Voost Kain
Banned
Microsoft, however, have been sitting out the VR race as the one notable absentee, and based on their practices and their plans, it seems like VR might not be something they’ll look to focus on anytime soon.
As per Pablo Lafora, game designer at Tessera Studios, developers of the upcoming PSVR horror title Intruders: Hide and Seek, it’s likely that Microsoft will be sitting out VR next generation as well, with maybe HoloLens 2 functionality – potentially – figuring in somewhere for the Xbox Scarlet (or whatever Microsoft chooses to call the next Xbox).
“No matter how much I ask, I never get any news on Microsoft VR,” Lafora told GamingBolt in an exclusive interview. “Just some rumors about HoloLens 2. It seems like they don’t have much interest in VR. On one hand, it looks like right now they won’t include VR features on their next console. On the other hand… that sounds really risky. Maybe the next Xbox will be HoloLens 2 compatible? It might be, but we don’t think the console/marketing will make HoloLens the core of it all.”
Though Microsoft’s focus on services such as Game Pass and xCloud has been clear to see already, and undoubtedly will be even more at the forefront of their strategy in the coming years, the one major thing they have been noticeable silent on is VR. While that doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of them doing something in that space down the line, their silence on the front has certainly not gone unnoticed.
Some may be wondering whether MS will do it or not, but to me it's been clear about Micrsosofts flagging interest in VR since they removed all mentions of it months before the reveal of the Xbox One X. The page had VR removed from its feature list, and despite the E3 2016 video, no other videos about Xbox VR ever surfaced, and while Oculus partnered with Microsoft, MS never did anything with that partnership for the Xbox One S or the Xbox One X. On top of that VR hasn't really been flying off the shelves, but it's doing a decent number.
I think Microsoft, based on their actions from 2016 until now, with them not even commenting on VR from not just this dev, but other devs over the last year, has already show us that they have no interest in VR. Also Hololens is not VR, and will be too expensive to be a mass market service.
It seems to me that Microsoft is splitting with other companies in the industry and focusing more on Games on Demand with Gamepass and projectXcloud wireless streaming. As well as other software focused features. If they do introduce a hardware accessory for the next Xbox it'll either be a 3rd attempt at Kinect or something new, but it seems clear to me that VR is not something MS will be pursuing.
Now, whether that's a good thing or not is a completely different subject. Post your opinion on why it's a "good" thing or "bad" thing that MS is avoiding VR, share your thoughts below on them going in a different direction and abandoning VR for other pastures.
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