3 ms·

I don't think the current incarnation of VR will ever take off. It's too inconvenient to need to block out everything around you with a headset. It's fundamenta

I don't think the current incarnation of VR will ever take off. It's too inconvenient to need to block out everything around you with a headset. It's fundamentally incompatible with human behavior. Until VR is as convenient as picking up a phone or tablet, it's not going anywhere.

cwkoss 6y ago
Oculus has a cool pass-through mode where it displays what the cameras are seeing in black and white. I think this sort of feature will become widespread in future generations.
allenu 6y ago
That's my problem with it as well. You need to have a space set up where you can use it, and you also have to have the VR headset/equipment available to just grab and put on in an instant, otherwise I think it will just languish in the closet. VR is competing with phones, tablets, and TVs today, which are in my opinion good enough and way more convenient. The experience within VR might be amazing, but it has to be so good that you forego other more convenient devices available to you.
- Kiro 6y ago
  For me, the Quest is pretty much like that. It's so small I just keep it on a shelf and I don't need a dedicated space. I'm just playing in the living room or in the office (you paint a Guardian for the play area in AR, and it remembers it unless you put it on another place). Been playing almost every day for more than a year now. I'm still amazed of how low friction it is to start using. I just grab it, put it on my head and all of a sudden I'm in the VR world.
  - _carbyau_ 6y ago
    Well, "dedicated" means different things to different people. I have a two year old kid. For VR, my space would have to be properly "dedicated" as it were...
outworlder 6y ago
> It's too inconvenient to need to block out everything around you with a headset. Is it? That's the main selling point to me. I don't want to stare at a screen, I want to look around a cockpit. Even outside light bleed is bothersome - I'm in freaking space, my brain is like where's this light coming from? It still takes some time to put a headset on and remove it. That can be improved. The Quest also has cameras if you need to see the outside world right now for whatever reason, which is a compromise.
Kiro 6y ago
I don't understand this argument at all. As someone using VR on a daily basis ever since Quest 1 the whole point is to block out the outside world and immerse yourself in the VR world. Even days I don't feel like playing (I have a schedule for VR fitness) I instantly feel at home and get excited the moment I step inside. What behavior is it not compatible with?
- spideymans 6y ago
  >What behavior is it not compatible with? Perhaps there isn't a desire from mainstream consumers to entirely block out the outside world in the first place.
  - Kiro 6y ago
    Perhaps but that's not the same thing as being "fundamentally incompatible with human behavior". The statement packs a lot of assumptions that don't resonate with me at all.
  - rpdillon 6y ago
    I'm not so sure. Movie theaters (especially a setup like IMAX 3D) are trying hard to achieve what VR does more cheaply and conveniently.
chaostheory 6y ago
> Until VR is as convenient as picking up a phone or tablet, it's not going anywhere. It is now with the Oculus Quest. Put it on your hands and head and you're good to go. You should try it. For me this was the biggest game changer. I use this multiple times a day for my workouts / game sessions. Prior to that, it was really annoying with PCVR. It felt like a ritual setting up PCVR prior to playing and it was a chore cleaning up.

cwkoss 6y ago

Oculus has a cool pass-through mode where it displays what the cameras are seeing in black and white. I think this sort of feature will become widespread in future generations.

allenu 6y ago

That's my problem with it as well. You need to have a space set up where you can use it, and you also have to have the VR headset/equipment available to just grab and put on in an instant, otherwise I think it will just languish in the closet. VR is competing with phones, tablets, and TVs today, which are in my opinion good enough and way more convenient. The experience within VR might be amazing, but it has to be so good that you forego other more convenient devices available to you.

Kiro 6y ago
For me, the Quest is pretty much like that. It's so small I just keep it on a shelf and I don't need a dedicated space. I'm just playing in the living room or in the office (you paint a Guardian for the play area in AR, and it remembers it unless you put it on another place). Been playing almost every day for more than a year now. I'm still amazed of how low friction it is to start using. I just grab it, put it on my head and all of a sudden I'm in the VR world.
- _carbyau_ 6y ago
  Well, "dedicated" means different things to different people. I have a two year old kid. For VR, my space would have to be properly "dedicated" as it were...

outworlder 6y ago

> It's too inconvenient to need to block out everything around you with a headset. Is it? That's the main selling point to me. I don't want to stare at a screen, I want to look around a cockpit. Even outside light bleed is bothersome - I'm in freaking space, my brain is like where's this light coming from? It still takes some time to put a headset on and remove it. That can be improved. The Quest also has cameras if you need to see the outside world right now for whatever reason, which is a compromise.

Kiro 6y ago

I don't understand this argument at all. As someone using VR on a daily basis ever since Quest 1 the whole point is to block out the outside world and immerse yourself in the VR world. Even days I don't feel like playing (I have a schedule for VR fitness) I instantly feel at home and get excited the moment I step inside. What behavior is it not compatible with?

spideymans 6y ago
>What behavior is it not compatible with? Perhaps there isn't a desire from mainstream consumers to entirely block out the outside world in the first place.
- Kiro 6y ago
  Perhaps but that's not the same thing as being "fundamentally incompatible with human behavior". The statement packs a lot of assumptions that don't resonate with me at all.
- rpdillon 6y ago
  I'm not so sure. Movie theaters (especially a setup like IMAX 3D) are trying hard to achieve what VR does more cheaply and conveniently.

chaostheory 6y ago

> Until VR is as convenient as picking up a phone or tablet, it's not going anywhere. It is now with the Oculus Quest. Put it on your hands and head and you're good to go. You should try it. For me this was the biggest game changer. I use this multiple times a day for my workouts / game sessions. Prior to that, it was really annoying with PCVR. It felt like a ritual setting up PCVR prior to playing and it was a chore cleaning up.