Oculus Rift Creator: "Consoles Are Too Limited For What we Want to do"

[Steven Bogos]

Oculus Rift Creator: "Consoles Are Too Limited For What we Want to do"

Don't be expecting Oculus Rift support for the PS4 or Xbox One any time soon.

The Oculus Rift is making waves in the world of PC gaming as of late, trying it's best to provide gamers with the VR device we have been dreaming of since Tron. Even in the prototype stage, support for the device is constantly growing among PC developers, but Sony and Microsoft have seemingly shown very little interest. Talking to Tech Radar [http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/oculus-rift-creator-xbox-one-and-ps4-are-far-too-limited-for-what-we-re-planning-1198420], creator Palmer Luckey says that's fine, explaining that the next-gen consoles are still too limited for his vision anyway.

"Consoles are too limited for what we want to do. We're trying to make the best virtual reality device in the world and we want to continue to innovate and upgrade every year - continue making progress internally - and whenever we make big jumps we want to push that to the public."

He says that his main problem with consoles is that after they are released, they are locked into a certain spec for a very long time. "Look at the PCs that existed eight years ago. There have been so many huge advances since then. Now look at the VR hardware of today. I think the jump we're going to see in the next four or five years is going to be massive, and already VR is a very intensive thing, it requires rendering at high resolutions at over 60 frames a second in 3D."

"We're seeing games that are already saying they're gonna run in 720p on next gen so they can barely hit 60 in 2D," he continues, no doubt referencing the "resolutiongate" [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/8423-Children-of-the-Resolution] controversy. "It's hard to imagine them running a VR experience that's on par with PC."

When asked if Luckey lumped Valve's upcoming "Steam Machines," (AKA, the Steam Box) in with his "consoles" statement, he is a bit more optimistic. "We're good friends with Valve," laughs Luckey, "We're great friends with them."

Source: Tech Radar [http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/oculus-rift-creator-xbox-one-and-ps4-are-far-too-limited-for-what-we-re-planning-1198420]



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[Me55enger]

as i started to read the article i was thinking of the steam machine and thinking it could be the only console that will be able to use it and if its able to then thats a serious coup for valve

Wouldn't surprise me if we saw some level of partnership between them. If only for the politics behind it all.

 

[octafish]

That last statement just keeps reminding me of the scene in Clear and Present Danger where Jack Ryan advises the president not to distance himself from his drug money laundering murdered friend.

 

[Hawkeye21]

I heard that Sony is developing its own competing VR solutions, which is good. Looks like Xbone is boned though (I know its bad, just couldn't resist...), and not necessarily because of VR, since Microsoft's new CEO will probably sell their whole gaming devision.

 

[Grabehn]

I heard that Sony is developing its own competing VR solutions, which is good. Looks like Xbone is boned though (I know its bad, just couldn't resist...), and not necessarily because of VR, since Microsoft's new CEO will probably sell their whole gaming devision.

They all added Wiggly-waggly controls in the end, so I'm not too baffled by the thought of Sony/MS struggling to get some kind of VR stuff out.

 

[Dragonbums]

Didn't they also say they were making the Oculus Rift supported on Android phones or something (or Android related I can't remember clearly)

So consoles can't handle the Occulus Rift but smartphones can?

 

[Kahani]

as i started to read the article i was thinking of the steam machine and thinking it could be the only console that will be able to use it and if its able to then thats a serious coup for valve

Oculus Rift is on PC. Steam box is a PC. Hardly surprising if they end up working together.

So consoles can't handle the Occulus Rift but smartphones can?

It's not as silly as it might sound. Firstly, smartphones are well understood to be relatively low power, so people don't expect the same sort of graphics and performance from them that they do from a full sized computer. It's an accepted tradeoff people are willing to pay in exchange for mobility. I could easily see them making it compatible with Android knowing the graphics won't be up to PC standards, but not wanting to make the same compromise for consoles where people would expect a level of graphics that won't be possible.

Secondly, it comes back to the point he made about the hardware for consoles being fixed for a decade while PCs advance hugely in the same time. Phones also advance hugely in the same time. A phone today certainly can't compete with a new console. A phone or tablet 10 years from now? Check out how the Galaxy S4 and Xperia Z1 compare to the PS2 and Xbox.

 

[K.ur]

So consoles can't handle the Occulus Rift but smartphones can?

It's not as silly as it might sound. Firstly, smartphones are well understood to be relatively low power, so people don't expect the same sort of graphics and performance from them that they do from a full sized computer. It's an accepted tradeoff people are willing to pay in exchange for mobility. I could easily see them making it compatible with Android knowing the graphics won't be up to PC standards, but not wanting to make the same compromise for consoles where people would expect a level of graphics that won't be possible.

Secondly, it comes back to the point he made about the hardware for consoles being fixed for a decade while PCs advance hugely in the same time. Phones also advance hugely in the same time. A phone today certainly can't compete with a new console. A phone or tablet 10 years from now? Check out how the Galaxy S4 and Xperia Z1 compare to the PS2 and Xbox.

It's more because the Oculus Rift is based on and partly made with smartphone-hardware (screens, gyro-sensor, processor and battery). Additional Android is an open OS/System while Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo not.

 

[Alexander Competitor]

I guess that's what you get for being majorly behind the curve. Oh well, pc games can still have it.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

No doubt the consoles will come up with their own knock offs to sell to their consumers at extortionate prices, then claim they did it first.

Now revel in the glory of the Wii-view and Kinect-o-Vision!

 

[Strazdas]

Didn't they also say they were making the Oculus Rift supported on Android phones or something (or Android related I can't remember clearly)

So consoles can't handle the Occulus Rift but smartphones can?

They said Oculus uses a modified android OS as tiher main OS, not that it woudl run on your phone. I can install Android on PC (albeit probably would have to write even basic drivers myself), though its performance would be... questionable.

as i started to read the article i was thinking of the steam machine and thinking it could be the only console that will be able to use it and if its able to then thats a serious coup for valve

If steam machine is a console then so is a PC.

 

[VanQ]

Well, at least somebody has enough sense to not limit themselves for the next 8-10 years just for larger market appeal. It's refreshing to see someone actually want to take advantage of the ever evolving PC.

No doubt the consoles will come up with their own knock offs to sell to their consumers at extortionate prices, then claim they did it first.

Now revel in the glory of the Wii-view and Kinect-o-Vision!

Actually, I believe Sony is already doing exactly that. Though they haven't announced what their price will be yet.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I understand they want flexible ground as long as their product is still developing but it's silly the way they try to justify this, not every PC will be running Rift at optimum performance levels either but that doesn't mean they shouldn't partake in new products.

Not that this will be the biggest commercial boom, you are still looking at a party piece peripheral that will work with a small number of games and costs as much as a new console, but having it available for more platforms is never a bad idea.

 

[aaronexus]

While I find myself surprisingly optimistic about the Rift (though I'm still gonna wait for even more reviews for the final product), as an ex-console gamer this makes me kinda sad. I haven't owned a console since the Xbox 1P) and other than my 3DS, nothing any of the big three have done since have enticed me back into the filthy casual fold where I still figure I rightly belong. I watched all the major reveals personally this year, expecting at least a flicker of interest, but nada

Unlike some PC hobbyists, I know building a rig, while certainly not requiring a degree, is a lot harder and riskier than most let on. For one of the more interesting projects in gaming to be denied to such a large audience is really unfair, as well as a blow to the development of the tech. Like it or not, consoles still have slightly larger market share than PC (which turns into a significant amount when you exclude MMO revenue) so it's still in many ways king of the hill and driver of the AAA market. I had expected that if the Rift guys garnered a significant user base, Microsoft and Sony would be far more apt to working with them, a move that would undoubtedly make the Rift a huge success. A success that could spawn a hundred imitators like Sony's project, which could only be good for everyone.

This, though, sounds like it's a complete nonstarter. Everyone who's tried the developer's kit mostly complained about the graininess of the 720p screen, which excludes the Xbunny(much better name!) right away, and I'm not sure how the 30fps I keep hearing the PS4 runs at would do, even if they could get the more GPU intensive Rift to run at that. Geez. Super disappointing. I was still thinking I might go for a PS4 somewhere down the line. I suppose I can't blame the guy above me for doing what I did with the "Bungie's games are all console exclusive!" announcement and just shrugging it off. As for the Steam Machines, much as I want them to do well, I'm very unconvinced it'll get the third party support it needs for some time. Of course, Valve has proven they like taking the long view, but eight years is a very long time for this sort of thing. Eh, maybe it'll all turn out to be a house of cards and come tumbling down ... or maybe it'll spark a PC revolution! And puppies will fart kittens and everyone will go to work on sun powered pogo-sticks assisted by VR.

 

[Sol_HSA]

Oculus Rift is on PC. Steam box is a PC.

PS4 is a PC. XBone is a PC. =)

 

[VanQ]

funny thing is:

Visual/movement recognition tech might very well help with actually "playing" th VR games.
You would basically need either gloves or lightweight wristbands that make it easy for the tech to recognize your movement and allignment. A step further weould include things like hips, shoulders, legs, feet...

And really far ahead a lightweight cloth with force feedback tech to rumble and shake at you... to simulate pressure or touch...
And yes this would obviously have many err.... applications....

What applications are you talking about exactly? I can't imagine what you mean. Why don't we try asking our friends in Japan?

Spoiler: Meanwhile, at Oculus Rift HQ in Japan.

Oh! You meant those applications.