Topic: Anyone else think VR is going to fall flat on its face from a commerical perspectie.

So his years MWC and GDC 2015 has been the year of the VR headset among other things, (steam machines and indies). However I think the system is going to fall flat on its face and fail pretty hard. While there has been some intriguing demos shown and indies seem Gung Ho for it, the bigger players of VR haven't really addressed how they plan to get the price down to even a Kinect level within the next year and in general there seems to be no real fire for the tech coming from the big developers. Sony has talked a big game about it but despite the PS4 size they don't have the clout to push developers to make games for it the ay Microsft did for the Kinect for 360 ($$$). From the consumer pesecptive I think most people would reluctant to put $250 and upwards toward a very singular use sensory deprivation tank.

I'm a bigger proponent of Hololens and AR right now and I expect some good things to come from AR but it seems like a good portion of the hardware industry is putting they're eggs into a basket that could have devastating consequences if it doesn't take off.

You need a very powerful PC to even make it work properly, so already, you're cutting out most of the market. Not just anyone who plays PC games and has a Steam account will be able to use VR. That will definitely be inhibiting to its commercial viability.

Morpheus, I think is going to be a major flop. The PS4 just isn't powerful enough to do it. Games like The Order and probably The Phantom Pain and Arkham Knight are going to be pushing the system to the limit as it is, let alone trying to add VR into the mix. Apparently, studios that got a Morpheus dev kit aren't even really using it.

A few indie developers seem Gung Ho on the concept, and Sony will have a few of their developers working on it. I'd imagine Sony Bend and Guerilla's next games supporting it (A Horror game and RPG respectively). It seems like Sony is hoping that No Man's Sky is as big as a hit as Minecraft will be (it won't) and than it can push sales like Microsoft is doing with Hololens.

Yes. Honestly, I'm surprised there's been such a push these days...

The world wasn't ready for VR in 1993, and I'm not sure it's ready now. Maybe in another generation or two it will be successful.

Well, yes. If you look at it, the only ones talking about VR are the ones who own it, and the ones who hate it. There's a way too small base of interest among people who simply know about its existence.
Besides, I think games should remain games. At some point, people should simply accept that it's a simulated world instead of strving to lose themselves in it. It's nothing scientifically proven, but I highly suspect that this will strongly reinforce the loss of reality with some people, and that's what's dangerous about the whole thing: it blurs the line between fiction and reality. And yes, my paranoia is showing me a future á la Wall-E or Matrix, where people live in their virtual worlds while the whole planet wastes away.

Look how well 3D TV sets turned out. This is too niche and too high of an entrance barrier to warrant investing into it. As previously mentioned, the price for these must be affordable to even consider it. The games must already be made and in place. It's almost like launching a console itself. Not enough games and too expensive to justify buying a VR device.

VR is the 3DO of peripherals?

too expensive.

it won't be a success

I think there's almost no chance of it becoming a mainstream thing. Too expensive and most people will be put off by the headsets.

I think that's what makes it all so cool though. The industry has focused on a lot of trends in the last decade such as motion controls and free to play that were all about making more money and attracting casuals, often at the expense of the core gamer crowd that have been supporting the industry for years. This is something that companies like Sony know won't make them a bundle of cash, but they're working on it because some of the people in charge just find it really cool and interesting on a personal level.

It's why Nintendo won't do it. Nintendo are the most focused on the profit margins out of everyone, and don't do stuff just because it will be interesting or fun for a small niche audience.

It is different in the time of the 3DO (And Neo Geo AES) I wanted it but didn't have the means to pay for it.

People wanting stuff like this are getting older and with being older comes more money than you need.

Let's hope so. At least until they can find a cheaper, and better way of selling it.

It's a good concept, but I personally don't want a massive goggle box strapped to my head. The prices are going to be outrageous to begin with, so I won't buy it because of that. You also need a pretty powerful computer to use it, which will cost a good £500 (if you already have a decent computer) or £1000-£2000 (if not more) for a top range system. Those factors alone will make it flop.

VR for SteamOS and consoles, okay, I can see the potential... maybe they'll kick it off where the Virtual Boy failed. However, I still don't want a goggle box strapped to my head, especially when I can sit in comfort on my sofa and watch it on a big ass TV screen.

Speaking of SteamOS, there's 14 new Steam Boxes that were just revealed from 3rd party manufacturers, hitting the market this fall.

Almost all of them are over $600. Most of them have lower specs than PS4/XBO. None of them have exclusive games. No optical disc drive. An OS that will be incompatible with many games. Ships with a controller with a trackpad (because you know how much everyone loves the trackpad on their laptop). They're basically the same overpriced pre-built PCs that Dell and Acer have been selling for a decade, but with a new logo and no Windows license. Only real benefit is the small form factor.

The console-killer has been delayed, it would seem.

You don't need to be a mainstream hit to be a success. If they can trim the costs to sell at a profit and design the technology so that video calibration and camera control happens automatically via the video card rather than needing implementation from game makers, it'll do just fine. I'm looking forward to grabbing one later this year.

VR Headsets are going to target a small crowd and stay relevant but not be targeted by many big companies, they will add the support into their games but they won't make games that require it. I can't see these current VR Headsets being the replacement of standard screens, maybe a future generation of those headsets will.

I don't see it being anything but a flop, then again I thought the iPhone would be a flop when I first saw it, iPad too and Facebook when it IPOed so what do I know?

I'm honestly not sure. Myself, I have close to zero interest in it, but my tastes seem to be so far removed from those of the average mainstream gamer that this shouldn't be an indication of commercial viability.

I do hope it flops. I certainly don't want it to be a rousing success, causing VR games to be prioritized by devs over others.

Some reason I think it will be a lot like motion controls. It will make a big splash and then people will start saying 'Oh this kinda sucks' and everyone will move on back to what is comfortable and works well.

I know that I have zero interest in it. It just doesn't sound appealing to me at all. I can't see people coming home for work and sticking this thing on their face. So it's either going to be a very niche product, or it'll be in vogue for a while within that niche before going the way of motion controls.