ashecitism
Member
There was a thread almost a year ago where Chet talked about this in a german magazine:http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1183310
This time he had a couple of sessions at Casual Connect:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-02-08-does-vr-need-a-killer-app
More at the link.
This time he had a couple of sessions at Casual Connect:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-02-08-does-vr-need-a-killer-app
The discussion was triggered by nDreams CEO Patrick O'Luanaigh, who was in the crowd to watch a panel that included representatives from Valve and Nvidia. When asked to pin down his definition of the term "Killer App," O'Luanaigh said, "it's less about revenue, more something that everybody talks about. A lot of people say that VR hasn't had that killer game yet.
For Chet Faliszek, who has become the globe-trotting representative for Valve's VR efforts, the very notion of a 'Killer App' seemed to belong more to traditional game hardware - the consoles made by Nintendo, Sega, Sony and Microsoft. "We have so few data points to extrapolate from to figure out what this is," he said. "If we look to the consoles we might say, 'You have to have your Mario, or your Sonic.' But do you?"
Faliszek referred to a talk he gave the previous day, in which he suggested smartphones as a more appropriate comparison for VR technology. "What was the killer app for the App Store?" he asked the crowd the previous day. "I would argue it was flexibility; the ability to become different for each person. If you'd have asked me 20 years ago what feature do I most want on my phone, I probably would say something about making phone calls; now I rarely make a phone call.
"You have these personal reactions... Everybody finds that thing in there that they want to have."
It was telling that, when asked about the most impressive applications for virtual reality right now, Faliszek listed tools for creativity: Google's Tilt Brush, and the VR development capabilities offered by engines from Unity and Epic. There is a desire for a fully formed consumer market for VR to hurry up and arrive already, but the truth may be that, even a year after the launch of Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the space is still best defined by its creators and the broad range of use cases they are attempting to discover.
However, one basic truth was mentioned on several occasions, starting with O'Luanaigh's original question about the importance of positional head-tracking and motion controls becoming standard in mobile VR. These are core features the current high-end of VR hardware - including, but not limited to, the HTC Vive - but Faliszek also believes this is the smartest target for any developer wanting to reach the largest possible audience.
Faliszek made a similar point the day before, advising Casual Connect's attendees that, "today's high-end becomes tomorrow's mainstream. If you really want to think about the largest addressable market, it's not about the number of headsets out there for any one platform. It's what will become the standard. If you develop for the high-end, you know that's going to have the longest tail."
More at the link.