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[BeforeU]

Nadella

"Let's have a game that, in fact, will fundamentally help us change new categories," Nadella told the New York Times in an interview. "HoloLens was very much in the works then, and we knew it."

Microsoft is yet to reveal the pricing of HoloLens, although an exec shared that it would "cost significantly more than a game console." For all we know about the hardware, there isn't a specific launch date available, with Nadella stating that there is a lot of work to be done before the headset sees light of day:

"I don't want to overhype it like Google Glass and say this is the next. I want us to be deliberate about what it is."

Link

Pretty cool, hope this works well. We need more previews/impressions from the build.

 

[Ghost Slayer]

Or it prints money?

 

[FrankCaron]

Or it prints money?

 

[Reckheim]

Or it prints money?

This, it might work well for the building aspect, but I don't see how it's going to work for the exploration, mining stuff

 

[Killer]

did they make their money back?

 

[Cthulhu_Steev]

Is Illumiroom no more now they have hololens?

 

[Doffen]

1. Buy Minecraft for iPad.
2. Tape the iPad to your face.
3. ???
4. You've now got HoloLens.

I just saved everyone $9999.95

 

[thewhitehawk]

did they make their money back?

Way too early to ask that. When you buy a company it usually takes you a few years to recover your money, if you ever do. My, mostly uneducated, guess is that it will take Microsoft around 5 years to recover their investment.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I'm intrigued to see more of HoloLens at E3. Isn't that the thing where they project the images of the game all around the room?

 

[SerTapTap]

Is Illumiroom no more now they have hololens?

They abandoned illumiroom a while ago, too expensive and impractical

 

[Noobcraft]

I'm intrigued to see more of HoloLens at E3. Isn't that the thing where they project the images of the game all around the room?

No, hololens is actually practical.

 

[Sephiroth_GR_]

Question is how much will Hololens cost in order for the consumer to justify the cost of experiencing Minecraft that way...

 

[gaming_noob]

Hololens could be a big hit. Can't wait to play Slenderman in the comfort of my own home....

 

[BeforeU]

Question is how much will Hololens cost in order for the consumer to justify the cost of experiencing Minecraft that way...

Ya, like Minecraft is the only thing that can be experience on HoloLense.

It runs Windows 10, games like Minecraft is ONE of the small reason to have it.

 

[Klyka]

"cost significantly more than a game console."

dead on arrival

GG Microsoft

 

[Mikey Jr.]

I watched the demo. Honestly, the only thing that excited me was watching that movie on a huge wall. That was cool.

The dog, the constant weather reminder, and the Skype program were not enough to make me wear glasses all day.

I got lasik so I didn't have to wear them, lol.

Only way I go for this is if it becomes contacts or the glasses become extremely unnoticeable.

Good first step though.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

Once I finish my Ice Fortress, I'm totally gonna get a HoloLens so I can plop it down on my coffee table.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Wow, they're really deep in the hole with this thing. How many VR/Hololens things do you think people are going to buy - if at all?

 

[Colbert]

There are 2 practical questions that comes into my mind when thinking about HoloLens:
1) Price?
2) Battery life?

 

[Alx]

Is Illumiroom no more now they have hololens?

Illumiroom was always presented as a research project that wasn't really meant to become a consumer product. Although I wouldn't be surprised if there was a big overlap between that project and Hololens. In both cases you have to adapt a virtual image to your environment geometry, the math behind it is the same whether you use a real projector or a virtual one.

 

[PdotMichael]

Way too early to ask that. When you buy a company it usually takes you a few years to recover your money, if you ever do. My, mostly uneducated, guess is that it will take Microsoft around 5 years to recover their investment.

You wouldn't sell a company if you get that much money in like 5 years.

It's more about the synergy effects - see OP.

 

[GodofWine]

I think it looks great, but not for minecraft, or gaming in general, but great tech.

Lol, my kids would break all my real stuff if they wore these aging minecraft

 

[Alienous]

Eh, I'm not convinced. I don't know why someone would want to sit in a Minecraft would rather than have their office desk on the moon.

I watched the demo. Honestly, the only thing that excited me was watching that movie on a huge wall. That was cool.

The dog, the constant weather reminder, and the Skype program were not enough to make me wear glasses all day.

I got lasik so I didn't have to wear them, lol.

Only way I go for this is if it becomes contacts or the glasses become extremely unnoticeable.

Good first step though.

Right. I'm glad that Microsoft are taking the hard punches on HoloLens.

It'll be great when they've laid the groundwork of what not to do and another company can bring it to the masses in a consumer-based fashion (such as without the VR-like glasses).

 

[Doffen]

Is Illumiroom no more now they have hololens?

Pretty much. But you can technically get the same effect with HoloLens.
I wouldn't be surprised to see games utilize HoloLens as a 3D extension for Xbox/Windows games.

*Bullets flying out of your screen.
*Place the game map anywhere in your room.
*Have your party members as "living" avatars next to you.
*When it rains in the game it rains in your room.

Silly stuff like that will probably be quite easy and simple to implant in games.

But I'm purely guessing here.

 

[DOWN]

 

[Triggerhappytel]

dead on arrival

GG Microsoft

Ha ha yeah, I missed that. No way will it be a success if they're charging $600+, or thereabouts.

 

[d9b]

Can't wait for Milo for hololens, that was an awesome experience on kinect... Oh, wait...
More empty promises I think. Less talk, more action please Microsoft.

 

[DOWN]

No, hololens is actually practical.

I don't think I can imagine how this is practical or worth more than the price of a game console.

 

[Noobcraft]

I don't think I can imagine how this is practical or worth more than the price of a game console.

Gaming isn't the devices focus. It's a productivity device, but either way it's certainly more practical than illumiroom.

If I could use this to play games on the equivalent of a 100+" screen it would be practical for me personally though.

 

[KKRT00]

dead on arrival

GG Microsoft

TVs also cost significantly more than consoles.

---

I don't think I can imagine how this is practical or worth more than the price of a game console.

You cant imagine how it is practical? You are not restricted to TV any more or any surface for that matter. You can AR everything around You, change surfaces, create multiple views on different planes with just one device. Its BIG and will be big.

 

[loaf of bread]

No, hololens is actually practical.

Yeah but whats the picture quality or resolution equivalent when watching that? Its cool but I imagine IQ would be much worse than watching a standard 1080p tv.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I don't think I can imagine how this is practical or worth more than the price of a game console.

"Do you have massive walls in your house? Do you have too much money? Have we got just the thing for you!"

 

[Cthulhu_Steev]

Illumiroom was always presented as a research project that wasn't really meant to become a consumer product. Although I wouldn't be surprised if there was a big overlap between that project and Hololens. In both cases you have to adapt a virtual image to your environment geometry, the math behind it is the same whether you use a real projector or a virtual one.

Well, that's what I was thinking, this replaces the projectors with a headset but there appears to be some crossover; expand the play space into the living room.

 

[Doffen]

"Do you have massive walls in your house? Do you have too much money? Have we got just the thing for you!"

You're not really bound by walls. But you do need money.

 

[Breakfast at Noon]

More than a console..
well then, were not getting that, hopefully morpheus is priced better.

 

[JoJo UK]

Yeah but whats the picture quality or resolution equivalent when watching that? Its cool but I imagine IQ would be much worse than watching a standard 1080p tv.

QFT, Hololense really looks interesting to me, the idea of having a propery HUD sounds great but I don't believe the large movie screen thing at all, IQ must suffer surely?

 

[lighthouse777]

Pretty much. But you can technically get the same effect with HoloLens.
I wouldn't be surprised to see games utilize HoloLens as a 3D extension for Xbox/Windows games.

*Bullets flying out of your screen.
*Place the game map anywhere in your room.
*Have your party members as "living" avatars next to you.
*When it rains in the game it rains in your room.

Silly stuff like that will probably be quite easy and simple to implant in games.

But I'm purely guessing here.

that actually would be sooo cool

 

[DOWN]

Gaming isn't the devices focus. It's a productivity device, but either way it's certainly more practical than illumiroom.

If I could use this to play games on the equivalent of a 100+" screen it would be practical for me personally though.

They said the thing about gaming consoles, I was just referring to that. I just don't get this yet. I'd have to watch someone actually working with it and read reviews I guess. Right now it just looks like it stretches things into image quality hell.

TVs also cost significantly more than consoles.

---


You cant imagine how it is practical? You are not restricted to TV any more or any surface for that matter. You can AR everything around You, change surfaces, create multiple views on different planes with just one device. Its BIG and will be big.

I just don't get this yet. I'd have to watch someone actually working with it and read reviews I guess. Right now it just looks like it stretches things into image quality hell. Seems slightly less practical than a smart watch in terms of necessity.

 

[Doffen]

More than a console..
well then, were not getting that, hopefully morpheus is priced better.

To be fair consoles are pretty cheap, most of my electronic devices costs more than a Xbox One. Tablet, laptop, tv, phone, etc.

Yeah but whats the picture quality or resolution equivalent when watching that? Its cool but I imagine IQ would be much worse than watching a standard 1080p tv.

I believe they said HD at the January reveal. So it could be anything from 720p to 1080p. I'm not 100% sure, so don't quote me on it.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

did they make their money back?

They will, unless they destroy the brand in the next years.

 

[ShemhazaiX]

Wait, is hololens an actual platform rather than just a headset? Or does it need to be hooked up to a computer still? I kind of skipped all the news about it since their original showing was kind of unimpressive compared to actual VR, but if it's more of a google glass style device I'm a lot more interested in it.

 

[Sephiroth_GR_]

Ya, like Minecraft is the only thing that can be experience on HoloLense.

It runs Windows 10, games like Minecraft is ONE of the small reason to have it.

If it's one small thing among many,why did Microsoft buy Minecraft for $2.5 billion?

They are betting toooo much on that "Minecraft+Hololens combo penetration" = "Next hot stuff to sell hardware+services" just like they first did with the first Xbox+Halo combo.

I'm just saying that it may or may not work depending on the price and current market needs...

 

[SmokedMeat]

You cant imagine how it is practical? You are not restricted to TV any more or any surface for that matter. You can AR everything around You, change surfaces, create multiple views on different planes with just one device. Its BIG and will be big.

So outside of window dressing, what real use is there for this, and why is someone going to buy a Hololens over a VR device?

Is this going to be another high stakes HD DVD/BluRay format war for Microsoft, where they scratch and claw for support?

 

[Pie and Beans]

Pretty much. But you can technically get the same effect with HoloLens.
I wouldn't be surprised to see games utilize HoloLens as a 3D extension for Xbox/Windows games.

*Bullets flying out of your screen.
*Place the game map anywhere in your room.
*Have your party members as "living" avatars next to you.
*When it rains in the game it rains in your room.

Silly stuff like that will probably be quite easy and simple to implant in games.

But I'm purely guessing here.

People are vastly over-estimating the FOV of HoloLens, and no surprise because Microsoft is deliberately not tackling that issue in presentations. I posted this in another thread, but its a good visual guide:

Now, this is a comparison example of what I mean by the FOV, just from another product to visually display it:

This is the GearVR's camera passthrough mode. The comparison is, that rectangle is the zone in which HoloLens' alternate reality is displayed, and then the rest of the real untouched world would be the blue. HoloLens 'active AR window' may even be a bit thinner than that rectangle.

 

[Doffen]

Wait, is hololens an actual platform rather than just a headset? Or does it need to be hooked up to a computer still? I kind of skipped all the news about it since their original showing was kind of unimpressive compared to actual VR, but if it's more of a google glass style device I'm a lot more interested in it.

It's a standalone device that runs "Windows 10 for HoloLens". So any universal apps developed for Windows 10 will be able to run on HoloLens. That's what they at least said during Build

 

[dancrane212]

Wait, is hololens an actual platform rather than just a headset? Or does it need to be hooked up to a computer still? I kind of skipped all the news about it since their original showing was kind of unimpressive compared to actual VR, but if it's more of a google glass style device I'm a lot more interested in it.

Hololense works independently of a "host" machine. You don't need to be tethered to any other device for it to work.

 

[Percy]

Uh... it is?

Not seeing it.

More than a console..
well then, were not getting that, hopefully morpheus is priced better.

Pretty much guaranteed it will be.

Expect the price on both devices to bottom out when they flop though.

 

[Doffen]

People are vastly over-estimating the FOV of HoloLens, and no surprise because Microsoft is deliberately not tackling that issue in presentations. I posted this in another thread, but its a good visual guide:

Now, this is a comparison example of what I mean by the FOV, just from another product to visually display it:
http://i.imgur.com/jpx68hU.jpg[img]
This is the GearVR's camera passthrough mode. The comparison is, that rectangle is the zone in which HoloLens' alternate reality is displayed, and then the rest of the real untouched world would be the blue. HoloLens 'active AR window' may even be a bit thinner than that rectangle.[/QUOTE]

The quality of the effects that I listed would of course be restricted by the FOV, but it's still very possible to accomplish in my opinion.

Personally I will probably jump in on HoloLens at the earliest opportunity. But with any new product line I would recommend waiting for generation 2 or maybe even 3. Just look at how Surface Pro evolved.

 

[Hana-Bi]

Here is another article of Minecraft HoloLens:

Microsoft also showed us a live performance of two people using HoloLens with Skype and Minecraft. In this demo, one person fired up Skype on a Windows 10 PC and the other was on Skype with HoloLens.

Holograms could be sent from the PC over Skype to the other person who could blow the image up, shrink it, walk around it, even set it on a table and edit it.

When both people were satisfied with their Minecraft creation, they sent their object to a 3D printer and birthed it into the real world (a statue of the Seattle Space Needle).

Microsoft’s Minecraft purchase makes total sense now that we've seen Microsoft employees share a Minecraft model of the Space Needle back and forth on Skype.

Microsoft wasn't just buying a game. It was buying a hologram-creation engine.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/google-glass-hands-on-2015-4?r=US

 

[KKRT00]

So outside of window dressing, what real use is there for this, and why is someone going to buy a Hololens over a VR device?

Is this going to be another high stakes HD DVD/BluRay format war for Microsoft, where they scratch and claw for support?

Its not VR machine, but AR. It 'overlays' computer generating graphics over live feed and allows You to manipulate it. It is also fully integrated into Windows OS, so what You can do there, You can do on Hololens.
Additionallity it has software and hardware to track Your eye lids, so You are point at stuff with eyes and it has hardware to track Your limbs to allow You to operate virtual objects.