Is Electronic Arts Serious About Virtual Reality Gaming?

CEO Andrew Wilson recently indicated that his company is experimenting with virtual reality. Wilson

during a video games panel at the annual SXSW event. His comments could be dismissed as a PR push for his company's

,

. Developed exclusively for

gaming platforms (a Windows PC version is also available),

is expected to be one of the biggest games of the year.

was not developed for virtual reality, however, and Xbox One does not currently have a VR component.

is

to release a VR headset that will support its own console, PlayStation 4, but nothing official has been announced.

Virtual reality is still somewhat of an anomaly within the game industry. Oculus VR, the startup behind the Oculus Rift headset, has been hyping its VR tech for nearly two years. The company ran a

, but it couldn't offer more than a development kit to prospective supporters. Oculus VR has made several revisions since that time, but it is still unknown when its product will be released. Augmented reality, on the other hand, has received a number of high-profile supporters, including

. AR differs from VR in that it enhances the real world without completely blocking it out. Whereas VR is mostly used for entertainment, training and

, AR could have a whole host of programs that replace a traditional computer. That's one of the reasons why Google is so intrigued by the concept. At this rate, it seems that AR is

virtual reality in terms of technological advancements. But Wilson's comments have made investors wonder what might be next for the game industry. Benzinga reached out to Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter to get his take on the matter. "I think VR will have trouble attracting content, since content has to be tailored for it and the hardware will initially have a small installed base," Pachter told Benzinga. "This is chicken and egg, so without compelling software, the hardware base will never get large, and without a large hardware base, there will be little incentive to develop compelling software. The technology is really cool, but I have trouble seeing how it can become mainstream." Disclosure: