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The Big VR Thread

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http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/06/17/editorial-why-vr-is-going-to-be-an-enormous-flop/

My main issues with this article are: 

1) VR doesn't need mainstream acceptance, there is a huge market of unnecessary gaming peripherals.

2) At least for me buying VR is a replacement for buying a 2nd, 3rd etc. monitor. My tower is already a dedicated gaming machine. I watch movies and TV with my PS3 and browse the web with a tablet. Looking at in that light ~$300 price tag isn't large compared to monitors. 

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http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/06/17/editorial-why-vr-is-going-to-be-an-enormous-flop/

My main issues with this article are: 

1) VR doesn't need mainstream acceptance, there is a huge market of unnecessary gaming peripherals.

2) At least for me buying VR is a replacement for buying a 2nd, 3rd etc. monitor. My tower is already a dedicated gaming machine. I watch movies and TV with my PS3 and browse the web with a tablet. Looking at in that light ~$300 price tag isn't large compared to monitors. 

 

I think this article actually makes some good points. I remember before the Wii came out, the thought of using motion controls in games was incredible. It was all I could think about for the months leading up to release and I was convinced that it would completely redefine video games. Then I got a Wii and played a bunch of Wii Sports and it was pretty incredible.. for like a week. I kept at it, hoping that the motion control magic would stay alive but it quickly went from this revolutionary concept to just pure frustration.

 

I can definitely see that happening again with this whole VR thing. I'm totally sold on it and will definitely purchase one but I am fully expecting that the magic of the VR experience will eventually fade. These types of things are basically just a fresh coat of paint over the same experiences we've been having for decades and I think unless something comes along that actually gives you a unique experience that you couldn't otherwise have, it will always just be an extra thing that is maybe exciting for awhile but will never fundamentally change the way we consume media and the type of media we consume.

 

That being said, if they start making true 3D movies that you can watch in VR and look around in every direction, that would be a pretty big innovation that would only be possible with VR. Imagine watching Back to the Future and being able to look around the Enchantment Under the Sea dance and catch a glimpse of future Marty up above the stage trying to stop Biff's goons. 

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See, I saw the byline on that article and decided to ignore it, because of the frequency of John Walker not knowing what he's talking about. I'm expecting VR to be an expensive novelty - for me, an exploration game in VR would be fantastic, but it's apparently hard for players to move around without them getting a little nauseous. That kind of kills it if the only way you can have players comfortably move through a space is by teleporting them.

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I'm willing to bet the nausea is something you can acclimate to (i.e. it won't happen or will happen less frequently) over time. Start with the easy stuff, work your way up to the hard stuff. The human brain is supposed to be pretty good at adapting to new things, right?

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It's true. There is definitely a period of acclimation; getting your VR legs it's called. There are certain things I could only do maybe 20-30 minutes before my eyes and brain just started feeling funny, but after a few times that stopped happening. I can play Elite Dangerous doing pretty crazy stuff and it's fine.

 

I could not read the editorial, I can't stand the guy's writing.

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VR came up on the most recent Idle Thumbs podcast. They mentioned platform exclusivity and I was wondering if any of the VR companies have said if their games will be exclusive to their headset or if they will they will be compatible with all games with VR support? If games are headset exclusive I worry there will be too diffuse a market to make VR actually successful. 

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I'm pretty sure that Oculus is funding some games so I would think the results would be exclusives.

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Tested continues to do excellent VR coverage.

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This article does a good job expressing my fears about closed system VR: 

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/07/just-how-open-is-the-future-of-pc-virtual-reality/

 

I am really worried that headset exclusive games will so divide the market that it will fail. Also starting to look more at SteamVR as opposed to Oculus.

I'm pretty sure that Oculus is funding some games so I would think the results would be exclusives.

The one game I can think of right now with Oculus branding on its official page is Elite Dangerous. However, Frontier have said that they are interested in supporting all types of new tech, having integrated OR and TrackIR support early in the alphas. Furthermore, they have said that they are not supporting any further oculus SDKs until the official release of CV1. So I don't think partnership necessitates exclusivity.

Recently I heard in the Bombcast or Beastcast the opinion that VR has a real shot this time purely because very large corporations have a lot invested in its success. I agree to an extent, especially if the target markets don't overlap too severely. Oculus seems more aimed at home use, but the space requirements of the Vive seem to restrict who can use it, and the quality seems higher too.

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 Oculus seems more aimed at home use, but the space requirements of the Vive seem to restrict who can use it, and the quality seems higher too.

 

The 'quality' on all the headsets that will come to market in the next 9 months or so are roughly the same, at least in terms of the technology. The software is going to be the real issue but I don't know anyone who's yet developing on more than 2 platforms - with 4 in the running at the moment.

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So has anyone here used the Gear VR? After today's announcements, I curious about its abilities.

My main question is this: Can the Gear VR play 3D, 360 videos? I could see this being worth my while if I can use it to watch concerts and plays and such, but the information about content for the device seems to suggest it's limited even in this type of thing. Why would the Circus Solei performance be short? I would think either it plays 3D 360 videos... Or does not.

Edit:

Also, was anyone else a little bit unnerved by the Bullet Train demo? Like, suddenly I'm realizing that people are (of course) going to be getting as many head-shots on humanoids as possible in a simulation that has significantly more fidelity than ever before. Seems like VR will have more potential to desensitize violence and bolster violent fantasies. I'm not suggesting it should be stopped, but it made me pause.

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Is anyone at EGX? They are showing the Vive to the public for the first time :). Elite Dangerous, which has supported the Oculus Rift SInce Alpha 1.1 in December 2013, is showing the game on Vive; it is also featured on the Vive stand at EGX. I take this to be a good omen for cross-platform VR compatability for pc games at least :)

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Having watched the first republican debate on an 80 inch screen I would not recommend this. You can see all the makeup, scars etc.

 

Who knew that large hi-def screens would cause people to have the same reaction to both politics and porn. 

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Who knew that large hi-def screens would cause people to have the same reaction to both politics and porn. 

 

Also sumo wrestling, 

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