It's hard to talk about the emergence of VR without talking about VR porn. So let's talk.

VR is on the precipice of changing media as we know it. It also stands on the precipice of a format war that makes Betamax vs VHS and Blu-ray vs HD-DVD look like minor skirmishes. In fact, this pending standards conflict is probably the biggest threat to VR's growth and adoption today.

Virtual reality (VR) is unlike any other media in a number of ways. After spending a lot more time with VR myself the past few weeks, I've been reminded of one of the key differentiations: comfort is paramount. It's certainly nice to have decent back support or a plush pillow when reading in bed, to have a great couch when watching Netflix on TV, or to be seated anywhere but the front row when watching a movie in the theatre. But these comforts are somewhat ancillary to a particular medium: nice to have, but we aren't severely impacted by lack ...

There are many factors to consider in trying to predict when an emerging technology might have its iPhone moment, breaking through from an early-adopter niche into a mainstream consumer product. Merely being technically possible is only one piece of the puzzle, and in many ways is the least important. Once something is feasible, the next gating factor is market economics -- can we manufacture or productize it at a price that anyone would pay? But beyond technical and economic feasibility, there's a third factor that's often overlooked: cultural feasibility -- are we collectively "ready" for the technology.

By now everyone has probably heard of Pokemon GO. The game, a partnership between Nintendo and Niantic (creators of Ingress), is Nintendo's first foray of itsIP into the mobile game space, and it has been a resounding success. It's also going to be kicking off a major investment into augmented reality content.

VR is on the precipice of changing media as we know it. It also stands on the precipice of a format war that makes Betamax vs VHS and Blu-ray vs HD-DVD look like minor skirmishes. In fact, this pending standards conflict is probably the biggest threat to VR's growth and adoption today.

I've been saying for years that virtual reality (followed up by augmented reality) is the next great leap for media.But as we stand at the precipice of this new transformative step, the harsh reality sets in.