Nolan Bushnell launches Modal VR, a virtual reality system aimed at enterprise

With PlayStation VR launching tomorrow and headsets like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive already on the scene, it would appear that there are a lot of companies that want a slice of the VR pie. Atari founder Nolan Bushnell can now be counted among the folks eyeing the VR market, as he's teamed up with Jason Crawford to launch a new virtual reality platform called Modal VR.

With most VR headsets you'll come across, the main focus will be centered around gaming. That isn't necessarily the case with Modal VR. Though it appears to be more than capable of holding its own in the realm of VR gaming, Bushnell and Crawford – the latter of whom invented the device and serves as the Interim CEO of the company – are targeting this VR system at businesses.

That's because Modal VR offers a little more freedom than a traditional gaming headset. Modal VR is a fully portable VR systems that can support multiple users at once, offering full body tracking in areas up to 900,000 square feet in size. In a promotional video for the system, we see two players facing off in a virtual reality game on soccer field, giving a good idea of the scale Modal Systems is looking to achieve here.

Since Modal VR goes beyond room-scale VR, it might be able to garner some attention on the enterprise side of things. In its announcement, Modal Systems gives a few examples of these enterprise applications, which include realtors using the system to give virtual tours of houses, production companies using it for pre-visualization of sets or special effects, and training for law enforcement, first responders, and military personnel.

The company says that developers won't have to learn anything new to make applications for Modal VR, as it'll be compatible with a number of existing tools like Unity and Unreal. Modal says it will begin shipping developer units out shortly, and until it does that, we won't know the exact specifications of the product. Sour news for those of you hoping to grab one for personal use: Modal says that the equipment is likely cost prohibitive for regular consumers and that it'll typically only sell to other companies.

There's no word on when that developer program will kick off just yet, nor do we know how much each unit will cost – expect those details to be coming down the pipeline shortly.