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[Chairmanchuck]

I expressed this sentiment in a thread about Star Trek: Bridge Crew previously, but I'll bring this up again in broader terms here: I feel VR, at least with the cost of technology now, is better suited as a potential replacement to the old arcades than it is a consumer product. Pay a small amount to goof around in short bursts, rather than pay out the nose for the VR gear itself, and the hardware to actually run the games.

But thats the thing. Things like Eagle Flight or even Star Trek Bridge Crew feel more like Techdemos or like you said Arcade games than real games.

Assembly is imo a great game.
Solus Project was cool.
Or Project Cars and Subnautica.

But I think the asking price for some VR games are far too high for some of those games. I go on Steam and see that some 2-3h VR stuff is prices similar to normal games.

Serious Sam VR is 40$...
People bought a 500-700€ headset, then still has to pay more just because a game might be in VR.

 

[ryseing]

and when is that? serious question, what are the big upcoming VR games?
.

Farpoint is next month.

 

[Chairmanchuck]

Farpoint is next month.

The Serious Sam VR remakes just came out and if people like Serious Sam, those are good.

Also the Escape Room stuff is also imo really great mostly. Not really big games, but fun.

 

[ChronotriggerJM]

Still waiting on cost lol.

VR needed to land in impulse buy territory, but unfortunately stayed massively outside that range. Sony's probably in the best spot for getting there, but it definitely should have launched cheaper.

I'd also love to see it included in more games as an add on mode. VR would be amazing for a photo mode.

 

[Pantz]

Still use my Oculus every day, but not for games...

 

[ZOONAMI]

Nothing will kill VR.
At worst the current iteration will phase out, but VR as a concept is so integral to the concept of entertainment and storytelling, that is actually, undoubtedly, the ending point of everything videogames and similar entertainment are trying to do, especially escapism based ones.

That said, as a big believer in VR, I'm actually disappointed by the slowness at which prices have gone down and technology improvements of the hardware.

Not if the market decides it doesn't want VR, which is what seems to be happening. I also fail to see how it's even an endpoint. You could argue that AR and/or 3D projections/holograms are the end point. Or some other tech that hasn't even been thought of yet.

People have to want to be essentially removed from their actual surroundings. I don't know if that will ever have mass market appeal. That's why TVs are about as far as we've come in 100 years.

 

[ChronotriggerJM]

Still use my Oculus every day, but not for games...

Mah man

 

[CryptiK]

Porn will save VR.

 

[Shutts]

My PSVR arrives today, can't wait tbh after messing around with my mate's.

 

[Clefargle]

VR will be more successful once the whole package is sub 300 bucks.

 

[Sidewinder]

Are you guys really that delusional? $199 for a good vr headset? You much have no idea what goes into the tech. You can't get a good Plantronics work headset for that price.

VR is and was never expected to be a product for the masses. However as a medium for our hobby it's a logical destination. Although the tech is not mature yet and still needs some iterations, the companies have to start somewhere. If you want better versions and more software then do your part. Help with the nurturing of the tech and software by putting your money up. I don't understand people who aren't willing to spend their money on new tech and software and expect that it will be supported. And if it fails then it's "see I knew if would fail". Come on now.

I bought a PSVR at launch and have enjoyed a lot of games. There are alot of high quality games. Just recently bought a rift and touch after the price drop. There are a lot of really good games on the oculus store all you have to do is google it. It comes with 7 free games. One of them Robo Recall is by far one of the best VR games period. If you aren't sold by that game then you never will be. Try it.

Nobody said it'd actually happen soon, but I believe PSVR will not sell a lot more in the next 1 or 2 years at 400$, those who really wanted PSVR already bought it, others would buy it at a lower price, say 299$ and I'm not talking about the masses at that price either, but PSVR won't survive for long at 399$.

Btw I bought PSVR at launch and already have a ton of games for it, I just want it to thrive and I don't expect that to happen at 399$. Of course if production costs don't allow them to lower the price by the end of the year, it'll stay there.

 

[iceatcs]

3 VR headsets are just damn too expensive. PSVR might be cheaper of three but still too high price.



Just lower at $99 to $250

 

[spekkeh]

I don't think VR for gaming will ever become mass market, I said as much here before to the ridicule of many. VR is an anachronistic dream of the future by sci-fi fans who grew up in the eighties. I say that as a sci-fi fan who grew up in the eighties and fucking loves VR and is researching/developing stuff for it. The future of gaming is mobile and solutions like the Switch, the future of productivity is AR/MR. People don't want to be closed off from the outside world, I don't buy it. That's a Robocop-era dystopia. VR for gaming has a future, but it's in arcades or similar singular ephemeral experiences. The very best VR can hope to accomplish itself is like a viewmaster where you create 3D pictures and look back at them later. That might become semi mainstream.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

Until the tech gets cheaper, VR will just be around in the background. I don't think it's dying and it will eventually become cheaper / better but it's not going to do it fast, it's going to take a number of years to grow.

For me VR is the one of the best things to happen to gaming in a long time. I really love the immersion it brings, being in the game is just very cool. It is early days though, the tech is getting there but still has some ways to go to improve the experience even more, like having 4k screens for better IQ, even more accurate tracking and maybe even wireless headsets (eventually) What we have right now is still good though, I love my PSVR and the Vive is also very nice too but this first wave of headsets will be more of a niche thing because of costs right now. There is certainly a place in the market for VR, it just won't be mainstream for a while.

 

[Rygar 8 Bit]

Wouldn't play Fallout 4 as a roomscale game, sounds unnecessarily tiring And probably would have teleporting for movement?

Just give it the Resident Evil 7 controls and it's set.

cant do independent hand movement with controller so how would you use 2 fat boys at once also locomotion has been solved a long time ago teleportation is unnecessary

 

[Mokujin]

Without actual content that makes a difference this trend will not change.

 

[LeleSocho]

Not surprised.
High end headsets cost 6-700$ and even those offer a less than ideal experience, also you have the software that is borderline shovelware that lack on both the look (rendering stuff for VR is expensive yo) and the feel of being in another world.

VR could totally be a thing but there's still time before it will happen, AR is probably a safer bet right now.

 

[xenorevlis]

and when is that? serious question, what are the big upcoming VR games?

Depends on what you're looking for. VR is not something you should use for more than an hour at a time, as it is physically and psychologically more demanding than gaming on a normal TV so I don't want to be in an RPG, for instance. That said, I'm looking forward to Farpoint (played it at PSX), Megaton Rainfall, Ace Combat 7, Get Even, Star Trek Bridge Crew, The Persistence, Gran Turismo Sport (PSX), Dreams, and curious why Bethesda and AMD are making such a big deal about their approach to Fallout 4 VR.

But thats the thing. Things like Eagle Flight or even Star Trek Bridge Crew feel more like Techdemos or like you said Arcade games than real games.

Disagree about Eagle Flight, and you've played Bridge Crew? Doesn't seem like a tech demo at all. Have you played any multiplayer VR stuff like Werewolves Within?

 

[Prophane33]

Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but I don't think this round of VR is going to make it mainstream. Costs are too high and a lot of big developers don't seem unwilling to invest in large projects for VR. While the PSVR isn't doing awfully, once the software dries up so will sales/interest. Once again, I apologize for being a bit overly pessimistic, but I think VR, like Google Glass and Holo Lense, is an awesome piece of technology that won't really go anywhere, be it for practicality and price reasons or nobody really knows what to do with it. I was so excited at this time last year for what the VR future would bring, but unless there are some big changes/successes I have little hope for VR as a mainstream or even somewhat modest niche market. The bottom line: Needs more games, but nobody wants to make games until somebody else does.

 

[nycgamer4ever]

I think that was their point: VR is too expensive to be successful

I think it's pretty successful for what it is now. I just think any expecting the tech to cost $199 not 2 years after these headsets released is not being realistic. As I said you can't get a good headset for that price.

 

[low-G]

As I have said before, I DON'T think technology, lack of killer apps, or even cost are what's preventing VR from going mainstream. I think it's:

- the inconvenience of strapping a display to your face and losing vision of your surroundings

- motion sickness (and this is a REAL problem, I never got sick from roller coasters/planes/etc but some VR games made me horribly sick after 5-10 minutes)

- controlling a game by moving your head/neck/body around and pantomiming the actions is just plain inferior to controlling it with small twitches of your fingers

I honestly think VR is the next Kinect or 3D TV. It's one of those things people only THINK they want because it's a concept that is ingrained in our minds as "The Future".

Nah, I own an Oculus kit and I can tell you that firing a handgun in VR is far superior to even mouse + KB. It's by far the best in every way.

While VR isn't Kinect or 3D TV, it is VASTLY too expensive. That is the primary reason VR is floundering and if it fails it's because hardware makers were not willing to take a hit. That is how most hit products eventually sell. Obviously that can be mismanaged, but before too long we may enter crisis area.

Obviously the benefit that comes from not marking up manufacturing costs 4x and trying to recoup your R&D billions right away is that with a good installed base, games can be made for the platform, which in turn leads to more sales.

The issue was we had a lot of out of touch rich CEO kids that didn't really understand much of anything pushing VR.

 

[irrotational]

As I have said before, I DON'T think technology, lack of killer apps, or even cost are what's preventing VR from going mainstream. I think it's:

- the inconvenience of strapping a display to your face and losing vision of your surroundings

- motion sickness (and this is a REAL problem, I never got sick from roller coasters/planes/etc but some VR games made me horribly sick after 5-10 minutes)

- controlling a game by moving your head/neck/body around and pantomiming the actions is just plain inferior to controlling it with small twitches of your fingers

I honestly think VR is the next Kinect or 3D TV. It's one of those things people only THINK they want because it's a concept that is ingrained in our minds as "The Future".

I agree with your first two bullets but disagree on the third. Controlling a game with your body is and can be awesome...try robo recall on a rift, or the early beta game with throwing knives on Vive. Picking up pieces of a puzzle, throwing stuff, or aiming and shooting are awesome in VR.

VR is SO different to what we've had previously that it will take awhile for people to get used to it, and see a need for it. Everyone I've demo'd VR too has been blown away by it, and is amazed at how different it feels to anything else.

That said they are nearly all put off by the price - £1k for a PC and £500 for a headset and controllers. That's a niche market price for enthusiasts only.

VR could/should take off in warehouse/arcade experiences first, a bit like paintball or laser quest.

Mass-market devices would be something like the holo-lens AR, but with a proper screen size. Then as much or as little of your field of view is taken up by "virtual" reality as you want.

 

[nycgamer4ever]

Nobody said it'd actually happen soon, but I believe PSVR will not sell a lot more in the next 1 or 2 years at 400$, those who really wanted PSVR already bought it, others would buy it at a lower price, say 299$ and I'm not talking about the masses at that price either, but PSVR won't survive for long at 399$.

Btw I bought PSVR at launch and already have a ton of games for it, I just want it to thrive and I don't expect that to happen at 399$. Of course if production costs don't allow them to lower the price by the end of the year, it'll stay there.

I don't think it is viable at this time for the price to drop that low. Maybe they will sell some bundles this holiday season. There are other ways to keep the hype going besides dropping the price to an unrealistic level. I think Sony would do wonders if they opened up the PSVR to the PC. Another thing they could do is maybe release a wireless adapter like the rift and vive is working on. The underlying tech is expensive to manufacture but as with all electronics we'll get to a better price point when they make improvements. The Rift with Touch is already at $599 which I think is a good price point for what you get plus the free games. We have to remember that we are less than 2 years in. The tech just has to survive until they reach a better price point.

 

[Jumpman23]

Demo stations for VR are never going to work because, yuck! Who the hell wants to put something like that on their face after countless people have adorned it? The experience is too personal and puts people off big time.

I had a Vive, sold it and only (temporarily?) lost the software investment since I get to keep the games after I ditched the hardware. Hardware needs a leap. Resolution even on the Vive was poor and noticeable. Love the concept but the hardware just isn't there yet for a really engrossing experience. Read "Ready Player One". I want that level of tech for true immersion.

Spoiler

Not in this lifetime sucker!

 

[faridmon]

I'm still not convinced this will ever take off and become a mass market thing.

Anything where you have to wear something on your head is always going to be a hard sell.

I actually think the price of it is the aspect that deters mass market from having it rather the things that you mentioned.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but I don't think this round of VR is going to make it mainstream. Costs are too high and a lot of big developers don't seem unwilling to invest in large projects for VR. While the PSVR isn't doing awfully, once the software dries up so will sales/interest. Once again, I apologize for being a bit overly pessimistic, but I think VR, like Google Glass and Holo Lense, is an awesome piece of technology that won't really go anywhere, be it for practicality and price reasons or nobody really knows what to do with it. I was so excited at this time last year for what the VR future would bring, but unless there are some big changes/successes I have little hope for VR as a mainstream or even somewhat modest niche market. The bottom line: Needs more games, but nobody wants to make games until somebody else does.

I think it depends on what you mean by "this round". If you mean "This round" as in this current generation of headsets, I think you're totally right. I don't think VR has the chance to be mainstream for another 2 generations or so. If you mean "this round" as in the current wave in general where the last wave was the one in the 90s, I'd think you're wrong. VR isn't going away. We've reached a point where it works and it's cheap enough for consumers to buy (even if it's not cheap enough for mainstream). That was the problem with the 90s tech which didn't really work yet cost about 10k to own. This board tends to have a myopic view of it being only for games, but there are plenty of uses for it outside of it even if that route crashes. Industrial, educational, etc.

 

[yyr]

I don't think anyone should be surprised that VR is not quite ready for mass consumer adoption yet. I've known that all throughout these "proper platform launches," and I'm far from the only one. It's not a bad idea, just a few years too early, I think.

I'm still not convinced this will ever take off and become a mass market thing.

Anything where you have to wear something on your head is always going to be a hard sell.

Or, this person could turn out to be right. Too soon to tell.

 

[dr_rus]

No it's not.

I have owned a rift. I can safely say playing videogames in VR will never be the endpoint for me. I may just be a disgusting luddite. But I really don't enjoy gaming in VR. I like to relax, sit back and watch a screen from a distance. For a big open world game, I still don't think I'd like to play in VR. I don't want the game world to consume me. Personally I don't think that's actually a very healthy experience for extended periods of time (in terms of mental health, not the fact the screen is close to your eyes)

Yeah, same boat. People tend to confuse realism with entertainment while they aren't the same thing. VR provides realism but in most cases it's actually counter productive to entertainment which is what video games are about way more than realism. Thus I fail to see how VR is the endpoint for video games evolution.

 

[Ponn]

Nothing will kill VR.
At worst the current iteration will phase out, but VR as a concept is so integral to the concept of entertainment and storytelling, that is actually, undoubtedly, the ending point of everything videogames and similar entertainment are trying to do, especially escapism based ones.

That said, as a big believer in VR, I'm actually disappointed by the slowness at which prices have gone down and technology improvements of the hardware.

(80's person) "Hey dude, flying cars are the future, they are going to be everywhere in the year 2000!"

 

[Tain]

I think it depends on what you mean by "this round". If you mean "This round" as in this current generation of headsets, I think you're totally right. I don't think VR has the chance to be mainstream for another 2 generations or so. If you mean "this round" as in the current wave in general where the last wave was the one in the 90s, I'd think you're wrong. VR isn't going away. We've reached a point where it works and it's cheap enough for consumers to buy (even if it's not cheap enough for mainstream). That was the problem with the 90s tech which didn't really work yet cost about 10k to own. This board tends to have a myopic view of it being only for games, but there are plenty of uses for it outside of it even if that route crashes. Industrial, educational, etc.

myopic view of it being only for games plus a laughably high bar for success (if i'm not using it and it isn't as ubiquitous as iphone it's dead)

 

[BlackBanditSho]

Had my own moment of truth moment before i sold my PSVR last week to pick up the Nintendo Switch. As much as I adored the hardware and considered the financial investment that I put into it (bought PSVR, PRO, and a TON of software), I realized that it just wasn't going to be what i wanted it to be.

Sony made some huge mistakes in PSVR, and, yes, I do think that fixing much of this early would've led home VR down a different road.

First, I should preface that the most awesome experiences that i've had in VR have been: 1. RE7/Dirt Rally, 2. The accounting on Vive, and 3. VTime, a social chat room on Gear VR. 4. Job Simulator

Those four experiences not only made me a believer, but I still think that those are the high points of what the hardware can achieve.

Sony started to worry me during the gaming drought. Their lack of communication about upcoming releases was troubling. However, of greater concern was the lack of titles that should've been on the platform that weren't. Sort of like Xbox one launched without backwards compatibility.

That there was no launch with some type of VR-style PS HOME was very strange. VR is isolating, and the moment people try something with a social element, it changes the experience. I bought VR for the Star Trek game, and Werewolves Within was an amazing proof of concept. However, for Sony to NOT have ANY type of social hub was...curious. Showed lack of faith in the concept.

At home, my physical console just couldn't drum up interest from my wife, friends, or family. I bought it as something that would be cool to get everyone into. My nephew, who is 11 and is a huge gamer, thought it was too weird and didn't like the shark demo AT ALL. Never put the headset on again. My niece, also a huge gamer, thought it was cool and enjoyed Job simulator, but because of college, just didn't have time to play. Lack of time became lack of interest, which became console collecting dust. Finally, my wife, who is NOT a gamer, tried it and became sick INSTANTLY on nearly every experience.

So it was just me. I don't get VR sick. I LOVED RE7, and I was willing to keep the platform to see what would happen until I started seeing what Sony seemed to be interested in putting out. Fairpoint worried me. It was just a gun game. Another freaking gun game.

On a console where No Man's Sky should've been a given in VR, and titles like The Witness (imagine in VR) would really help people start to see the hardware as a new way to experience things, not to mention the lack of any kind of Social hub (like what facebook is doing), the future of PSVR was starting to look a lot less interesting to me.

Combine that with the fact that the only time I could play would be late at night after my wife and 2 year old daughter went to sleep, and playing the console -even though I loved it - started to feel like a chore.

Icing on the cake was when i posted the VR on Craigslist for nearly 150 cheaper than the cheapest used PSVR (I had 2 games, 2 motion controllers, charger, AND camera for 350) and not biters. No biters for nearly a week. That's when I knew that PSVR was dead, or at least time for me to cut it loose before it sank lower.

This article doesn't surprise me. However, i think had Sony delayed the launch another year and allowed things to cook a little longer, this narrative would've gone a very different way.

 

[Fabtacular]

Some random thoughts on VR:

- wireless is a nice-to-have, but not a necessary ingredient for VR to take off. Probably necessary for room scale, but o don't think room scale will be part of the mainstream breakthrough. Too impractical for most people.
- resolution / IQ is a killer right now. Maybe you "get used to it" but I think we'll find that VR hits ten times harder when it delivers at least the equivalent of watching and old SDTV (from a normal viewing distance).
- VR is still waiting on its "Myst moment." Myst was so unique and powerful compared to what had come before that millions of people went out and bought CD-ROM drives just to play it. VR needs something similar, and it's probably not going to be a warmed-over port of a traditional FP game.
- I don't see how anyone who has actually used VR can think it's not an inevitability. As an heir to the throne of traditional gaming? Maybe not. But it still offers a ton of exciting possibilities not possible through traditional media.

 

[Blastoise]

fookin Apple buying up all the oleds

making price drops and production difficult

 

[Thorrgal]

So many FUD in this thread!!

Anyone who has played REVII knows this shit is here to stay.

I still don't hav mine though, waiting for a bundle or maybe for PSVR2

 

[phantasmic_glaive]

This seems like an 80s vision of where video games were going... I'm not so sure this is going to happen anymore. With the way we are hooked on the internet, social media and our phones, I don't think there is a big enough audience that is interested in 100% out of body escapism anymore. It will always be a niche product, in our lifetimes anyway.

Dudes right tho. When I see shit like "it's not gonna happen " it's over with" or whatever.. it's like, how do you know? Social media and the internet all revolve around immersive experiences.

The only, ONLY reason them shits are not flying off of shelves is PRICE. It's too high of a price tag for entry.
PSVR (RE7) is still the best gaming experience I've ever had. Some of the games that would crappy without vr , has surpassed legendary titles for me.

 

[Memorabilia]

I'm still not convinced this will ever take off and become a mass market thing.

Anything where you have to wear something on your head is always going to be a hard sell.

Yep. I've been a broken record on this point since day one of this debate. It's amazing how so few of VR's more vocal enthusiasts understand this simple fact.

 

[spekkeh]

I think it depends on what you mean by "this round". If you mean "This round" as in this current generation of headsets, I think you're totally right. I don't think VR has the chance to be mainstream for another 2 generations or so. If you mean "this round" as in the current wave in general where the last wave was the one in the 90s, I'd think you're wrong. VR isn't going away. We've reached a point where it works and it's cheap enough for consumers to buy (even if it's not cheap enough for mainstream). That was the problem with the 90s tech which didn't really work yet cost about 10k to own. This board tends to have a myopic view of it being only for games, but there are plenty of uses for it outside of it even if that route crashes. Industrial, educational, etc.

The last VR wave was mid 2000s imo, but was more industry, universities and military. True it was a lot more expensive, and more importantly we lacked the easy tooling for average people/students to work on it. But the price is just a part of the issue. It's always been a bit of hassle with not that many compelling productivity use cases.

 

[vermadas]

I think it depends on what you mean by "this round". If you mean "This round" as in this current generation of headsets, I think you're totally right. I don't think VR has the chance to be mainstream for another 2 generations or so. If you mean "this round" as in the current wave in general where the last wave was the one in the 90s, I'd think you're wrong. VR isn't going away. We've reached a point where it works and it's cheap enough for consumers to buy (even if it's not cheap enough for mainstream). That was the problem with the 90s tech which didn't really work yet cost about 10k to own. This board tends to have a myopic view of it being only for games, but there are plenty of uses for it outside of it even if that route crashes. Industrial, educational, etc.

myopic view of it being only for games plus a laughably high bar for success (if i'm not using it and it isn't as ubiquitous as iphone it's dead)

^^ This. Price of entry is the largest barrier. See the relative popularity of mobile VR, which GAF will pretend doesn't exist. I like Abrash's views on VR/AR... it's a new medium, and right now we're on the ground floor. We're at the Macintosh / IBM Personal Computer equivalent in the desktop computer tech curve.

and when is that? serious question, what are the big upcoming VR games?

On PC at least:
Wilson's Heart is out this week.
Lone Echo
Fallout 4 VR
Arktika.1
The Valve three.
Budget Cuts
From Other Suns
The Mage's Tale
Project Cars 2

 

[Bookoo]

The spike in Q1 2016 is largely due to a single financing, a Series C round of nearly $800 million for cinematic VR technology developer Magic Leap

Pretty terrible graph because it makes it look like a extremely dramatic drop due to the magic leap funding.

That said not surprising. VR was always going to be a slow burn, whoever though that an $600+PC headset was going to set the world on fire was delusional and even FB said they see it as a 10 year plan.

It is one of the reasons I am happy that Oculus is investing in content because the majority of games we are getting are simple wave shooters. Mobile phones and AR/VR combos is probably where it has more potential to attract mainstream users. I was messing around with Facebook Spaces the other day and it is a really neat application just barebones at the moment.

 

[AllIsOneIsNone]

I'm not surprised. Not because I don't love VR (I do), but because it's very hard to develop for, and there is little upside at the moment. I don't know specifics, but I know that to be profitable in the VR development field, it takes hard work, spending efficiency and some luck. There are thousands of VR games on Steam right now, and my guess is only a handful of games are profitable.

I still don't think it's over though, in fact I think the 1st consumer models of VR have created enough spark to keep it going. Valve's unwavering investment in the VR sphere, for example, will keep things moving forward as far as I'm concerned, and I believe that when they release the games they've been working on it may very well change the way we look at and develop for the tech.

I'm still hopeful. Just get those headsets smaller, more comfortable, wireless with better resolution and we'll be on the right track.

Developers that are investing in VR should be doing so as a long term investment in order to be in an advantageous place when it starts to really hit its stride.

Edit: A lot of developers are doing VR wrong, imo. They're looking at things like locomotion and saying "oh no, 10 percent of people get sick, therefore we'll go the teleportation route", when in actuality that compromise makes their product far less appealing to that other 90% which cripples any headway that might be made. The market is therefore saturated with wave shooters and the like, yet you look at games with standard analog locomotion and a lot of them are doing significantly better. That's just one example. This was always going to happen though, devs need to figure out how to make engaging experiences on a new platform and that's not an easy task.

 

[Pokemaniac]

Despite all the hype around VR, I could never get it around the idea that it was more of a niche peripheral for people who already heavily invest in gaming or PC performance. I think history will remember VR as the overhyped segue to AR.

I don't really see why AR is supposed to fare better. VR is at least theoretically interesting, even if I have some severe doubts the current VR tech will ever amount to anything without becoming something substantially different than what it is now. AR, on the other hand, I'm just not sure what an AR game that isn't shallow and gimmicky would even look like outside of an arcade context.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

I'm so glad I sold my ps VR soon after launch without loosing money. Somehow it was apparent to me when using it that it is no where near what the mass market, or myself, would tolerate.

Tech is not there jet, and I know of all the technical difficulties that go with building a headset, but the general audience does not care. They don't give a shit about 90fps/ OLED with a minimal lag response time. They try it, are annoyed by the cables, the heft, the heat and say, why is this all so pixelated and why do I feel like I look through diving goggles ? I witnessed as much.

Personally I have to agree - it's to much of a hassle. Even if the headset was sold at 100€ it would not garner mass market appeal at the stage it's right now, imo of course.

 

[emag]

The only, ONLY reason them shits are not flying off of shelves is PRICE. It's too high of a price tag for entry.
PSVR (RE7) is still the best gaming experience I've ever had. Some of the games that would crappy without vr , has surpassed legendary titles for me.

There's a lot more than price involved with the lack of interest in VR. See Daydream/Cardboard and Gear VR, which sold (or were given away) in large quantities, but just collected dust. Comfort, ease of use, image quality/field of view, and depth-of-focus are all technical areas that need to be greatly improved; the content itself is also insufficient.

 

[Chill Penguin]

I'll be willing to get into VR once there's a lower cost barrier to entry and there's zero motion sickness issues. And I literally mean zero issues.

 

[Clockwork5]

It would be nice if it didn't make you sick.

That's why mine is collecting dust and I don't buy games for it anymore.

 

[funroll-loops]

I was looking forward to getting a headset back when people were experimenting with the development kits and making hacks to do VR with Skyrim or Team Fortress 2 or whatever and I was imagining that in a few years I could plug in a VR headset and play PC games, but in 3D with a massive field of view and head tracking.

But then when the final production headsets were released it turned out all the VR games involve clearing out a few hundred square feet in front of a desktop computer and flailing around your room, and that's totally not what I was waiting for.

I guess you can also use them for simulators, but apparently the resolution is too low to be very useful.

 

[shark sandwich]

I feel like almost every argument for how VR will catch on could just as easily have been made for 3D or Kinect-style motion controls.

Is it possible that, regardless of how advanced/cheap the technology is, no matter how much quality content there is, that people might simply prefer sitting on a couch with a controller in their hand, playing on a regular TV, and not being completely cut off from their surroundings?

 

[mckmas8808]

This is only as true now as it was in 1992. Or in 1982. Which is my way of saying a burgeoning (or even stable) VR entertainment market is not a given.

But it's more true today, than it was in 1982 or 1992.

 

[primasaurus]

Big 3rd parties aren't supporting VR

 

[vonStirlitz]

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