Honestly, so far I am convinced that VR will be the next 3D TV or google glass... a fad.
It will make users go "wow" at first, then they toy a little with it, then recognize that there just isn't that much great stuff you can actually do with it (as a recreational user) especially considering how clumsy and annoying the gear is and will remain for the foreseeable future.
Sure, it will still have a following, and there still will be current and new special purposes where the technology actually makes sense, but I cannot imagine it will see true wide adoption on smartphone or even TV scale.
Glass & 3D TV never added anything meaningful to the mix. They were just extensions of technology that already existed. VR entirely changes the paradigm of how we interact with computers.
Even if it's "only" VR gaming that takes off, that is an entirely new medium of storytelling for artists to explore. We don't see those often.
Remember that DOOM was more popular than Windows - games are often all the system seller you need.
VR is a fundamentally different technology than both 3d TV and Glass (which is very successful in industry, and AR in general will be very valuable in those applications going forward).
AR might be the winner. In addition to the clunkiness of the gear that you mentioned, it's a bit disorienting (and sometimes unsafe) to be removed from your present environment.
It will make users go "wow" at first, then they toy a little with it, then recognize that there just isn't that much great stuff you can actually do with it (as a recreational user) especially considering how clumsy and annoying the gear is and will remain for the foreseeable future.
Sure, it will still have a following, and there still will be current and new special purposes where the technology actually makes sense, but I cannot imagine it will see true wide adoption on smartphone or even TV scale.