Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off
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Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off
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Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off
#2I don't know. Author complains devs are targeting "hard core" game culture with violent games. But my instinct is that only "hard core" gamers are going to want to stick a thing on their head (that they had to pony up large amounts of dosh for, BTW).
I also believe in The Market. With the number of years VR headsets have been one the market I am quite confident no one somehow missed a lucrative genre. I see a lot of people projecting that they wish VR were the Next Big Thing, but they seem unable to wish it into reality.
Author mentions Beat Saber which would seem to contradict the argument that VR is focused on hyper violent games. Is VR taking off now or not?
My sense is that VR will always be a niche thing — maybe akin to 3D movies, TV. Or like Guitar Hero a (much more expensive) fad.
Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off
#3I don't think it's a content issue as much as a comfort issue. Literally everyone I know who bought a VR headset, high-end or low-end, has said more or less the same thing: It's impressive, but it starts to hurt after an hour or so. Hard to get and stay immersed when you're in physical discomfort.
Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off
#4wow one billon people trying VR by 2027, would that even happen if they gave away headsets for free? I get that it’s a lofty moonshot goal, not a real goal, but still!
Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off
#5I don't know. Author complains devs are targeting "hard core" game culture with violent games. But my instinct is that only "hard core" gamers are going to want to stick a thing on their head (that they had to pony up large amounts of dosh for, BTW). I also believe in The Market. With the number of years VR headsets have been one the market I am quite confident no one somehow missed a lucrative genre. I see a lot of…
Completely agree, it’s destined to be niche forever… because it involves strapping something to your face. Niche is FINE! Beat Saber is one of my favorite games of all time, VR did that!
Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off
#6I don't know. Author complains devs are targeting "hard core" game culture with violent games. But my instinct is that only "hard core" gamers are going to want to stick a thing on their head (that they had to pony up large amounts of dosh for, BTW). I also believe in The Market. With the number of years VR headsets have been one the market I am quite confident no one somehow missed a lucrative genre. I see a lot of…
Hardcore gamers don’t want to stick this on their head because it’s a gimmick. They want to play games, not have ads up to their eyeballs.
Games aren’t the VR killer app that people mistakenly think it is. Nothing is. VR as glasses is a gimmick. Sensory depravation of vision far outranks whatever thing you want to do on a computer. It’s too much effort for no gain and so far it’s been too much marketing and too much tech hyping things up. It’s cringe to see it unfold like it isn’t obvious. Wearing ski goggles indoors to use a computer makes you look like a tool.
Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off
#7I mean, AAA games for VR get a lot more hype because ... well, because that's a part of the spend, on marketing, etc.
But the vast majority of games (on Oculus at least) are very much casual games in the vein of Beat Saber, but they all suck and our Oculus has been gathering dust once the novelty of Beat Saber wore thin.
I don't think the article makes a compelling case for a "why". I'll take a shot at it -- it's a technological dead end. Maybe there are applications for AR once the technology matures, but VR is never going to be a holodeck. The movement-based mechanics of the Wii and the Kinect and whatever the Playstation crap was had a moment in the sun and then we all moved on because there was no killer app, just a bit of novelty.
Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off
#8I don't think it's a content issue as much as a comfort issue. Literally everyone I know who bought a VR headset, high-end or low-end, has said more or less the same thing: It's impressive, but it starts to hurt after an hour or so. Hard to get and stay immersed when you're in physical discomfort.
It's not even comfort for me, it's the hygiene of it. Touching greasy skin and then sharing... ick. You really need a personal device for everyone which is pricy.
Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off
#9I don't think it's a content issue as much as a comfort issue. Literally everyone I know who bought a VR headset, high-end or low-end, has said more or less the same thing: It's impressive, but it starts to hurt after an hour or so. Hard to get and stay immersed when you're in physical discomfort.
It's not just physical comfort though that's definitely a part of it. It's also how fiddly it can be to find the sweetspot where image is not so blurry. There's either screen door or mura effects depending on screen technology. There's the clunkiness of the controls on most games. There's high potential for motion sickness. Most games require quite a lot of space which a lot of people won't have. It isolates the player from the surrounding environment which is not always an adequate position to be in. On games with more movement (boxing, beat saber and other rhythm games, etc) there's the heat that accumulates in the headset, which is not only uncomfortable but can make the lenses blur and the headset to start slipping. So many issues. Some smaller, some subjective, some dependent on player, but any given player will have a stack of issues to deal with any time they hop into the virtual world.
Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off
#10Beat Saber and Walkabout Mini Golf are hardly "hyper-realistic and violent immersive games" and there are no shortage of other extremely popular (within the market) titles along those lines.
VR gaming faces a low ceiling because (a) VR headsets present a challenge to how our eyes, neck, and proprioceptive systems are accustomed to working and induce a associated fatigue, and (b) VR gaming is more isolating than any other kind of gaming. You disconnect entirely from your surroundings, which is fun as a novelty, but is an "all-in" activity that you can't semi-attentively engage in like you might a portable/mobile game, TV game, a PC game.