So, I was passively reading that the Rift and HTC are about to come out. I was looking over some of the reviews and I really don't know what to make of them. Is this the paradigm shift in gaming? Or is this just a fad niche product? I was reading the reviews and it looks like the HTC is the winner out of the gate due to the controllers, whereas the rift is lacking. It seems to be pretty crazy with an $800 dollar price tag, lots of equipment and needing dedicated space. I will have an entire room I could dedicate to it, so I am kinda intrigued. Anyone else looking at them? Will they have a use outside of gaming with movies or television?
I'm taking a wait-and-see approach, because I have the same question as you. I want to see whether it really takes off and becomes a mainstay in gaming, or whether it's just another Xbox Kinect type thing that doesn't really become necessary to the casual gamer, which I'd identify myself as. The price tag scares me off, but I'm very curious to see where the technology goes and how much commitment developers give to VR in the near future.
They should set up these stations in large malls of every decent sized cities and let people experience it, if it is good, it will take off like a jet.
I'm expecting it to take off big within a few years. I'm not willing to shell out the kind of money you need to get a rig that can run VR games much less buy the actual VR equipment but I know that gaming streamer sites like hitbox are HTML5 ready and are optimizing for VR gaming streamers. As far as I know the biggest gaming streaming site Twitch isn't using HTML5 yet . Would be bad ass to play a new Battlefield, Dark Souls or Star Wars game with VR enabled though. I really hope it doesn't become a fad but guess we'll have to wait and see.
Price is still way too high for it to take off. $200-300 range would be perfect, $500-600 for standalone sets like Hololens (AR).
Spent an hour or so reading up on this and I think I will eventually end up purchasing the Vive. I will wait till it has a signature game, but I bet it will be awesome. They say the experience is better if you can dedicate a solid big space to it, which is something I would be able to do. The wife already hates it when I have my headphones on, can't imagine how pissed she is gonna be with a whole VR headset on. LOL
Well we are supporting it - we had a 2 hour wait at SXSW to try it out. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oAre1t0Tutc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> We have tried both - and they are good, the VIVE was the players choice at the show. DD
What I've heard from basically all the critics who have tried it is that showing it is the real problem. Most people who have not tried it (myself included) are perfectly happy to leave VR alone. It takes that first experience to really pique interest. The irony of this problem is that game developers and console manufacturers have been trying to cut out the middle-man in the past few years by moving to digital distribution (i.e., running Gamestop out of business in the same way that Netflix and other streaming services killed Blockbuster video). But if they really want to push VR, I think they're going to have to start partnering with these same physical stores just so people can demo the damn thing and actually be convinced to buy it. I just don't think word of mouth will be enough to convince people to shell out the kind of money they're asking sight unseen, and I don't think they want to shrink the price so much that they're eating a huge loss on hardware. FWIW, I don't think I've heard anyone who has actually tried VR say that it won't take off big at some point. Everyone who tries it seems to emerge convinced that VR/AR is the future.
Only one console manufacturer was trying to do this. The other two did not. A digital only console is instant fail with how large video games are (up to 50gb and more with day one patches etc), bandwidth caps, always have to be online to play your console, unable to return or sell used software, etc. Hell, the console that tried to do this, it took me over a day to download and update a DD game (40gb) that came with system before I could try it. That's with an internet connection of 18mbps. As for VR, I'm on the bandwagon whether it takes off or not. I don't think it's going to hit mainstream until the technology is better and more affordable. I think it'll take at least a couple of years to get there.
Um, yeah, I didn't say it was happening instantaneously. I said that both game developers and console manufacturers have been moving in that direction. Digital versus physical game sales have grown every year. Both Sony and Microsoft would prefer you to download directly from their stores rather than lose a fat percentage to Gamestop or Amazon. Just because physical games haven't disappeared doesn't mean that they're not trying to drive things in that direction. And hey, you know... Steam. Who the hell buys a PC game on disc anymore? That's been old news for a while now. Even when it's not Steam, look at companies like Blizzard with their own client for everything.
Louie Anderson also banged the "I forgot I was here for a minute" chick, cause she was so impressed with the game and Louie's complement on the TMNT jr shirt design and how well it fit her. :grin: Get it DD.
Steam is a totally different beast and platform (PC). You can continue to play the games you have on your account indefinitely because it moves with your upgraded PC. With consoles, most people sell or throw their old consoles in the closet for the latest gen. If we could move our old games to our next gen consoles (not having to repurchase or pay some fee), that would be a huge selling point for DD.
