What to expect at CES 2017

Take the Oculus Rift, which was first revealed off at CES 2013. Few were publicly thinking about virtual reality as a viable consumer product. We all remember the failure of Nintendo's Virtual Boy -- it may not have totally killed VR as a consumer product, but it was years before we saw VR hardware for consumers that actually felt compelling. Oculus only had a simple demo to show off, with no details on its business plan or how its gadgets would get into the hands of customers.

But that didn't matter. We were captivated, and Oculus rode that wave to partnerships with Samsung, a purchase by Facebook, and status as one of the most dominant players in the nascent VR market. Indeed, the company directly influenced the business paths of four of the biggest companies in technology: Facebook, Samsung, Sony and Microsoft, all of whom have heavy investments in VR now.

That's not to imply that established product categories from big companies aren't worth your time at CES. Whether you're into home theater, PCs, cameras, cars, gaming or the many bizarre, hard to classify gadgets out there, CES has something for everyone. You just have to look hard to find the good stuff. Engadget will be doing that for you all week long — and we'll also bring you the new, unexpected and potential industry-defining new technology as soon as we spot it.

Nathan Ingraham