Will VR fail?

[moonbogg]

I don't know about any of you, but I made up my mind about VR. I don't want it. I don't care how amazing it might be either. My reason is simple. I don't want to stick a helmet on my head, ever. My 3D glasses were a pain in the ass all by themselves, and they were just light weight glasses. Me + helmet = no chance.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Didn't we have virtual helms some 20 years ago?

I remember playing Magic Carpet in that thing. Ahhh, the memories.

I think, I will pass.

 

[Mondozei]

I'm of the opinion that nobody should say whether they are for or against VR before they even tried it.

There are countless of VR converts who were deeply skeptical of VR for all sorts of reasons and who completely changed their mind once they tried one.

I used to be totally gung-ho about VR. I am still hugely optimistic about it in the long-term but I've gotten more realistic about it over the next couple of years. I'm unlikely to get a 1st gen HTC Vive/Oculus as things stand now. Not because of hardware necessarily but because of software. There is almost nothing right now.

In 3 years time, as hardware irons out the childhood diseases and software becomes more mature, I'd be willing to look at it.

Still, some genres like FPS will simply not work very well with VR no matter how you cut it. And I'm not even talking about the most "extreme"/pure FPS games like Arena Shooters, even games like Rainbow Six will have difficulty in VR.

For this reason, I'm more inclined to buy a really good monitor over the next couple of years and wait for VR as time progresses. Ultimately, gaming will be compelling, but initially it'll be mostly stationary. Eve Valkyrie is a good example.

 

[showb1z]

Valve, Sony and MS are on board, even Facebook is on board. Don't see how it can fail with that level of support.
Even the original Kinect sold 25 million units, and that was more of a gimmick than anything.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Problem with the all wear-able gadgets, is that you get physically tired of them rather fast.

 

[5150Joker]

Valve, Sony and MS are on board, even Facebook is on board. Don't see how it can fail with that level of support.
Even the original Kinect sold 25 million units, and that was more of a gimmick than anything.

Sony, Nintendo and MS were also on board for motion sensor games and just look at how pervasive and popular they are today. :hmm: Same thing will happen with VR, it won't get much traction outside a tiny niche of gamers and will eventually disappear when the next fad comes along.

 

[ShintaiDK]

VR will fail outside a tiny niche. It never had a chance to be anything else.

 

[Gryz]

Valve, Sony and MS are on board, even Facebook is on board. Don't see how it can fail with that level of support.

Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Philips, LG and everybody else were on board of 3D-televisions. 5 Years ago, the only thing you could see at tradeshows were 3D-televsions. 3D-Television was the future. 3D-Television was awesome. 3D-Television was gonna conquer the world !

I never got myself a 3D-Television. I never wanted one. I don't think I'll ever get one. I don't think I'll ever miss having a 3D-Television.

I don't think I'll ever care about not having a VR-set.

 

[Headfoot]

I'll be day one buying VR. Still tossing up between Oculus or Vive.

Enthusiast gaming has always been about chasing higher levels of immersion. Complete peripheral, 3d, VR with high frame rates and HRTF real 3d audio. This is a whole new level of immersion.

I can't understand enthusiasts who write it off without trying it... if you're not enthusiastic about this, then what DO you care about it gaming?

 

[moonbogg]

The concept of "being somewhere else" while sitting in our home is a nice idea and VR can deliver that kind of experience for things other than gaming, like interesting movie watching experiences where you can pan around during scenes, music concerts and other stuff.
But, it won't go far if you have to wear that stupid helmet. Its a simple problem but one that can't be solved right now. I leave you with this reminder, the image of our father, the creator of oculus rift.

 

[ShintaiDK]

I can't understand enthusiasts who write it off without trying it... if you're not enthusiastic about this, then what DO you care about it gaming?

I assume you sit with a 3D monitor as well? Or did you lack enthusiasm for that one?

 

[moonbogg]

Didn't we have virtual helms some 20 years ago?

I remember playing Magic Carpet in that thing. Ahhh, the memories.

I think, I will pass.

Jesus, look at that god awful thing.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Jesus, look at that god awful thing.

Yeah, I actually played a few games in it. My neck couldn't stand long sessions in that thing. But for the time, it was an interesting concept. You know it's one of those things nice to show off when your friends come over at your house or something. There is definitely some content that is better suited for this, not everything. But yeah, for me it's just a gimmick, same as with 3D glasses/3D TVs. I go out to the movies occasionally and their "3D experience" is usually enough for me. Very niche market, I'd say. I'd rather try out one of these powered exoskeletons. Just give it some Crysis look and out on the streests. Badaaaaass

 

[poofyhairguy]

You know it's one of those things nice to show off when your friends come over at your house or something.

aka the only time I use the 3D on my 3D tvs.

 

[thesmokingman]

The concept of "being somewhere else" while sitting in our home is a nice idea and VR can deliver that kind of experience for things other than gaming, like interesting movie watching experiences where you can pan around during scenes, music concerts and other stuff.
But, it won't go far if you have to wear that stupid helmet. Its a simple problem but one that can't be solved right now. I leave you with this reminder, the image of our father, the creator of oculus rift.

It's obviously the future. We just need to get to the stage of miniaturization. We're not there yet, hell we're still battling with latencies to lower nausea but someday. It's going to be a long process. Though I do relish the idea of something like Google Glass and VR, VR on the go or any time?

 

[Paul98]

It will fail if there is a lack of software, or hardware doesn't have enough power to drive it. Otherwise there are far too many uses and new experiences to be had with it.

 

[biostud]

I'm not going to buy vr equipment.

 

[4K_shmoorK]

I don't want to stick a helmet on my head, ever. My 3D glasses were a pain in the ass all by themselves, and they were just light weight glasses. Me + helmet = no chance.

Basically this. Cool idea, bad business plan. At least in the long term.

I predict that a year or two after the mainstream release of major VR interfaces (Oculus and Sony), VR will flop like 3D TVs.

 

[thesmokingman]

I'm curious, why do you guys actually want it to fail?

 

[4K_shmoorK]

I'm curious, why do you guys actually want it to fail?

Just because we think VR will most likely fail does not mean we actively want VR to fail.

 

[thesmokingman]

Just because we think VR will most likely fail does not mean we actively want VR to fail.

You could have fooled me.

 

[CropDuster]

Flight/racing sims is about the only place i could imagine it being worthwhile

 

[4K_shmoorK]

You could have fooled me.

Well, just because someone says they don't want to buy a new expensive, unproven Ferrari because of how it looks, feels, and/or costs doesn't mean they want the overall sales of that Ferrari to fail. Same applies here.

 

[ShintaiDK]

I'm curious, why do you guys actually want it to fail?

You should remove your product emotions. There is a reality no matter if you like it or not.

I would like to use VR in games like Elite Dangerous too. But its not going to be more than a niche. And everyone isn't going to run out and buy it. Nor is everyone going to code support for it. I would be surprised if it can even reach SLI/CF segment level sales.

 

[thesmokingman]

Well, just because someone says they don't want to buy a new expensive, unproven Ferrari because of how it looks, feels, and/or costs doesn't mean they want the overall sales of that Ferrari to fail. Same applies here.

I'm not buying into it right now either, but I don't or am not expecting it to fail. I sure as hell hope the future is not us still staring into display panels. I'd expect the future to be more cool, more evolved than that.