There’s lots of talk about the potential of virtual reality (VR) — but should we buy into all the hype? According to J.P. Gownder, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, the answer is no:

“We’re hearing a lot about the promise of virtual reality, especially from forward-looking companies that want to put their stake in the ground,” Gownder said. “Although VR will eventually find its place, there are many obstacles it must first overcome to gain mass-market status — from educating consumers on its value to sorting out high costs affiliated with the hardware. Organizations should be thinking about how VR fits into their business models, but overinvesting in the near term could backfire. Despite the present-day hype — and a few early, genuine innovations — there’s still a few years before VR will become a competitive differentiator for most companies.”

Check out J.P.’s blog post on the topic here, and stay tuned for further research on this topic next quarter.