When people think about the Gutenberg bible, their first association is usually with the general idea of movable type, although movable type actually dates back to eleventh century China. Many (although not all) scholars believe that Gutenberg’s was the first European press to use cast metal alloy fonts, a key technology for the mass production of books, which led to a great increase in literacy throughout Europe.
Yet ironically, Gutenberg’s bible cost far less per copy than hand written manuscripts, it was not actually a mass market product, but more of a high end luxury item. Even so, its eventual impact on mass publication is undeniable.
Recently I’ve been thinking of the Valve/HTC Vive as the modern equivalent of the Gutenberg Bible. It is definitely a high end item. After all, when you add in the PC it costs around $2000, and it generally requires a dedicated room.
Contrast this with mobile VR, which just needs a smartphone. And that’s a big deal, because there are already 2.1 billion smartphones in the world, and that number is growing rapidly.
Of course mobile VR is not yet “room scale”. Phone based VR products like GearVR and Google Daydream still track only your orientation. If you physically move your head, they don’t know about it, so actual walking and head movement can’t be part of the experience.
But a high quality room scale experience in the VIVE is aspirational. It shows people what mobile VR could look like in the next few years.
When that happens, this sort of more powerful VR immersion will move from the high end to the phone in your pocket. And then VR will get its equivalent of the mass market paperback.
But first it needed its Gutenberg bible.