Why VR will fail

[Fonejackerjon]

When in the history of add-ons have they been successful...Think about it to get Sony's VR experience you will need:

PS4 = £349
VR = likely £200-300
PS MOVE = £40-50.

Powerglove, Kinect, move, mega CD, Jaguar CD have all failed because of a fragmented market and none of them were close to being as expensive as this. How can anyone think this will succeed?

 

[Rozalia1]

Won't Sony's VR also run on PC? It'd be a bad business move if it doesn't.

 

[omega 616]

I can see what will happen, the same thing that has happened with previous gimmicks like this ... it will launch, people will be rabid about it and after a short stint, they will be retired as nothing gets made for them or people think the implementation is crap.

I might be talking out of my arse 'cos I haven't used one but I can't see it adding much to any game experience. I can see a lot of sore necks, from the unusual weight (how often is anything more than a hat ever placed on your head? And I am pretty certain a vr thing will weigh more than a hat) and from moving your neck so damn much!

It's not something I've ever paid much attention to but I think people have 3 different levels of "looking around" ... for small looks around, we move our eyes. Larger looks are accommodated by the neck and larger again by rotating our torso but VR head sets don't track eye or torso movement ... Like I said, I might be talking out of my pooper but I just can't imagine replaying oblivion with a VR headset!

 

[Lilani]

When in the history of add-ons have they been successful...Think about it to get Sony's VR experience you will need:

PS4 = £349
VR = likely £200-300
PS MOVE = £40-50.

Powerglove, Kinect, move, mega CD, Jaguar CD have all failed because of a fragmented market and none of them were close to being as expensive as this. How can anyone think this will succeed?

I think the Oculus Rift has some potential simply because every other add-on you just listed (and every other one I can think of at this moment) have been exclusive to very specific consoles, and unavailable for people to mess with (the one exception being the Kinect, people have found loads of interesting uses for the Kinect). But with a commercially available VR helmet that is made to be used on PC and that essentially any PC game can be modded to work with? In this new generation of mod-happy gamers, it might just find a good niche to exist in.

 

[josemlopes]

You know how much a decent racing wheel costs? About the same, and they are just for racing games, and yet they still exist.

Something like Oculus has a much bigger audience and a bigger variety of games. It may still suck and fail but the reason you give really doesnt hold up on its own.

 

[scorptatious]

I was never really too keen on the idea of VR games. But hey, if it succeeds, awesome.

If not, well there's still good old fashioned controllers.

 

[Bix96]

You know how much a decent racing wheel costs? About the same, and they are just for racing games, and yet they still exist.

Something like Oculus has a much bigger audience and a bigger variety of games. It may still suck and fail but the reason you give really doesnt hold up on its own.

I know some people who refuse to play a flight sim without a $100+ flight stick so if the Oculus or Sony's VR set is done right price won't really matter.

 

[MammothBlade]

Maybe this instance of VR will fail. Without it being an integral feature, it will probably fail due to perception as an expensive gimmick, an uncomfy risk for developers and gamers alike. Will there be enough games that take advantage of it? If there is a good, quality selection of VR games, will enough people buy them?

 

[Vigormortis]

I know, right?! VR was awful in the past so it just has to be terrible for all time!

I mean, just look at analog sticks. Those things were fucking awful years ago! Who the hell would ever want to use one of those - let alone TWO of them? Or how about those rumble pack things? Those were pretty awful too. They always broke down and didn't add anything to the gaming experience. They and analog stick will clearly go down in history as just another set of awful, failed gimmicks; just like VR.

After all, if they were bad once they'll be bad forever!

 

[StriderShinryu]

Breaking it down purely to price doesn't really work, especially considering Sony is likely counting on selling many of the units to those who will already have PS4s so they won't be selling them PS4+Morpheus all in one shot.

The Oculus had a pretty good reception on PC so what it will really come down to is the games. Now, I'm not convinced that the games for Morpheus (or Oculus) are truly going to sell both themselves and the hardware but they might. If Sony can get even two or three titles that really show off everything that Morpheus can do in a way that appeals to a large number of gamers, then they will buy the hardware.

 

[Gennadios]

VR will keep failing until there's a chip in our brains that allow us to fully upload our brains into a virtual world.

For now, a controller allows for far better reaction time and the third person camera is indisposable for players that don't have the luxury of 5.1 surround to provide other means of tracking enemies.

Not to mention the whole disorienting effect of being bolted to one spot while in a 3D view.

 

[seaweed]

Why VR won't fail: porn games

 

[Something Amyss]

Won't Sony's VR also run on PC? It'd be a bad business move if it doesn't.

If it's not out of the box, it almost certainly will be.

Why VR won't fail: porn games

Doubt we'll be seeing anything like that on the Move. Well, not officially.

Maybe this instance of VR will fail. Without it being an integral feature, it will probably fail due to perception as an expensive gimmick, an uncomfy risk for developers and gamers alike. Will there be enough games that take advantage of it? If there is a good, quality selection of VR games, will enough people buy them?

With a fragmented base (Which is a valid point the TC makes) and the costs associated, I have trouble believing there will be games worth it. Further, people will be paying for a novelty. Now, on the PC with the OR, I can see the amateur, indie, sandbox, homebrew, etc communities jumping on it, and maybe we'll see that for PC applications of Morpheus. But what will probably be an expensive and limited peripheral that likely means more money and more effort in a medium of lowest common denominators?

I just don't know how they could get enough people to justify it.

 

[NateA42]

Man, using those damn things make me nauseous as all hell and causes migraines for me. I hope that stuff never goes mainstream in my lifetime.

 

[Callate]

I don't feel like I could accurately predict that, right now.

VR has some of the same problems that 3D has failed to overcome for home use- it's isolating in what many have come to think of as a social experience; it's hard to share with others you'd like to see this cool toy; it's expensive, one format's media may not work with a similar product, etc.

Unlike many people on this site, I actually got to try out some of the first vesions of VR, little more than proof-of-concept demos, including playing a couple of games in London. The headset was heavy and the graphics wouldn't impress anyone now, but there was still something definitely "cool" about it, at least for the two-to-five minute periods the games ran. Certainly nausea would have been a real problem for longer stretches, and seeing whether they've actually overcome that problem will be a major consideration.

But I think a lot of it will come down to demo-ing and marketing, and we really haven't seen how and where they're going to do that, yet. If you can get a line twenty deep in a mall somewhere to see a really immersive VR experience- maybe playing what the player is seeing on a big honking screen behind him or her so the people in line can watch- do I think some people might come home thinking this is really something they'd like to do in their own homes? Yes, yes I do.

So I think this is still the developers' fight to win or lose. We shall see.

 

[Vegosiux]

I'm not going to say it will "fail", but I seriously can't see it taking off as anything more than the most recent on the "best since sliced bread" things, then going niche. There will be a market for it, but it won't be this one revolutionary invention that changes our lives forever.

Well, that was my 0.02?.

 

[Olas]

You know, I have to wonder if it's a self fulfilling prophecy when people claim a new idea is a gimmick that will fail. Perhaps if we actually looked at each new piece of tech critically, rather than being dismissive because of perceived historical trends, we'd be able to identify good ideas that can enhance the medium.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'm of the opinion that without the boundries of a screen and the awareness of our own surroundings to a certain extent, we can't enjoy visual media in a way that doesn't feel highly intrusive. We need the notion that what we're observing is being played out on a screen, and that the space between ourselves and this screen is sufficient enough to allow us breathing room.

 

[Yopaz]

You know how much a decent racing wheel costs? About the same, and they are just for racing games, and yet they still exist.

Something like Oculus has a much bigger audience and a bigger variety of games. It may still suck and fail but the reason you give really doesnt hold up on its own.

Logitech G27 costs $217 on Amazon with a list price of $300. As you said, people buy these. People also buy chairs designed for these that cos a lot more than that just to get the right feel when they play. So basically, I agree with everything you said, if VR fails it's not going to be because people don't want to pay.

Honestly, VR isn't something I think will succeed in the near future, not because of the price or quality, but because it's like reinventing the wheel. Now I love motion controls when they are done right such as Resident Evil 4 on the Wii which makes aiming smoother than what you get with a controller. However for the most part it's something I enjoy in moderation. If I have to swing my arms around for hours while gaming I would need breaks where I played other games simply because it's too much.

People like playing with keyboard and mouse, people like playing with controllers. People like sitting on the couch with a bowl of crisps while playing a game. VR sounds neat and all, but lots of gamers are quite satisfied with the way things are. It might succeed, it might not.