Is VR the next big flop?

[Bigfoot]

I would be curious to hear what people think of VR in its current form. Although the general concept of virtual reality truly excites me, I haven't seen anything so far that could prompt an investment on my part. It made me wonder:

 

Despite all the big tech companies investing heavily in virtual reality platforms, it doesn't look like the technology is really taking off right now. Is it simply due to the lack of content, or is the technology doomed from the start, sort of like 3D TVs? Do you even plan on buying a VR headset in the next year? If so, do you consider those cheaper headsets which hold your phone to your eyes an acceptable solution?

[RGProductions]

1 minute ago, Bigfoot said:

 

Not a flop, it's just ahead of its time

[Space Reptile]

2 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

Not a flop, it's just ahead of its time

Atari jaguar salesteam eh? 

[RGProductions]

12 minutes ago, Space Reptile said:

Atari jaguar salesteam eh? 

It's too expensive and VR games look like crap most of the time.

[TopDollar]

I ordered an Oculus Rift the day pre-orders opened and have not had any regrets whatsoever. Oculus touch pre-orders start Monday, and I will be ordering that as well. It's such a unique experience. That being said, some of the most engaging things I have found in VR are more of the experiences than the games. Being able to have a realistic experience of something you would not normally do is way more exciting than just playing a VR game. It has a unique ability to send your brain into a fight or flight response without physical danger. For example, I was way more immersed into the Apollo 11 Experience than I was with the game Adrift. Adrift is much more polished, but Apollo 11 put me in the seat of an actual historical event from a perspective I could only imagine from reading books. It's stuff like that that makes me excited for VR. I want to experience the good, bad, and ugly of history from a personal perspective that VR can offer.

 

On a side note: A proper sim racing setup, a VR headset, and DiRT rally is by far one of the best VR experiences I have ever had. I have experience in real rally cars and I have to say stepping into the VR version is one of the most fluid and realistic VR experiences I have had. I'm much faster in VR sim racing than I am regular sim racing.

[Space Reptile]

1 minute ago, RGProductions said:

It's too expensive and VR games look like crap most of the time.

 

[RGProductions]

1 minute ago, Space Reptile said:

 

WAT.

[Space Reptile]

Just now, RGProductions said:

WAT.

" Not a flop, it's just ahead of its time "

[Lehti]

My two cents: Consumer electronics (and, by extension, the PC enthusiast niche) has its fads, like everything else does. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, for trends can help drive innovation by a greater interest on the part of companies that believe that investment will reap some benefit in the mid-to-long term. But more often than not, this isn't all that great for the end consumer, that may end up with a piece of hardware that's going to be unsupported in a relatively short time.

But that's a relatively minor issue with VR: the biggest one is that the bar for entering it is too damn high. People with a computer capable of running a VR headset are somewhat scarce and not everyone who already does actually wants a VR headset. With a market this small, it's hard to imagine that VR will be a huge success in the long run, at least for Oculus and HTC. Someone will point at those two companies' sales figures and say I'm wrong, but what many VR apologists fail to acknowledge is that inevitably the market will saturate. Once people who actually give a damn about VR will have bought a headset, those figures will decline steadily.

Maybe in 15 or 20 years, when the technology becomes cheap enough, someone will successfully introduce a VR headset with software that's worth it (another current issue of VR), but now? Nah.

[RGProductions]

Just now, Space Reptile said:

" Not a flop, it's just ahead of its time "

I was saying WAT to the commercial. how could something like that pass through marketing?

[Space Reptile]

2 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

I was saying WAT to the commercial. how could something like that pass through marketing?

90´s man , the 90´s and lots of desperation 

[Lehti]

2 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

I was saying WAT to the commercial. how could something like that pass through marketing?

That's the '90s for ya. Be glad they're gone.

[TopDollar]

1 minute ago, Lehti said:

My two cents: Consumer electronics (and, by extension, the PC enthusiast niche) has its fads, like everything else does. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, for trends can help drive innovation by a greater interest on the part of companies that believe that investment will reap some benefit in the mid-to-long term. But more often than not, this isn't all that great for the end consumer, that may end up with a piece of hardware that's going to be unsupported in a relatively short time.

But that's a relatively minor issue with VR: the biggest one is that the bar for entering it is too damn high. People with a computer capable of running a VR headset are somewhat scarce and not everyone who already does actually wants a VR headset. With a market this small, it's hard to imagine that VR will be a huge success in the long run, at least for Oculus and HTC. Someone will point at those two companies' sales figures and say I'm wrong, but what many VR apologists fail to acknowledge is that inevitably the market will saturate. Once people who actually give a damn about VR will have bought a headset, those figures will decline steadily.

Maybe in 15 or 20 years, when the technology becomes cheap enough, someone will successfully introduce a VR headset with software that's worth it (another current issue of VR), but now? Nah.

That's one of the reasons why I'm a big fan of the VR experiences vice the games. There's a higher potential for VR to be more successful since these experiences don't necessarily require the higher end equipment that the games do. I would love to see more documentary style VR experiences done in pre-rendered CGI type environments. Something headsets like the GearVR can handle. Developers are just figuring this stuff out too. I just hope that they do before the market loses interest.

[Space Reptile]

honestly , simulators (flight and drive) are 3000% better w/ VR , you dont need 6 screens for a full FOV in a flight sim ,

you can just wear a tiny thing on your head and BOOM , full cockpit , w/ tracking and everything 

 

its niece , yes , very much so , but so is p/c cooling and hardline waterloops , does not mean its dead since companies like EK are doing more than well 

it will take time to reach mainstream , and stuff like the PSVR (wich according to Jim m.f. sterling is a very nice experience) will help it become that 

give it time 

[Canada EH]

I think its like 3d TV, just another gimmick for early adaptors and a gamble on a swing.

[BuckGup]

Just now, Canada EH said:

I think its like 3d TV, just another gimmick for early adaptors and a gamble on a swing.

It's not though. I see AR being bigger but there are already a lot of things and companies invested in VR. Too big to fail one could say. Yes it is expensive but until you try one you will never know the feeling or being confused on where you actually are.

[Canada EH]

I hate those Doom type games, I dont know what you call them, but VR is that type of game on steroids.

I will pass on VR.

I think the only advantage is real estate, I'd try it out that way.

[Bigfoot]

I recently bought Google Cardboard on Amazon for 15$; it was so cheap, I figured I might as well just give it a shot. My mind was blown for the first 30 minutes as I was exploring Google's official app, but then I found that:

1. My eyes were hurting like hell
2. I couldn't find any more content that actually seemed worth it in the Cardboard store

Is it any better with Oculus and the like? Is that a concern for anybody else? Let's do a poll actually.

[minibois]

As someone who doesn't own a headset himself, has used one quite a bit (for development) and doesn't have glasses or whatever, I was not impressed by VR.

Admittedly, I have only used the Oculus Rift DK1 and DK2 and not the Vive or the newest Oculus Rift. What I have seen for myself, it was not much special and didn't look that good. I don't think display technology is quite there yet. Together with just the fact that developers don't exactly know what to do with the features available.

[ThinkWithPortals]

I seem to be of the opinion that VR is massively overhyped and won't catch on.

I think it's akin to 3D monitors or surround gaming: never really made it to mainstream.

[Sauron]

It's current form is not ready. It has potential but for the time being I'm not interested.

[manikyath]

to be honest, i get the viewpoint of the "it's gonna be a big flop" people.

 

but last week i got my hands on a cardboard, and even with the potato display on my moto G, it's such an immersive experience that i honestly see why people would fork out the cash for a vive, and i'd actually consider buying one myself.

 

it's something you cannot grasp, until you experience it, and at that point it clicks, and you get why it's such an amazing tech. it honestly goes far beyond concepts people on this forum can even grasp. i got my cardboard from a demo my dad went to about the future of homes. instead of a big projection screen and fancy stuff, they got a cardboard for everyone, and a 3D video where (implied you have the right phone) you can slot it into the cardboard, and look around as if inside the video, AKA inside the room decked out with the tech they were promoting.

--

it's not a matter of VR being a hit or a flop, it's a matter of how much of a hit VR will be, and which fields will really thrive on it.

 

oh, and as a little footer: in terms of graphics, it doesnt need to be photo-realistic to be immersed, it happens much quicker than you think, and once you're "in" the experience, you pretty much dont even notice you are immersed, it just feels natural.

for as much as i was watching fish swim by on the world's most beefy screen door, i ducked when a jellyfish came up to me.

[Briggsy]

As the owner of a DK2 (lawl) I can say that VR cannot be called a flop yet, we are still in the infancy of the technology. VR games and entertainment don't follow the same rulebook that conventional 2D does, and game design is still experimenting with what people like and want (determined by money spent). For example, a game like "The Visitor" which only costs a dollar, and only provides about 10 minutes of unique immersion, can be experienced several times and still have a similar effect on ones nervous system. It's all about immersion. People have become so accustomed to the grinding aspects of video games, and VR isn't about covering lots of ground and doing repetitive actions all day... its about experiencing a setting, and feeling like you actually experienced something, and your nervous system cannot tell the difference.

 

People calling VR a flop or wondering if it will be a flop haven't experienced the immersion yet, because once you experience that immersion for the first time it feels dull looking at a computer screen again. And gaming isn't even the most immersive part, 360/180 videos are mind-blowing if done right. Just imagine being at a rock concert by connecting to a 360 video live stream, or instead of sitting in the bleachers, you can watch a basketball/hockey/baseball game from the bench.

[Wrb]

I'll might buy one when they're affordable and can run on lower end  machines, until then nope. It's just a way to make money, like 3D movies. (Especially as I was glasses, so two pairs of them feels really bad.)

[Thaldor]

I don't really know what to think about VR headsets.

 

They are nice piece of technology but then again they are IMO not polished enough. They are quite clumsy and you have the same problem as with modern 3D, you need to have glasses or the headset.

 

I'm more looking into the more AR like possibilities. IMO best 3D technology today is the Nintendo 3Ds, no need for external hw, no problems if you use glasses and quite simple and cheap. At this moment when screen sizes are getting bigger and bigger and prices are coming down fast, I'm really hoping some company makes this option into reality. Already that Wii mote headtracking is very much a great opportunity, but when something like 42" curved 4k monitor costs less than 500€, that thing would be awesome AF. Also that is probably the most easiest thing to implement into games, it's just one extra input which tells the game engine from which perspective the scene is rendered and doesn't really take any more resources than normal rendering. HW for that costs around max. 50€ and possibilities are far more numerous than VR headsets because the price of the hw and requirments from the PC are so low compared to VR headsets.