LAS VEGAS - When Facebook acquired Oculus Rift in March of 2014 for $2 billion, it put virtual reality on the map. Oculus Rift had only just completed its Kickstarter campaign when Facebook swooped in and bought it. Facebook surely noticed that the campaign reached almost 1,000% funding of its goal as gamers excited at the prospect of "[stepping] into the game." 

Here at CES 2015, Oculus took center stage as it displayed its headset, but they were not alone. A quick search for "virtual reality" pulls up 13 exhibitors at the 2015 International CES. Now industry veterans like Samsung and Sony Corp. are jumping on the bandwagon and promising to bring virtual reality to your living room in the near future.

Perhaps the coolest thing in the world of VR at CES this year was a company called Omni, who is touting its Omni immersive virtual reality platform. Equipped with special shoes on a low-friction surface, and enclosed in safety loop, Omni puts users right into the game combining the Oculus headset with the freedom to actually run forward to make your character do the same. Call of Duty would be a whole new world.

Omni just completed a $2.7 million investment round and is getting close to a commercial launch. The kit will run $499 but will jump to $699 Feb. 1st.

What exhibitors at CES are trying to show us however is that the future of virtual reality does not lie only in gaming, but in more practical applications like teleconferencing, in the medical field, and in your living room.


Oculus founder Palmer Luckey said "Virtual reality really at its core is an extension of gaming technology...but I don't think that is necessarily the endgame."

Virtual reality hardware has made leaps and bounds at this years trade show, and more is yet to come. Keep an eye on Samsung's Milk VR content and its own VR headset early this year.