Facebook's $2 billion deal to acquire Oculus last month marked the biggest bet yet on the resurgence of virtual reality.
While any price tag that hefty for an unfinished, unproven technology is bound to spark investor second-guessing, it's hardly a surprise that this purchase is being especially scrutinized. Like 3-D, virtual reality is a concept that has been touted for years, but has always failed to live up to its potential—and historically been rejected by consumers.
And while Oculus has greatly improved the experience—and Facebook and Sony (which is making its own lauded VR headset) are sinking fortunes into the technology—there are still plenty of hurdles virtual reality must clear. Among them:
Content: The best hardware in the world is useless if there's not software to take advantage of it. And if that first rush of software isn't up to par, it can quickly sour the experience.