400°

The real cost of virtual reality

"Jumping into the new and exciting world of virtual reality has more dangers than just suffering from motion sickness or bumping your knee on the coffee table while wearing a giant set of goggles. Sticker shock is a very real side effect of the devices leading this first generation of virtual experiences." - Cnet

Zeldafan642859d ago

I really have no interest in VR.

Simon_the_sorcerer2859d ago

Well, there are those who are interested in VR ;)

UltimateOne882859d ago

And who are you and why should we care?

What a useless comment.

Zeldafan642859d ago

I'm just giving my honest opinion. You can be as excited for it as you want but I really don't want this to be the future of video games. If this becomes what all video games are made in the future then I will not be buying anymore new games.

MrSwankSinatra2858d ago

Your comment is useless within itself, sensitive.

Kiwi662859d ago (Edited 2859d ago )

Whether he has or hasn't maybe its still not for him because people have a thing called choice

Cy2859d ago

Or maybe he just doesn't want to have to wear a headset to play games? Or any one of a hundred reasons he might not like even the idea of VR? I've never had my leg cut off but I'm pretty sure I don't need to try it to know the experience won't be to my tastes.

Zeldafan642859d ago

You're right I haven't tried it, I'm guessing you saw where I said that further down. I do not want to be isolated from the outside world like that. Not only that but I don't think I'd even care to much for the experience to begin with.

thejigisup2859d ago

Yes, I read that before I commented. I can understand not wanting to be cut off from the outside world, I had similar concerns about this initially. Having tried the psvr I am really excited to see how this evolves. I really believe that anyone who plays video games should check it out at least once, I think you'd be very surprised.

@kiwi, he hasn't, he commented on this.

@Cy, comparing cutting your leg off to trying VR is pretty extreme. VR is pretty darn cool, I've never heard of anyone having fun cutting off their leg, unless you have then I guess I could understand your point.

starchild2858d ago

@Zeldafan64

So I take it you never go to sleep either.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2858d ago
conanlifts2859d ago (Edited 2859d ago )

What if the nx is a portable vr unit. Would you still have no interest in zelda vr?
BTW genuine question, not trying to be funny.

Zeldafan642858d ago (Edited 2858d ago )

I really, truly hope Zelda is never in VR. I mean a new game. I've seen they've already made the original Zelda into a VR experience and I want no part of that. I doubt Nintendo approved of that being done in the first place.

Kallisti2858d ago

Then why dafuq did you click on a VR article and then proceed to comment on it too? That makes no sense.

Aenea2858d ago

Then why did you even look at this article?

Angeljuice2858d ago

@Zeldafan64

I wouldn't worry, Nintendo are so off-the-ball that "if" VR is the future of video games, they will still be offering exactly the same content as always.

You are allowed to like the Virtuaboy though (I think I overheard that in a treehouse somewhere).

Zeldafan642858d ago (Edited 2858d ago )

No all you people who argue against the Gamepad are the ones that are off the ball. The second screen is incredibly immersive and not at all isolating. The Virtual Boy had it's problems but the games I did play on it are fun. The games would have been more fun played on a regular tv though.

C-H-E-F2858d ago

So you come to a VR article to say you have no interest? Seems like you are a liar and or a troll... so guess what you get???

Zeldafan642858d ago

I like the games I played on the Virtual Boy but would have much rather played them on a regular tv.

Nathan_Hale532858d ago

Same, though I will most def buy one in the future, it is a new way to play.

BABY-JEDI2858d ago

So I guess if Zelda was an open world game in VR then you would have no interest 🤔

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 2858d ago
TGG_overlord2859d ago

VR is way too expensive for me at the moment, so thanks, but no thanks.

Zeldafan642859d ago

Even if it was really affordable I wouldn't want it.

Gaming_Cousin2859d ago (Edited 2859d ago )

Why wouldn't you want it?

Zeldafan642859d ago

Nothing about it interests me. I don't want to be cut off from the outside world like that.

Cweed2859d ago

Have you used any headsets and which ones?

Scatpants2859d ago

I just got an Oculus and it's amazing. Driving and flying games are like you're actually there.

jb2272859d ago

The "cut off from the outside world" & the "I feel like I'd look weird" are the lamest excuses I've ever heard.

I take it you also never listen to music on headphones. It's essentially the same thing for at least 1 of the 2 sense involved....what if VR could be connected to your cell phone or home security system, would you still feel "cut off"?

You can feel however you'd like about VR, if you are scared to try it then that's your prerogative, but if you haven't tried it & don't plan on it then I'm not sure what you have to offer any conversation on it...

I mean, what in the "outside world" is so dire that you can't afford to be cut off from it for an hour or so? What is sleeping? Fairly sure that "cuts us off from the outside world" for like 8 hours at a time & yet we never complain about that.

If you don't dig the idea of VR, just say that. The criticisms about being cut off are just weird to me. Obviously VR will never become the norm for every game so you don't have anything to worry about there. I do feel like VR in general could have some real staying power that reaches very far outside of gaming though. If you never strap a headset on, I can guarantee you that your kids will & they will think you are weird for your hang ups about it....VR is gonna continue to proliferate in some form because it offers us complete immersion from the comfort of our homes.

Unspoken2858d ago

Cut off from the outside world yet goes inside to play a game in a virtual space.

Yeah, OK.

daynnight3652858d ago

Ok, we get it, you're not a fan.
You didn't get enough hugs as a child huh,with all of this attention you seem to want

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 2858d ago
BrandanT2859d ago (Edited 2859d ago )

Ooooooohhhhh! There's no possible way I could afford that!

Maxor2859d ago

The issue with VR isn't cost and hardware. It's the content. The content is garbage right now and does not justify the cost. You're basically spending hundreds of dollars to play casual indie games. There isn't a single killer app in any of them.

BrandanT2859d ago

I could actually agree with this. In virtual reality, I picture myself being as impulsive as I would be in reality. When I see something interesting in the distance, I would want to run to it, when I'm being attacked by someone, I just would want to swing my fists at them. But the reality is, I'm confined to a controller and a chair. I don't know how I could completely be immersed in my game, if that's the case.

PsylentKiller2859d ago

The main reason why I have not picked up a VR headset other than my gear vr is the games. They all seem like proof of concept games but the big hang up I have is first person games. They are the reason I really want vr and the movement system in them seems so crappy. That teleport mechanic seems so lazy and analog stick movement seems too confined.

I really want to get a Vive but until movement is shown to be as fluid as head and hand movement I am going to hold off. Not being an early adopter really pains me as I love to support new tech. Bought the first edition of gear vr but it's just not enough, I want more. Lol.

Cweed2859d ago

Yeah sadly this seems true. I do love eve Valkyrie but compared to other games it lacks content. I still need to play elite dangerous and project cars. Hopefully some real gems pop up in the future.

Scatpants2859d ago

Try Asetto Corsa I think it might feel a little more realistic and smoother than Project Cars. Plus it's on sale right now. The first time I ran in to a wall on it I actually flinched like I was going to hit it. It totally got me.

OB1Biker2859d ago

Project cars is supposed to support VR isn't it?

jb2272859d ago

Resident Evil, Batman, Star Wars....all the definition of "indie" for sure.

I do see that the content is fairly rudimentary compared to its mainline gaming cousin, but with the advent of 360 degree cameras & the accelerated evolution of hardware, it's not that far off from some amazing experiences.

Zeldafan642859d ago

That thing they call Resident Evil is not Resident Evil. It's ridiculous to me that they would ruin the franchise this way. If they had made it a spin off that's one thing but making it one of the numbered games is a travesty. They're only using the Resident Evil branding for name recognition and that's really disheartening.

jb2272858d ago

@zelda

I'd argue that parts of RE5 & nearly all of RE6 wasn't Resident Evil either, so maybe they are trying to distance themselves from that approach in order to circle back around.

From what I understand, the RE7 demo was meant to be a standalone experience not indicative of the final game. That slice won't be present in the final game to my understanding. I mean I personally agree to an extent & I've never been a big first person fan so I'm hoping the final game is third or there is at least an option to go third if you choose. Beyond that, RE has just swelled into this bloated franchise that was kind of a shell of its former self. It's possible that RE7 is just what it needs to get streamlined & back on track so I'll hold off judgment until I've actually played it. Pretty sure they can't mess it up any worse than they did RE6.

Either way, RE is still a huge franchise, and having it playable in VR in its entirety is a pretty big boon for that peripheral. I just hope it wasn't built in such a way that the basic console experience isn't gimped for the VR.

AKR2859d ago

Yeah, no. I'm not spending that kind of money lol.
I have yet to see a VR game that truly excites me, and even if there was, if there was a 'standard' version, I'd still end up taking that.

VR just seems like a rich-kid's play thing right now. Still waiting to see if it has any standing power like analogue sticks, rumble and wireless controllers. Those were all 'new advances in technology' at one point, but they stuck around for the long haul. VR gaming needs to become much more affordable, and not to mention practical (not everyone has a big open space to play in), for the average Joe to take serious notice.

Cweed2859d ago

What headsets have you tried so far?

Zeldafan642859d ago

None, I have not tried any of them. Like I said, I don't want to be cut off from the outside world like that.

AKR2859d ago

I haven't tried any fully-fledged gaming VR headsets, but I have tried both Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard. It's a fun distraction, but not worth the investment IMO.

I'm not speaking for anyone else but myself—to each his own.

BABY-JEDI2858d ago

@ Cweed. He most obviously has tried N O N E........ N O N E ( if you missed that).

jb2272859d ago

I mean I can understand all of your criticisms other than the space one...what about VR necessitates a space any larger than the one you exist in? VR isn't about walking around in real time, and a lot of it is fully functional with a controller or a motion control kit....fairly sure that VR doesn't require any more space than a standard console or PC would...

AKR2859d ago (Edited 2859d ago )

The Vive requires you to walk around.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Clearing space is a necessity for the Vive.
https://youtu.be/osqhpGpd3W...

Psychotica2858d ago

@AKR - The Vive does NOT require you to walk around. I just bought one 2 days ago and play everything sitting down. The only place you need is place you sit your but down in the chair.

Show all comments (76)
130°

PC VR On Steam Is Actually Growing, Not Shrinking

It's sometimes claimed that PC VR usage on Steam is shrinking, but here's why that isn't actually true.

Read Full Story >>
uploadvr.com
bunt-custardly13d ago

Good, silence the naysayers who talk bollocks.

Tacoboto13d ago

The context in the article is kinda like the discussion of MAU metrics. Manipulation of figures to get it to say what you want it to.

I.e. "The proportion is shrinking, but there are more players so it's actually not shrinking!"

Crows9013d ago

That's not like mau metrics ....

If there's 20,000 players and only 10% use it and then there's a jump to 40,000 and 10% are using still using it then....there's been an increase because 10% of 40k is higher than 20k.

That's an actual number increase of people using it. That's growth.

Tacoboto13d ago

MAU is used to reference engagement or growth in a game. The conversation is muddied because people want to talk about sales instead of player count. How is this not like that?

Growth can mean and be two different things. Growth of quantity, or growth of proportion. People in finance and accounting will never look at 2% in one instant and look at 2% at a later instant and say "Hey look, growth!" That's a joke, to be frank. The 2% is more than the earlier 2% but that 98% remainder also grew.

Eonjay13d ago

Which is why Sony is putting PSVR 2 on it.

Abnor_Mal13d ago

I wish Sony would have given upgrades to many of their PSVR games for their VR2 system. Unfortunately for me their pcvr movement is not doing me any favors, hopefully there’s some kind of trickle down effect.

Eonjay13d ago

Sony would only be able to Patch its own games. Devs would have to go back and create their own patches. To be frank, whats gonna stop this from happening is money. Are they willing to pay to have a developer create the patch, QA to test...

Abnor_Mal13d ago

@Eonjay totally agree with what you said about third party devs and the cost, Q&A etc, but Sony could have updated Astrobot, The Persistance, Blood and Truth, and Farpoint. Have a few in-house devs work on DriveClub vr, and pay for an update for Rush of Blood and maybe a Shadow of the Colossus VR. I would love to play Borderlands VR on PSVR2.

shinoff218313d ago

Sure Sony mightve been able to help but reality is most of those titles were from 3rd parties.

ApocalypseShadow13d ago (Edited 13d ago )

What he's saying is that Sony should have lead by example. Instead, they haven't done shit bringing them forward and expected 3rd parties to do it themselves in bringing their own games. If Sony's not going to do it, why should they?

It's like when they lead by example in the creation of their games. Or lead by example when they make their hardware.

Hate to say it, but for PS VR 2, they are lagging big time. GT is nice. But if you're tired of sims, then there's just Horizon. I'd rather have Blood and Truth remastered at that level or a sequel than what they currently released. No chance of that though as they killed London Studios. Another bullshit move they made. About as bad as killing Evolution Studios to keep GT as their only racing game. I like Sony's platform. But I'm not buying their headset if they're not going to put in the effort like they do with flat games.

shinoff218313d ago

Exactly. I almost bought vr2 but it's the games missing. Sure that horizon might be dope but I'd prefer the full horizon, or last of us, Spiderman, something. Pay some 3rd party devs. I was hoping to get that fallout 4 but that's not happening now lol

shinoff218313d ago

Vr is dope. Idk know why people wanna hate. It's definitely a dope next step. Even if it's a sidestep. I really wish more developers would throw down. Imagine a last of us with vr, or a final fantasy game, all kinds of stuff. It would be incredible.

bunt-custardly13d ago

Praydog's FREE UEVR mod is working wonders for the PC VR community.

50°

HTC's VR Platform Viveport Is Giving Devs 90% of Their Game Revenue

Viveport, the VR retail platform from HTC is now giving developers 90% of their game revenue, instead of a 70/30 spilt like Steam.

Read Full Story >>
xrsource.net
Jingsing35d ago

It could be free and it wouldn't matter at this point. There isn't really a PCVR Market and I say that as a PCVR user. It is modders and enthusiasts with a few retail products on Steam.

220°

The newly founded 'Flat2VR Studios' aim to make VR modding a serious business

The Flat2VR community is taking the next step and announced a studio that will develop and commercialize licensed VR ports.

Read Full Story >>
mixed-news.com
Profchaos39d ago

This is great news I love virtual reality and my psVR2 however it's clear that the current bespoke way of building VR games is not working. There's some great games that have been released Absol but they are few and far between and if they are native they are clearly lower in budget and scope then at least I would like. It's definitely jarring to.go from high quality games like Spider-Man 2 to the biggest VR releases like Arizona sunshine 2 and see the huge gulp in quality.

This company aims to streamline porting older games into VR and make them feel as VR native as possible.

And to be honest some of my favourite VR experiences have been traditionally flat screen games ported into VR like resident evil 7, 8 4, doom 3 with the aim controller or borderlands 2.

And I'm not saying that there isn't great native VR games to be found I'm saying more traditional games ported over would be very welcome we have decades of amazing games that we all love and VR presents an opportunity to truely bring us into the world.

just_looken38d ago

The floating hands wires climbing/tool sims need to go for sure.

But i want the sword art online vr now that would be awesome

Leeroyw38d ago

I just found my people. Massive vr fan here but I want to live in older more broader era experiences that were made for traditional gaming. But in VR.

just_looken38d ago

@Lee

Rollarcoasters would be something else in vr

aaronlif1036d ago

Yes! I hope they bring Doom 3 to PSVR2. I was happy to see it on PSVR but couldn't help but feel like they should have held off for the PSVR2 for that game. They had to substantially cut the visuals on that. I feel like a psvr2 version would be able to do it better justice. I've asked the company that made the psvr port if there was any plans to make a psvr2 version, they said no but that if they were asked by Sony to do it they would. I also would love to see Star Wars Squadrons get a PSVR2 version.

Profchaos36d ago

Yes squadrons I forgot about that one it was amazing to play online with flat screen gamer friends some of my favourite multiplayer moments

RiseNShine38d ago

Amazing news, there're so many forgotten gems out there, these guys have been consistently porting old games like Return to Wolfenstein, Quake 4, jedi knight, etc. Sounds great that they can earn a living by doing official ports, publishers dust off some old properties, gamers get great games in VR, we all win.

mudakoshaka38d ago

Awesome news! Which popular Steam and Switch game do you think is their first project?