Wearable tech is usually marketed based on its lifestyle features, with devices focusing on fitness tracking and health monitoring, amongst other abilities.
However, this type of hardware is also causing a revolution in the interactive entertainment space, creating new experiences and fuelling innovation in game development.
To bring you up to speed, here is a look at the wearable gaming solutions that have made a splash recently and are likely to catalyse change going forwards.
Valve Index
Perhaps the most important game released in 2020 was Half-Life: Alyx, the first official entry in this critically acclaimed franchise for more than a decade which broke the mould by only being playable via virtual reality headset.
Valve, the firm behind the game, was partly inspired to take this route because it had its own VR hardware to sell, in the form of the Index headset and accompanying controllers and receivers.
Designed as a rival to the likes of the HTC Vive and the Oculus range of wearable gaming gear, the Index boasts built-in displays which are both higher resolution and of a faster refresh rate than its competition. This can help improve the smoothness of the gameplay experience, while the clever finger-tracking potential of the controllers adds to the overall immersion.
Like other VR headsets, the Index can also be used to enjoy other tailor-made virtual reality games, as well as to do almost anything else not explicitly developed for wearable kit like this, such as watching videos, browsing the web and even playing at an online casino.
The main issue is the prohibitively high price of the Valve Index, which excludes a lot of gamers from even considering it. It is also set to be eclipsed in terms of performance by a newcomer made by HP, although this could help prompt a price cut.
Microsoft HoloLens 2
While VR headsets like the Valve Index aim to introduce wearers to entirely virtual environments by blocking their view of the real world, the world of mixed reality takes a different approach, using translucent displays that can combine the physical with the virtual in some pretty incredible ways.
The current frontrunner in this marketplace is the HoloLens 2, a gadget which made its debut in 2019 and opens up a wealth of possibilities that will appeal to gamers as well as to those in the worlds of business and education.
Indeed it is worth pointing out that this device is primarily targeted at commercial users, with the aim being to help out in various industrial contexts, from the factory floor to the repair shop. Even so, a lot of these mixed reality applications are also worth considering in a gaming context, since they hint at the kinds of experiences that will eventually be transferred over to consumer technology.
The specifications of the HoloLens 2 are suitable head-turning, with the user receiving near-Ultra HD resolutions delivered to their eyes via a system based on lasers and mirrors, rather than a traditional LCD or OLED display solution.
Another impressive feat that the HoloLens 2 manages to achieve is that of being lighter and less cumbersome than the first generation version of this mixed reality headset. This is something which other wearable gaming gadgets do not necessarily take into account, yet is certainly vital from a usability and convenience perspective.
Both the Valve Index and the Microsoft HoloLens 2 demonstrate that the wearable gaming technology market still has a long way to go before it breaks into the mainstream, but eventually it seems likely that such a sea change will occur.