Breaking Cocoon to Emerge as Butterfly in Gaming Winter: How the 1980s Game Industry Crash Unexpectedly Gave Birth to VR Dawn?

(Image: Wade Sisler (NASA))

Introduction

When talking about virtual reality (VR), you might first think of Meta Quest 3, Apple Vision Pro, or those cool VR games. But what if I told you that VR's true golden age, and many of the VR technology foundations we see today, were actually quietly nurtured during a tech winter—the 1980s, against the backdrop of the video game industry's massive crash? Wouldn't you find it a bit incredible? The irony of history often lies here. That seemingly dark period wasn't a tech low point, but rather became the fertile ground that gave birth to VR miracles.

Yes, you heard right! The 1983 video game "earthquake" that swept the globe, with giants like ATARI collapsing, seemed like a death sentence for digital entertainment, but was actually the prelude to a "phoenix rising." This unexpected industry shakeup facilitated the meeting and collaboration of several key figures, whose explorations were no longer limited by narrow commercial interests, instead turning their gaze toward a broader future—virtual reality. You could say that without that "gaming winter," perhaps there wouldn't be today's VR spring bloom.

Silence and NASA's Rekindled Ambition

Early attempts at virtual reality can be traced back to Morton Heilig's "Sensorama" and Ivan Sutherland's "Sword of Damocles" in the 1960s—they were distant pioneers. However, after that, VR research fell silent for a long time. It wasn't until the 1980s, when the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) rekindled its interest in innovative future technologies, that the dormant seeds found soil to sprout again. In 1980, photographer Eric Howlett's "LEEP panoramic stereoscopic photography system" entered NASA's view. This system, composed of wide-angle cameras and wide-field (140-degree) observation equipment, though failing to impress traditional giants like Kodak, found a new stage under NASA engineers' discerning eyes, and ultimately attracted the attention of VPL Research—a company that would become pivotal in VR history.

The Wonderful Journey from "Gardening Gloves" to "Data Gloves"

Almost simultaneously, MIT graduate Thomas Zimmerman was immersed in a project seemingly unrelated to VR: virtual instruments. His inspiration struck, transforming an ordinary gardening glove into a device that could measure finger bending—this was the prototype of what would later become the "Data Glove." In 1982, Zimmerman patented his optical flexible sensor.

At that time, the flourishing ATARI gaming company was looking toward the future of digital entertainment, even extending an olive branch to Zimmerman, attempting to acquire his glove patent for $10,000. However, Zimmerman refused. The seeds of fate were thus planted, and an unprecedented industry reshuffle was quietly approaching.

The Gaming Crash: The "Black Event" That Gave Birth to VR Dawn

In 1983, that infamous video game crisis hit like a sudden tsunami, devastating ATARI and directly leading to the closure of its research laboratory. Zimmerman's project was forced to be shelved, his "gardening gloves" gathering dust. Similarly affected was a talented programmer, Jaron Lanier, who had developed the innovative music game "Moondust" for ATARI.

However, crisis also brought opportunity. In 1984, at a Stanford concert, Lanier and Zimmerman met. Lanier was then using "Moondust" royalty income to focus on researching a visual programming language—he dreamed of replacing complex code with graphical symbols, making programming accessible to non-computer professionals. And Zimmerman's flexible sensor, in Lanier's view, was the ideal input device for his visual programming language!

VPL Research: The Cradle of Virtual Reality

Shared ideals made the two click instantly. In 1984, they joined forces to establish VPL Research. This company wrote a brilliant chapter in VR history: in 1987, Jaron Lanier first created and used the term "Virtual Reality," officially giving this technology a formal name. They also developed a VR programming language called "Body Electric" and created the earliest virtual avatars using the "Isaac" rendering engine.

Zimmerman's "gardening gloves" continuously evolved in VPL Research's laboratory, first combining ultrasonic tracking technology to evolve into the "Z-Glove" that could recognize hand positions in three-dimensional space, then upgrading to the "Data Glove" using magnetic sensors and fiber optic technology for more precise measurements. NASA keenly captured the enormous potential in these technologies and collaborated with VPL Research to further develop its "Virtual Environment Display System" for engineers' model review.

In 1987, VPL Research launched the first commercialized VR glasses—"VPL EyePhone HRX." This device, whose name seems somewhat strange today, was mainly targeted at enterprises and research institutions. Its price tag was a staggering $49,000 (approximately $140,000 today adjusted for inflation), plus the accompanying Data Glove and complete systems costing up to $250,000 (equivalent to $700,000 today). The high cost firmly kept it out of reach of ordinary consumers. Though the technical specifications (320x240 pixels per eye, 5-6 frames per second) were far from today's standards, even far below television frame rates at the time, it was undoubtedly the first step on VR's commercialization path. Even though VPL Research later went bankrupt in 1990 for various reasons, the foundation it laid for subsequent VR development was indelible.

Conclusion

History is always full of surprises and ironies. That crisis that almost ended the electronic gaming industry back then, through a twist of fate, became the fertile soil where virtual reality technology broke through. Without the closure of ATARI's research laboratory, perhaps there wouldn't have been Lanier and Zimmerman's meeting, and thus no VPL Research's groundbreaking work crucial to modern VR. Today, we see gaming once again becoming a huge driving force for VR's march toward the mass market, which makes one marvel: the trajectory of technological development is sometimes like a winding river—seemingly casual turns often lead to unexpected magnificent landscapes. Who would have thought that that "gaming winter love song" would sing VR's "spring prelude"?