I think this technology would get developed if tech companies actually understood the non gaming implications of it. This being how we perceive time. Our perception of time is limited by our input stimuli, ie: our senses. Humans can only hear so much, and see at a fixed rate (I believe it’s around 21 updates [frames if you will] per second), and we can only talk so fast, and move so fast too. When you have a dream, it happens in a very very short period of time, no matter how long you think it was, and the one you remember is the last one in a cycle of the same events over and over again.
Look at it this way, one company develops this ‘full dive’ technology and realizes that while inside they can perceive and function at an accelerated or decelerated perception of time. So this company get’s a bunch of it’s programmers and scientists and plugs them in… and not even full time, maybe at first just for their 8 hour work days, or however long they work. These programmers have much more time to program for the environment, scientists can brainstorm or think at a much faster rate. Even if this wasn’t developed at first for video games they would need to make virtual environments to function in, and test new technologies. They’d have huge mainframes that could simulate reality to test new technologies virtually, etc… They would be forced to program more perfect virtual worlds just for the sake of testing and development.
The first company that realizes this and makes it a reality wins. Let’s say that you can perceive time at 10, or 20, or 100 times normal speed, and you develop this tech a year before anyone else. Your company could make 10, 20, or 100 years worth of progress in that 1 year ahead of the competition… they’d essentially win.
Now let’s say this company along the way realizes something else… what do people spend their money on besides essentials of living like shelter and food and being clothed… entertainment. If you could program ANY vacation, ANY companion, ANY activity and let your employees be able to access this for free in their downtown while working in your virtual environment creating new technologies, and programming new things, how do you think that would go over?
The first company who realizes this and creates this technology wins.