Editing History of video games (section)

===Mixed, virtual and augmented reality games===
[[File:Oculus-Rift-CV1-Headset-Front with transparent background.png|thumb|right|The [[Oculus Rift]] headset]]
{{see also|Virtual reality|Augmented reality}}
[[Virtual reality]] (VR) systems for video games had long been seen as a target for VR technology and had been in development as early as the 1990s, but had been hampered by their high cost and impractical for consumer sales. One of the initial attempts, Nintendo's [[Virtual Boy]] in 1996, used a monochromatic [[Stereoscopy|stereoscopic display]] to simulate 3D, but the unit was impractical and failed to gain developers, leading it to be a commercial failure for Nintendo. Breakthroughs in consumer-ready VR hardware came in the early 2010s with the development of the [[Oculus Rift]] by [[Palmer Luckey]]. The Rift was demonstrated at trade shows in 2013, and proved popular enough to lead [[Facebook]] to purchase the company and technology for {{USD|2 billion|long=no}} in 2014. Shortly afterward, Valve and [[HTC]] announced the [[HTC Vive]], first released in 2015, while Sony released its [[PlayStation VR]] in 2016. Valve later developed its own VR hardware line, the [[Valve Index]], released in 2019. While numerous VR games took advantage of VR effectively over "flat-screen" games (those lacking VR capabilities) for immersive experience, VR's "killer app" came by way of ''[[Half-Life: Alyx]]'', released by Valve in 2020. ''Half-Life: Alyx'' brought several new ideas for integrating first-person shooter gaming into a VR app, and spurred sales of the Index.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Andrew |date=March 23, 2020 |title=Review: Half-Life Alyx is VR's stunning killer app |url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/reviews/half-life-alyx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324213220/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/reviews/half-life-alyx |archive-date=March 24, 2020 |access-date=March 24, 2020 |website=VGC}}</ref>

[[Augmented reality]] (AR) games, where the game takes a real-time video game image and renders additional graphics atop it, had also existed before the 2010s. Some PlayStation console games used the [[EyeToy]], [[PlayStation Eye]], or [[PlayStation Camera]] as part of the gameplay, as well as [[Xbox 360]] and [[Xbox One]] games using the Kinect. Most of the games were more experimental since cameras were fixed and limited what interactions could be made. As handheld consoles including the PSP and the Nintendo DS line, and mobile phones incorporated video camera capabilities, new AR possibilities opened up on portable devices. Initial games were still more experimental and toys without comprehensive gameplay loops. AR-based games took off with the release of ''[[Pokémon Go]]'' in 2016, which combined AR with [[location-based game]]s. Players would use their mobile device to guide them to where a virtual Pokémon may be found, which they searched for and attempted to capture using AR atop their device's camera.<ref name="Augmented reality mainstream">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/technology/unity-technologies-maker-of-pokemon-go-engine-swells-in-value.html | title=Unity Technologies, Maker of Pokémon Go Engine, Swells in Value | publisher=NYT | date=July 13, 2016 | access-date=July 16, 2016 | author=Wingfield, Nick | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716003710/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/technology/unity-technologies-maker-of-pokemon-go-engine-swells-in-value.html | archive-date=July 16, 2016 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>