I have a somewhat-crazed hypothesis that the more a future development is anticipated and hyped, the less likely it becomes. (Contrawise, what actually happens will almost certainly not have been widely anticipated.)

The constant concern over nuclear war destroying human civilization may have had something to do with out exiting the Cold War without being turned into radioactive ash. If people hadn't been so obsessed with the possibility, it might have been more likely.

I think "virtual reality" is less of a fictional craze right now because 1) the former ideas about what it would be like are outmoded, and 2) a more-plausible form of virtual world is taking form, and so people don't pay attention to it.

We have nearly-ubiquitous computers, and countless tools that make the passage of data from reality to linked networks easy. Immersive sensory displays aren't needed for cyberspace.

I have 'experienced' VR running on desktop level computers (science experiment), at the DisneyQuest arcade in Orlando (Video Games). I also hear that many modern fps games come with options that allow 2 viewpoints (left eye, right eye).

All in all, VR feels a lot like flying cars. Really cool idea, but when you start to get into the nitty gritty of designing it, you realize that the cost/benefit analysis doesn't pan out. The imersion difference between a big screen TV with surround sound and a VR helmet isn't worth the isolation, monetary, and comfort costs.