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I mean, none of the existing devices for VR were ever expected to be massive consumer successes. The Android standalone HMDs coming out Q4 this year are going t

by gfodor 9y ago

I mean, none of the existing devices for VR were ever expected to be massive consumer successes. The Android standalone HMDs coming out Q4 this year are going to be the first VR devices I'd personally consider as possibly being appealing to the mass market. My personal criteria for a device one could consider a referendum on VR if it fails in the market: - It needs to be at a price point akin to a tablet computer - It needs to be able to run for more than an hour without overheating - It needs full 6dof head tracking and ideally 6dof controller tracking with motion to photon latency comparable to vive/rift - It needs to be comfortable to wear for an hour for most people - It needs to deliver a graphical experience on par with something like a PS2 or PS3 - It needs to be portable and wireless so it can be passed around and shown off to others easily - Most importantly, it needs to be simple to set up and use. Ie, no external computer, no wires, no mounting of sensors on walls, no need to plug or unplug devices before/after use, etc.

slimsag 9y ago
Personally I do not think "simple to set up and use" is the most important part there: it's the price. I would love to play around with VR, but I'm not going to shell out $600+ for such a device when I don't know how much software it'll have in the future. At the time of writing this comment, I found out that the Oculus is $400, which is quite a bit better (I thought it was $600-$900 still). But I still don't know what future game/app support looks like for it. My gut says it is in a downward trend, so I won't be buying into it until I see them being more popular among e.g. Youtubers etc.
- kalleboo 9y ago
  I might even be convinced to shell out $600 for it, but to me the price is actually $600 + a high-end gaming PC, since I like most people these days just have a laptop with mediocre graphics. PlayStation VR looks interesting from that point of view but I haven't really heard good things about it.
  - dave7 9y ago
    PSVR is fantastic. It is not quite to the level of Rift and Vive in some areas (tracking accuracy, mostly). But it's still really good! I will add it is in my opinion superior in some areas too (comfort/design, optics).
  - PeterisP 9y ago
    Again, that is going to solve itself with no action needed from the VR industry - yesterday's high-end gaming PC is today's budget machine, so within a few years the basic PCs and consoles that everyone has will have the power to run decent VR headsets.
- BoorishBears 9y ago
  It's pretty popular, and there are daily reports of new players in the industry approaching VR (Today it's Dave Jones of GTA fame) There's nothing to imply a downward trend, but everything to imply an upward one. At previous price points I could see cost being more of a factor, but at 400$ I'd say anyone not interested is probably not going to be (in PC headsets at least). They can't really get much cheaper than that (one of the Windows ones is 300$). And the next generation is 2 years out so it's not like there's a fear of getting outdated hardware. And to top that the sale at 400$ has driven the number of users up significantly so there's currently a fresh influx of new users to setttle in with. The only thing I see changing is the cost of a VR-ready PC going down, but only if resolutions don't increase at a pace that nullifies cheaper performance
  - nindalf 9y ago
    Don't you think the resolution needs to increase? Current machines are capable of 1080p at best, but it doesn't feel that great to be honest. I reckon with gen 2 hardware the recommended PC specs will be bumped up to the point where it costs about the same as it does today.
    - BoorishBears 9y ago
      > but only if resolutions don't increase at a pace that nullifies cheaper performance The implication being they will increase, but the cost of computing power to drive higher resolutions may lower faster than resolution increases

by gfodor 9y ago

slimsag 9y ago

Personally I do not think "simple to set up and use" is the most important part there: it's the price. I would love to play around with VR, but I'm not going to shell out $600+ for such a device when I don't know how much software it'll have in the future. At the time of writing this comment, I found out that the Oculus is $400, which is quite a bit better (I thought it was $600-$900 still). But I still don't know what future game/app support looks like for it. My gut says it is in a downward trend, so I won't be buying into it until I see them being more popular among e.g. Youtubers etc.

kalleboo 9y ago
I might even be convinced to shell out $600 for it, but to me the price is actually $600 + a high-end gaming PC, since I like most people these days just have a laptop with mediocre graphics. PlayStation VR looks interesting from that point of view but I haven't really heard good things about it.
- dave7 9y ago
  PSVR is fantastic. It is not quite to the level of Rift and Vive in some areas (tracking accuracy, mostly). But it's still really good! I will add it is in my opinion superior in some areas too (comfort/design, optics).
- PeterisP 9y ago
  Again, that is going to solve itself with no action needed from the VR industry - yesterday's high-end gaming PC is today's budget machine, so within a few years the basic PCs and consoles that everyone has will have the power to run decent VR headsets.
BoorishBears 9y ago
It's pretty popular, and there are daily reports of new players in the industry approaching VR (Today it's Dave Jones of GTA fame) There's nothing to imply a downward trend, but everything to imply an upward one. At previous price points I could see cost being more of a factor, but at 400$ I'd say anyone not interested is probably not going to be (in PC headsets at least). They can't really get much cheaper than that (one of the Windows ones is 300$). And the next generation is 2 years out so it's not like there's a fear of getting outdated hardware. And to top that the sale at 400$ has driven the number of users up significantly so there's currently a fresh influx of new users to setttle in with. The only thing I see changing is the cost of a VR-ready PC going down, but only if resolutions don't increase at a pace that nullifies cheaper performance
- nindalf 9y ago
  Don't you think the resolution needs to increase? Current machines are capable of 1080p at best, but it doesn't feel that great to be honest. I reckon with gen 2 hardware the recommended PC specs will be bumped up to the point where it costs about the same as it does today.
  - BoorishBears 9y ago
    > but only if resolutions don't increase at a pace that nullifies cheaper performance The implication being they will increase, but the cost of computing power to drive higher resolutions may lower faster than resolution increases