Xbox is Holding Back the Popularity of VR Gaming

Microsoft had a really big reveal last E3 2017 as it finally gave everyone a look at the upgraded version of the Xbox One. The console is a powerhouse to say the least and it’s capable of a lot of things. Oddly enough, Microsoft is still holding back on their very own VR for the console. Microsoft’s unwillingness to create Xbox VR could also be holding back the popularity of VR gaming.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

That's true Microsoft are holding back VRs true potential

[yarbie1000]

It's true fanboys will pick even the most retarded arguments as long as there is an opportunity to bash Microsoft

[trooper_]

Oh, stop the presses! Criticizing Microsoft is not allowed!

Give me a break.

[4Sh0w]

XiNatsuDragnel,

-Nah, you are just easily swayed by almost every headline.

There's no law against Microsoft waiting and nothing wrong with Xbox fans caring about VR when WE see something worth caring about.

This industry is already dragged down with the "me too" approach to gaming. I'd rather Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony do different kinds of tech offerings to compliment their base console platforms.

- I wonder why it's only on Microsoft's shoulders to support every facet of gaming, where's Nintendo and Sony's PC support?....hmmm, the evil company, yet everybody has their hand out.

[rainslacker]

As a Sony fan(or fan boy depending on who you ask), I can say that is not true. They are downplaying the tech, but they aren't really holding it back. They aren't moving it forward in the market, but maybe they're doing something to help the overall tech in places that aren't relevant to us right now.

[mhunterjr]

100 percent disagree that they aren't moving it forward... they are simply putting most of their effort on development and the PC space, where experimental efforts are more appreciated.

They've got 5 manufactures makes HMDs for windows 10- enabling the type of competition that will drive prices down and will be compatible with Xbox. They've invested heavily is wireless HMD tech and inside-out tracking w/o additional hardware.

They demo VR and ever MS store/ kiosk I've been in.

They aren't downplaying the tech, they are accurately discribing the software environment- game developers haven't yet figured out key gameplay standards that will give VR mass appeal. Until that day comes, consumer releases will bear little fruit- an indisputable fact at this point.

[rainslacker]

I said they might have stuff in the background, likely through their mixed reality efforts. But on a consumer level, they aren't pushing anything forward. That will come later once their efforts are realized.

MS itself isn't downplaying the tech, but the people over at Xbox are doing all sorts of PR to explain away that which they once promoted, because right now they don't have anything to offer, and it sends mixed messages which IMO is just wrong only because they once promoted it for the X1 in an effort to build hype for the system. It's the same thing they did with Cloud which was a ways from being implemented for purchase, and they should really just stop.

[yarbie1000]

How can Microsoft be holding back something that isn't popular? lol

[andrewsquall]

Or how can they be holding back something when it wouldn't make a dint in the market if it launched for their console with current ZERO install base???
For example, if only 2% of the 50 million PS4 console users out there bought PSVR, how many people would that be of a million or 2 XboneX users had they released VR for it? It would be an install base of less than 40,000.

How can Microsoft be holding back something that they could never hope to make an impact on regardless? lol

[mogwaii]

Dent

[Krysis]

I mean if they were able to put out a GOOD headset maybe they would get a higher attach rate, I mean let's be honest PSVR is a low resolution janky novelty compared to its competition so that accounts for the low attach rate.

[brewin]

Right, lol. VR will never catch on plain and simple. It will NEVER be this mass market thing that fanboys want. I dont know what people expected. It's 3d all over again. VR was dead on arrival. People just don't want that crap, it's always going to be super niche. A mere footnote in gaming history like motion controls, kinect, 3d, and console add ons like sega cd. I feel sorry for anyone who thought otherwise and invested in it.

[mogwaii]

Its not crap but it is niche and i feel it always will be.

[brewin]

@dom
Dude, they talked about 3d since the 30's and look wat happened when they tried to bring that back, lol. So since when are OPINIONS not vaild?! wow guy, really?! And Who cares how long its been talked about or how many times theyve tried to bring it mass market. It never succeeded and its definitely not going to for the foreseeable future. almost 80 years since 3d was first introduced and your talking since the 90s with VR, like how long its been around is a valid arguing point for the success of a product. Cmon man, its done. VR may have useful applications, but gaming is just not where its at.

[cfc83]

All of a sudden the people who dislike xbox actually want them to get involved in VR. Surely 47 trillion zillion ps4s have been sold. They have enough users to make VR happen itself.

[ILostMyMind]

It happen already.

[andibandit]

But it hasn't really taken off, they way most had hoped.

[Aenea]

yeah, weird as all heck! They somehow want VR to succeed so it's here to stay and not go away for a few years again! Weird huh?

Or perhaps they have the same reasons why Xbox fans want cross-play on their fictional PS4's so much?

[cfc83]

Well why can't Sony fanboys apply the same logic to games. Gamers need both companies to co-exist in order to create a stronger gaming market. Why only apply logic to VR, though not gaming ?

[Aenea]

"Gamers need both companies to co-exist"

Not sure why you're saying that to me 'cos I completely agree with that. In fact, I wish there were even more console makers out there which would be even better, tho not for my wallet!

[Fishy Fingers]

Think the abundant lack of mainstream interest is what's 'holding back' VR.

[OpenGL]

Price is probably the biggest factor. I have a VR capable PC but the idea of throwing down $800 on a Vive doesn't sit well with me.

[Rippcity]

There are a few things holding VR back. One is definitely immersion. The wires are killer. I used my buddy's vive a few times and the wires were just miserable to deal with every time. Price is definitely another but that will naturally come down as the tech gets more mainstream.

On a completely different note I feel like VR is never really going to excel in the home console space. Ideally it should be like a place that you go to (similar to something like laser tag) but with wireless VR headsets. I just don't see any way to get passed the immersion issues without something like that because even when the headsets become wireless, you're still confined to a room within a house.

[Lon3wolf]

So we go from a statement of fact in the headline to this at the end of the article:

"Unknowingly, Microsoft might be holding back the boom of VR’s popularity. The tech isn’t exactly dying for now but at the slow rate of its rising popularity, VR gaming might not be able to surpass handheld or console gaming at all."

Tosh and nonsense.

[brewin]

Lol. VR is available on the #1 console, ps4. So you're telling me that xbox not supporting VR is what's holding it back? But I thought these type of fanboys say xbox sucks, so why does it need to support shitty VR to push the failed gimmick that is VR?! This make no sense. VR sucks, thatts why it hasnt caught on. Its a $500 gimmick with crappy titles. It's funny how people shit on MS for kinect, yet laud Sony for VR support. At least Kinect didn't cost $500!

[KickSpinFilter]

??, I read this just a few days ago. Looks like they are working together to further VR.
http://xboxenthusiast.com/n...

[Gh05t]

So now you need MS?

So now people want Xbox diehards to go buy X1X and for them to release a VR headset?

A machine everyone claims is overpriced and DOA and to release another $400+ dollar accessory.

I have an Idea, How about 50% of you PS4 people go buy the PSVR... Those numbers would sure help, there are enough PS4 machines to make the idea of VR "Popular".

[Auron]

Microsoft holding back vr.
Microsoft holding back games.
Microsoft holding back the cure for cancer.

[G20WLY]

Microsoft fanboys are full of shit.

[thexmanone]

But it was a Sony fanboy who wrote the article

[MilkMan]

Nah, VR is holding back VR. It's just not ready. Guess we gotta let it play out just like 3D before folks "get it"

[Aenea]

Hmmm, I laughed, but this has clearly been written as a retaliation for the other silly articles!

we should stop approving such crazy articles!

[Null1980]

Hehe, playing nice Aenea today, eh? ;)

[Aenea]

This is the real me tho, other me only comes out when I'm in a bad mood....

[Null1980]

Well good, glad you're having a good day then. Cheers!

[B1uBurneR]

I thought xbox was the unpopular brand. Hold on I think I got life f^.. wait wait. No it still doesn't make sense.

Sony has 60 millions users that should be enough for them to put a dent or should I say jump start the VR revolution.

"Trump voice "
All those games, so many many games, I tell ya. Tremendous amount of games. You've never seen so many games in your life.

No seriously Sony is in a position to Dominate the VR market. only if its 59 million fans would get on the bus.

I don't know how to read the sales. Do I go with 1 million that bought into it or the 59 million thats saying Imma wait and see like Microsoft?

[vega275]

So as per this article and the sonyfanboys.

VR needs MS to be popular. I guess Sony's VR isn't popular enough to carry their device. They need MS to help move it.

Nice

[Jmanzare]

Vr at the moment is a gimmick. Especially psvr all the games are on rails. It's pretty cool but definitely not worth the money.
The only thing "holding back vr" is the technology and the content to go along with it.

[G20WLY]

Except for the ones that aren't on rails...there are plenty now. You're so far out of date, you come over a bit biased, tbh.

If you've made your mind up and - having tried it - don't like VR, fine. But don't judge it on the launch games 8 months later, as that's crazy lol

[GrimDragon]

I don't believe MS holding anything back. Rift and Vive are doing well with lots of games on steam to support the device not to mention hentai games and porn. Sony is holding it down with the entry level PSVR as well. From my perspective VR is alive and well and pushing forward at an increasing pace.

What I do see is MS learning from what's out there and likely working on an improved VR experience for launch alongside possibly its true next gen console launch. Don't sleep on MS much like Nintendo they do things when they feel it's the right time for it and not when the masses ask for it.

[timotim]

PSVR, Vive, Oculus, mobile solutions...if VR was going o take off mainstream by now, these products and peripherals would have already took it there. Let's not blame Microsoft for something all the others couldn't do so far. Consumers have experienced the best of what VR has to offer currently...and the masses simply aren't that impressed with it. Sony has only sold 1 million units to a user base of 60 million...that tells you everything you need to know. VR isn't quite there yet and when Microsoft's solution is ready, it will be MR and a much more holistic and affordable approach.

Microsoft isn't worried about Sony or Facebook here...they are currently trying to out think Apple and Google to mainstream.

[bluefox755]

I'm not usually one to often defend Xbox, but this is a bit ridiculous, lol.

[Bathyj]

Bollocks. VR is always going to be niche and it doesn't live or die by anything Xbox does.

[PizzaSteve]

The popularity that it had is already slowly fading away and some don't want to admit it.

[Vasto]

Xbox holding back VR?

Sorry but don't blame Xbox for VR not catching on like people thought it would.

Phil said they will first bring VR to PC and then later to console. He also said that VR has to be Wireless and more affordable and I totally agree.

VR will come to Xbox when its ready. Right now VR is not ready.

[ocelot07]

I don't see how MS are holding it back at all? Sure I thought they would of done or announced a vr headset for the Xbox by now. However, Microsoft are working with Acer and a few other company's for mixed reality headsets. I think Acer is bringing one out at the end of the year with full motion control. Maybe instead of Microsoft making there own VR headset like Sony. They will simply enable a 3rd party one to work with the Xbox.

But again I don't see how Microsoft are holding VR back considering they are working with others for Windows Mixed Reality.

[corroios]

Nope, they havent the marketshare to do that. Move along

[mogwaii]

VR will always be niche if not end up fading away and while it would be cool to have untethered vr at the end of the day the set up and hassle and general discomfort factor of having this thing strapped point blank to your eyeballs will make sure of it.

[zerocarnage]

I'm not bothered about vr gaming, happy with the controller always have and always will.

It's all a novelty much like PlayStation move and kinect, households will buy it, use it and then it will collect dust once the thrill has worn out, then everyone is rite back to the controller.

Must admit the most entertaining thing about VR so far sounds like VR porn lol I should imagine that will become so popular gamers will put down the pad for it.

Can't be having a controller in one hand and your meat in the other now can we, how on earth would you manage to sort the tissues out too hahaaaa.

[BillytheBarbarian]

VR is trash so far. MS learned from Kinect that that stuff is gimmicky fad junk. Does anyone even bother with Wiimotes, Move, Kinect, or even the reintroduction of Rock band/ guitar hero? MS is having a hard enough time getting games out for core controller toting gamers. Why waste resources on something people are already bored with.

[segamaniaco]

Microsoft is holding the industry too?

[XStation4pio_Pro]

let me get this straight.. people keep saying xbox is irrelevant or not leading, so how is that impacting vr gaming for pc and playstation... sure. thats bs. 1st off - one x will support vr.

the reason ms didn't mention it at e3 and are walking back a bit is because they were going to pair with oculus and oculus is going thru some shit right now and might not even last. the second part of that is power. you need a metric ton of power to make vr run well and look good (just look how shitty drive club vr and gt sport vr look compared to the non vr versions). thirdly is game mechanics - yeah its true. its hard to make interactive experiences in vr because of all the confines, limitations and the fact that absolutely no one has a tried and true set of best practices. lastly adoption rates for vr gaming is slow. out of 30-40 million ps4 consoles in homes and only 1 million psvr headsets moved globally, with really poor attachment rates (and why not, the experiences offered are pretty gimped compared to their counterparts).

you guys will disagree with me a bajillion times cuz I'm not hating ms and am not completely blind to sony's (occasional) shortcomings but i really do create content for this stuff. my job is to know this and the market and who we are creating/selling for and what the trends are. you know who doesn't come up in those convos for good or bad? ms. vr hasn't figured out what its good at yet and people haven't stopped trying to shoe horn any type of experience into vr. that doesn't work. vr needs experiences that require vr or are enhanced by vr... not just simply playing any game in vr. phil spencer said himself that he doesn't think vr has its act together yet and with the position he's in he'd be smart to hold off a bit. after what i've seen with psvr (we have 4 of them in the studio i work at in addition to rifts and vives and gear vr) its just not ready for anyone beyond early adopters. maybe gen9 can execute better.

[Kocurstvo]

VR is barely popular...

[Mr Marvel]

I think most gamers just don't care about VR. The push for VR seems to be coming from gaming websites and the gaming industry as a whole.
I own every Playstation system (PS1-4, PSP, PSV), but PSVR just holds no interest for me.
I also don't know a single person in real life who has bought one.

[TheGamingArt]

Obviously it's the Xbox brand. Not the limited market for VR.

[ttbob]

Shareholders wont allow them to jump into the vr market even if they wanted to its most likely the reason for lack of exclusives on the xbox because shareholders pulling the strings arent willing to take a risk on something like new exclusives and vr its crazy because its the lack of things like this as why xbox sales are so far behind just always sitting in a safe zone

[spartan112g]

This is a dumbass article.

[Shadowlee]

Vr been around forever coming and going and simply still isnt there yet. You need high res, framerate, support and affordable price which it still lacks all of the above. Even if it did have these, many still just wouldnt care about vr.

Get your install base up
Get the support
Make a quality tech
Make it within console price
When these happen we'll see xbox vr
(i still wont be buying lol vr just not for me)

[QuickdrawMcgraw]

Who needs VR when you have BC and crossplay...

[Ulf]

Wait, wait.. the market leader is being "held back" by the competition, which it enjoys a 2-1 marketshare lead over, at least?

That makes no sense. I call BS on this article.

[Mulando]

What a clickbait article. ~60 sold PS4 consoles should more than enough to sell PSVR headsets. But VR is what it is a niche product that was hyped much more than what it really is.
It is not like sony isn't producing enough, they do, PSVR is available in every store (that sells consoles) but almost nobody buys it after the hype is more or less over.
<2% of PS4 customers bought PSVR and PSVR is the cheapest of all VR devises (because you don't need a high-end PC and I exclude the smartphone devices here).
So what if <2% of xbox owners (currently there are ~30m xbox one owners) would buy a VR headset ... well that we've get 1,6m (PS4 + xbox) console based VR headsets on the market. Not enough to be successful.
Don't get me wrong, PSVR is not a bad thing but it is not a device everybody wants. VR is not ready for mass market.