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As an average VR enjoyer, I’m absolutely baffled by the current state of VR gaming. 2018-2020: barely limping along compared to the early hype, but still getti

As an average VR enjoyer, I’m absolutely baffled by the current state of VR gaming. 2018-2020: barely limping along compared to the early hype, but still getting 2-3 “groundbreaking” titles per year that mostly live up to expectations Spring 2020: Half Life Alyx is released to a flurry of (mostly deserved) 10/10s across the board October 2020: FB releases the Quest 2 and proceeds to beat the combined lifetime sales of the rest of the VR industry in under 18 months. Essentially moving the same number of units as the PS5 during that period (to be fair, Sony had shortage issues) Winter 2020-Present: imagine a tumbleweed lazily rolling through a deserted casino town Most of 2021 was a cope period where enthusiasts believed the drought was due to game publishers pivoting to the Quest’s mobile chipset. But at this point, especially after the Quest Pro reveal and the second Connect with no updates on the two announced AAA titles (Assassin’s Creed and GTA:SA), sentiment seems to be shifting towards a desperate hope that PSVR2 will save the VR gaming industry. What happened? 2020 brought the first AAA 10/10 VR exclusive title AND new hardware that absolutely demolished the sales of everything else released to date. And yet the market is SIGNIFICANTLY more dead than it was in 2019. I can’t explain it. It’s not even a Nintendo Wii situation where it became clear the massive install base wasn’t interested in third party titles: there hasn’t even been a single big third party title released! RE4 VR and Bonelab come the closest and, by all accounts, they both sold extremely well.

Schroedingersat 4y ago
Same thing that happens during every 3d/vr hype cycle. A new generation of people realised it's not that great, uncomfortable, hard to share in person, and expensive. The novelty wore off and the machines got shelved.
- trafficante 4y ago
  Right, this does seem to be a cyclical thing. My point is that it would be extremely weird for every developer to simultaneously exit the VR market immediately AFTER Alyx gets multiple GotY nods and new hardware sells multiple millions of units. And yet, apparently, this is what happened. On some level I suspect FB buying up a dozen of the biggest VR game studios and letting them languish is a big part of the problem.
  - Schroedingersat 4y ago
    > My point is that it would be extremely weird for every developer to simultaneously exit the VR market immediately AFTER Alyx gets multiple GotY nods and new hardware sells multiple millions of units. Facebook trying to muscle in was likely the nail in the coffin, but if you compare Alyx to other platforms then a couple million sales for the biggest and most anticipated game on the platform ever is pretty damning. That's very similar revenue to a switch port of a decade old game like captain toad treasure tracker.

Schroedingersat 4y ago

Same thing that happens during every 3d/vr hype cycle. A new generation of people realised it's not that great, uncomfortable, hard to share in person, and expensive. The novelty wore off and the machines got shelved.

trafficante 4y ago
Right, this does seem to be a cyclical thing. My point is that it would be extremely weird for every developer to simultaneously exit the VR market immediately AFTER Alyx gets multiple GotY nods and new hardware sells multiple millions of units. And yet, apparently, this is what happened. On some level I suspect FB buying up a dozen of the biggest VR game studios and letting them languish is a big part of the problem.
- Schroedingersat 4y ago
  > My point is that it would be extremely weird for every developer to simultaneously exit the VR market immediately AFTER Alyx gets multiple GotY nods and new hardware sells multiple millions of units. Facebook trying to muscle in was likely the nail in the coffin, but if you compare Alyx to other platforms then a couple million sales for the biggest and most anticipated game on the platform ever is pretty damning. That's very similar revenue to a switch port of a decade old game like captain toad treasure tracker.