Microsoft HoloLens is for enterprises, not for gaming

The Register spoke with Michael Hoffman, the former principal engineering lead at Microsoft's HoloLens project. Hoffman says he sees a lot of potential for the HoloLens, which is why he left Microsoft to create Object Theory, a startup founded in 2015 to develop HoloLens apps. Hoffman stressed that Microsoft is designing the HoloLens as an enterprise device, it has a lot of gaming potential but the software giant doesn't want to put it out as an extension for the Xbox in order not to limit the enterprise applications:

"It is an enterprise device," said Hoffman. "There is clearly a gaming potential there but they don’t want to put this out there as an Xbox extension, because then nobody will say, yes, we can use this in our conferences, in our warehouses, in our hospitals. It’s wise to limit gaming early on."

Hoffman says he saw "a revolution coming" when on the team within Microsoft, which motivated him to start a new business. "I had the unfair advantage of being an insider, and had enough startup experience to be bold enough. I had to do it."

Object Theory is currently focusing mainly on Virtual Design and Construction. "We have a client in the architecture and construction space," says Hoffman. "We’re focusing mainly on Virtual Design and Construction (VDC). We learned that the designs the engineers made aren’t the ones the construction team uses, they make their own derived from them, with a lot more detail. There are a lot of error prone steps, and errors are very costly. The HoloLens makes it easy to have a conversation around something that’s three dimensional.