As the ‘year of virtual reality’ draws to a close its seems as if some of the major players in the industry are starting to come together to nurture and support the fledgling consumer technology. Earlier today VRFocus reported on companies like Epic Games, Razer, Valve and Oculus joining The Khronos Group on an initiative to standardise virtual reality (VR) API standards. Now VR leaders such as Acer Starbreeze, Google, HTC VIVE, Facebook’s Oculus, Samsung, and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), have announced the creation of a non-profit organisation – the Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA) – an international group of headset manufacturers aiming to promote the growth of the global VR industry.
The goal of the Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA) is to promote responsible development and adoption of VR, with members developing and sharing best practices for industry and foster dialogue between public and private stakeholders around the world. The group will also serve as a resource for consumers, policymakers, and industry interested in VR.
“As the VR industry is taking off, it is crucial that we increase dialogue among stakeholders to ensure we are building a solid foundation to drive innovation for the years to come. The GVRA brings together industry leaders and fosters collaboration; StarVR looks forward to taking part in this exciting journey,” said Jerry Kao, CEO, Acer Starbreeze Corporation.
While Rikard Steiber, SVP, HTC Vive commented: “It is important that we as an industry are working together to establish best practices and common resources for our industry that will drive toward the $120 billion projection by 2020. The GVRA represents industry leaders and hardware manufacturers across the globe who are creating the best VR experiences available.”
“We’re still very much in the early stages of VR, so it’s critical that industry leaders work together to create and share ideas on how we can safely build this industry,” said Jordan McCollum, General Counsel for Oculus at Facebook. “I’m looking forward to working with other hardware makers to proactively address the challenges we need solve to make VR a success over the long term.”
As the GVRA develops and grows VRFocus will bring you the latest announcements from the new association.