjoying their new headsets at home. I can easily see segments of this video become ads on TV, and blow peoples' minds.

This is how you sell VR.