This Augmented Reality Demo Looks Impressive, But Do You Buy It?

Magic Leap, a company that has been working on augmented reality, has released the video above, which it says is a fair representation of the kind of technology it will eventually release.

The video is in the first-person perspective, and shows a user doing a variety of mundane things you do on your computer—watching YouTube, checking email—only by interacting with floating 3D objects that appear to be floating in the environment. Eventually, we see what a game might look like, with the user getting up from his seat, picking up a sci-fi gun, and firing at enemies that appear around the room.

If that sounds a little familiar, it's because it's essentially a lot like HoloLens, Microsoft's augmented reality headset, which even mentioned Magic Leap when it revealed the device in January.

According to GameSpot sister site CNET, Magic Leap claims that employees are already playing this game around the workplace.

However, this looks more like a concept video, with 3D effects provided by Weta Workshop (known for its work on the Lord of the Rings movies), and the gun, which seems like a real, physical object in the environment, not part of a simulation.

Magic Leap, which has raised $542 million from Google and others, was supposed to show the demo at the TED conference in Vancouver, but pulled out from the event.

Do you think augmented reality games will ever look this good? Let us know in the comments below.