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It really speaks to the disgustingly privileged and cloistered attitude of many tech geeks that they would consider a $400 consumer electronics device like the

It really speaks to the disgustingly privileged and cloistered attitude of many tech geeks that they would consider a $400 consumer electronics device like the Oculus Quest cheap. And that they would rather see mainstream VR crash and burn, or dwindle to a tiny, dying niche, than make even the slightest concession to people who can't or won't spent $2k+ to indulge in the latest fad. What a joke.

Aeolun 8y ago
It’s not cheap. It’s not anywhere near high quality enough for it to be anything but a fad for the masses either. It needs to be good before it can be cheap.
tokyodude 8y ago
So many things here. $400 too expensive? PS4 cost $350-$500 and has sold over 80 million units. What VR fans want is VR so good it knocks your socks off and is therefore as or more compelling than a video game console. What the cheap VR sets get you is a basically a mostly useless viewmaster that's interesting for 30 minutes and then put in a drawer somewhere. I'd argue the cheap VR sets damage VR more than help as the experiences are so poor people try them and are unimpressed and write off VR as not interesting where as that's far less true with the top devices with full 6DOF input controllers and room scale VR. There's a minimum spec for great VR. We aren't there yet. Features needed. Higher res, wider field of view, mouth and eye tracking for facial features, full hand tracking (gloves), lighter headsets, and I'd add in feet tracking as well having played some feet tracking games and seeing how useful they are.
- the_clarence 8y ago
  Have you tried Oculus Go? The experience is far from poor. I myself was a diehard htc vive fanboy and I love the Oculus Go. Can't wait for the Quest.
- aseipp 8y ago
  > $400 too expensive? PS4 cost $350-$500 and has sold over 80 million units. The PlayStation brand has roughly two decades of solid hits and great sales, and cultural credit. People know what they're getting into. VR has no such claim to fame (outside of fantasy scifi) and nowhere near the same volume to push costs down. Not to mention, the volume of units sold has actually nothing to do with the point the OP was making, which was that it's still expensive. And I hate to break it to you, but: the PS4 -- or any $400 gadget -- is still expensive for many people, even in places like America. But it's not expensive for privileged tech users like you and I.
- zimpenfish 8y ago
  > $400 too expensive? PS4 cost $350-$500 and has sold over 80 million units. But the PS4 actually does stuff by itself - the VR headsets (at $400) do -nothing- without extra hardware to drive then, no? Going off https://kotaku.com/a-useful-tool-checks-if-your-pc-is-ready-for-oculus-rif-1751656292 https://kotaku.com/a-useful-tool-checks-if-your-pc-is-ready-..., you'd be looking at another $400+ just to drive it at the minimum specs.

Aeolun 8y ago

It’s not cheap. It’s not anywhere near high quality enough for it to be anything but a fad for the masses either. It needs to be good before it can be cheap.

tokyodude 8y ago

So many things here. $400 too expensive? PS4 cost $350-$500 and has sold over 80 million units. What VR fans want is VR so good it knocks your socks off and is therefore as or more compelling than a video game console. What the cheap VR sets get you is a basically a mostly useless viewmaster that's interesting for 30 minutes and then put in a drawer somewhere. I'd argue the cheap VR sets damage VR more than help as the experiences are so poor people try them and are unimpressed and write off VR as not interesting where as that's far less true with the top devices with full 6DOF input controllers and room scale VR. There's a minimum spec for great VR. We aren't there yet. Features needed. Higher res, wider field of view, mouth and eye tracking for facial features, full hand tracking (gloves), lighter headsets, and I'd add in feet tracking as well having played some feet tracking games and seeing how useful they are.

the_clarence 8y ago
Have you tried Oculus Go? The experience is far from poor. I myself was a diehard htc vive fanboy and I love the Oculus Go. Can't wait for the Quest.
aseipp 8y ago
> $400 too expensive? PS4 cost $350-$500 and has sold over 80 million units. The PlayStation brand has roughly two decades of solid hits and great sales, and cultural credit. People know what they're getting into. VR has no such claim to fame (outside of fantasy scifi) and nowhere near the same volume to push costs down. Not to mention, the volume of units sold has actually nothing to do with the point the OP was making, which was that it's still expensive. And I hate to break it to you, but: the PS4 -- or any $400 gadget -- is still expensive for many people, even in places like America. But it's not expensive for privileged tech users like you and I.
zimpenfish 8y ago
> $400 too expensive? PS4 cost $350-$500 and has sold over 80 million units. But the PS4 actually does stuff by itself - the VR headsets (at $400) do -nothing- without extra hardware to drive then, no? Going off https://kotaku.com/a-useful-tool-checks-if-your-pc-is-ready-for-oculus-rif-1751656292 https://kotaku.com/a-useful-tool-checks-if-your-pc-is-ready-..., you'd be looking at another $400+ just to drive it at the minimum specs.