Bethesda -- showed off VR titles for the first time. Doom VR, Skyrim VR, Fallout VR. All of them look like they could be solid experiences, but ports of old games don't really convince me that they are dedicated to VR as a platform. To them it's just a way to make some extra bucks using old games. Still, I am interested to see what people think of Skyrim VR. It's one of only a few games that promises a 10-30+ hour experience in a total VR environment. Given that Bethesda has had performance issues in Fallout and Skyrim, I am moderately concerned that they will be able to deliver the 60-120 FPS performance that VR demands.
Ubisoft -- last year they showed up with Werewolves Within, Star Trek, and Eagle Flight......all of which were pretty striking efforts that looked like they were internally developed. This year we just got some weird vanity project from Elijah Wood, where it seems that Ubisoft is more publisher than developer. They've been one of the premiere AAA publishers for VR content, so to see them scaling back is disheartening.
Sony -- still committed to VR, but the showing here was probably worse than last year. They still have some internally developed games, but they weren't showing off major 1st party or 3rd party IPs like they were last year (Call of Duty, Until Dawn, Batman, Star Wars). This makes it seem like VR interest amongst most major publishers is kinda dwindling. I appreciate that they are bringing games like SuperHot VR to PSVR, but I'd have a lot more faith if they weren't just scalping ports of projects that other companies funded. Gran Turismo Sport presumably still has a VR mode, yet they didn't talk about that at all in their conference. Why not? Maybe the reactions to Drive Club VR have kinda soured them on pushing VR car racing experiences.
Microsoft -- they flirted with the idea of an Oculus partnership last year, and explicitly mentioned VR in their Scorpio promotional video. This year it turns out they are taking a wait-and-see approach on VR. At a bare minimum, it will be at least 16-18 months before they release a headset......but likely much longer. Phil Spencer seems to think that wireless headsets are necessary, at the very least.
Overall, I think it's hard not to come out of the show a bit worried about where VR is or is not headed. Prior to the release of Oculus/Vive/PSVR, there was just this monumental faith that once people got their hands on VR it would change hearts and minds. But here we are 18-24 months later and not many hearts and minds have shifted. Goalposts have already been moved -- "Oh well VR needs to be cheaper and it needs to have wireless headsets!" But there already are cheaper wireless options (Gear VR) and those don't seem to be turning a lot of heads either.
I'm not really convinced that the current audience of VR enthusiasts can sustain software developers until the hardware is mature enough to appeal to a wide audience (if such a thing is even going to happen). It seems like this technology might just need another 10-20 years of development, during which time developers may just give up on VR titles.
Ubisoft -- last year they showed up with Werewolves Within, Star Trek, and Eagle Flight......all of which were pretty striking efforts that looked like they were internally developed. This year we just got some weird vanity project from Elijah Wood, where it seems that Ubisoft is more publisher than developer. They've been one of the premiere AAA publishers for VR content, so to see them scaling back is disheartening.
Sony -- still committed to VR, but the showing here was probably worse than last year. They still have some internally developed games, but they weren't showing off major 1st party or 3rd party IPs like they were last year (Call of Duty, Until Dawn, Batman, Star Wars). This makes it seem like VR interest amongst most major publishers is kinda dwindling. I appreciate that they are bringing games like SuperHot VR to PSVR, but I'd have a lot more faith if they weren't just scalping ports of projects that other companies funded. Gran Turismo Sport presumably still has a VR mode, yet they didn't talk about that at all in their conference. Why not? Maybe the reactions to Drive Club VR have kinda soured them on pushing VR car racing experiences.
Microsoft -- they flirted with the idea of an Oculus partnership last year, and explicitly mentioned VR in their Scorpio promotional video. This year it turns out they are taking a wait-and-see approach on VR. At a bare minimum, it will be at least 16-18 months before they release a headset......but likely much longer. Phil Spencer seems to think that wireless headsets are necessary, at the very least.
Overall, I think it's hard not to come out of the show a bit worried about where VR is or is not headed. Prior to the release of Oculus/Vive/PSVR, there was just this monumental faith that once people got their hands on VR it would change hearts and minds. But here we are 18-24 months later and not many hearts and minds have shifted. Goalposts have already been moved -- "Oh well VR needs to be cheaper and it needs to have wireless headsets!" But there already are cheaper wireless options (Gear VR) and those don't seem to be turning a lot of heads either.
I'm not really convinced that the current audience of VR enthusiasts can sustain software developers until the hardware is mature enough to appeal to a wide audience (if such a thing is even going to happen). It seems like this technology might just need another 10-20 years of development, during which time developers may just give up on VR titles.
