Things that real time ray tracing enables like good dynamic ambient occlusion for contact shadows and more accurate shadowing and lighting are actually more important for VR than for non VR. They make VR a better and more immersive experience rather than just being eye candy. For me the most exciting applications of real time ray tracing are for VR.
These are all fantastic things but there's multiple workarounds - from entirely baked lighting to clever realtime shortcuts in the hands of a good artist. I think great art direction is more important for VR than GPU advances.
Some effects can be faked well with pre-computation but important cues for dynamic object interaction like high quality dynamic ambient occlusion are not easy to fake. Other tricks designed for 2D displays don't hold up as well in VR. I see a lot of object interaction difficulties with novice VR users that I think can be helped by better rendering, although there are issues that will also need better display technologies to resolve.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not diminishing the benefits of a powerful GPU.
However - I think great artistry trumps great hardware. Some of the most compelling VR experiences I've seen have been more about the art direction than about the rendering power.
