Will VR be a fad?

[ebilcake]

Here to stay imo, gaming in it's current form is stale, no real innovation and creativity is at an all time low.

VR will change that, done right games will be a much more immersive.

 

[Merlin5]

I think that 3D TVs failed because watching films is a social thing for many, and having to put glasses on to watch it was a faff that people weren't willing to suffer for the 3D effect. If it had been 3D without glasses then I think it might have succeeded.

This can surely be said about VR too? What about all the families that play games in the living room together with a Wii controller or gamepad, seeing each other's laughter or other expressions on their faces. With a VR headset you can't see the eyes or even half the face, so it will be isolating and reduce that social interaction in the same way. And it's even more cumbersome than donning a pair of glasses. I agree though that VR is a whole new ball game and far more immersive.

 

[Nismo]

I thought 3D failed because it sucked and no one liked it?

I've yet to hear of anyone who has genuinely experienced VR and not wanted more of it or found it fun. I don't see it being a fad, it will only become more accessible.

 

[Rilot]

This can surely be said about VR too? What about all the families that play games in the living room together with a Wii controller or gamepad, seeing each other's laughter or other expressions on their faces.

This is not the target market.

 

[Jarrastafari]

Attended a VR developers conference yesterday, sponsored by ARM. They had many speakers and showed many of the products already made (and being used by actual people) for VR, from big companies to small games developers. VR is here to stay I'm gonna ride this bandwagon till it crashes and burns!

 

[xyphic]

This is not the target market.

I disagree, it's part of the target market. Sure, social VR is a niche within a niche but there's definitely room for it -- imagine one person "present" in the game through the HMD and the others playing with controllers, or even just watching on the TV and shouting instructions. Those of us in our 30s will probably remember Knightmare on the telly, wishing that we could take part. Well, here's the opportunity...

 

[Smurfin]

Some very naieve comments on here. 3D had a ton of money poured into it, but people couldn't be bothered to put on the glasses.

Will VR be a fad like 3D though? No, I don't think so, but it will remain niche. It won't transform gaming because a lot of people won't want to strap a VR set on their head, but more importantly, VR only suits some games.

FPS in VR is not viable because of simulator sickness. The disconnect between what your brain is telling you from the game, and what your body is feeling, is not something that I believe will be overcome.

People talk about VR legs, but anything that you need to get "legs" for is doomed to fail from the off (for that particular application). For me, VR is only really relevant for the seated experience; something like Elite or driving games are simply stunning, but again you need to go to lengths of owning a wheel or HOTAS.

I do think VR is here to stay, and I love it, but it's not the game changer that people are proclaiming. IMHO.

 

[ryryryan]

I do think VR is here to stay, and I love it, but it's not the game changer that people are proclaiming. IMHO.

I believe it truly is a game changer - but not purely from a gaming point of view. There's so much potential for this outside of gaming, that I think it will make a real impact to other industries some years down the line.

Though I guess I do think it will have a big impact in the PC gaming market when it becomes affordable too.

 

[Smurfin]

I'm only talking from a gaming perspective. Niche products aren't game changers; it's too limited in scope, despite being an amazing (if flawed) experience.

 

[Irish_Hawk]

I think the idea is that with these releases it will be less niche than it had been with the development kits.
Then each further iteration brings the prices down and improves the experience which in turn will bring VR into more and more homes.

 

[andybird123]

until they solve the locomotion issue it will primarily be best for seated, all of the roomscale "games" are faddy stuff like kinect/wii/move "games"

 

[wesimmo]

3D, even in the cinema, always felt like it was done just because it could be, it didn't really add anything to the experience for me.

VR on the other hand changes the immersion level immeasurably, and creates so many more options for interacting with the media. I've only used the cardboard Google thing in the last decade or so but even that amazed me, so God knows what proper modern tech will do.

 

[ryryryan]

until they solve the locomotion issue it will primarily be best for seated, all of the roomscale "games" are faddy stuff like kinect/wii/move "games"

Without trying both we can't compare those two as equivalent experiences.

At least that's what I gather from everyone's impressions who have tried it.

 

[wesimmo]

I don't believe it is just a fad, but I have to say the arguments put forward in this thread are very poor.

Not being a fad because it's a 'gamechanger' could have been said about 3D TV, similarly to the amount of money sunk into the tech. You really need to explain why. For example, 3D TVs allowed you to watch very similar content but with added depth perception, whereas VR is designed to allow new types of content to be created and consumed.

Personally, I feel VR will succeed not because of games. Games are entertainment and not the main choice for entertainment in society anyway., But the professional reasons to develop VR further will mean it has true staying power, at least to keep it alive until literally we all have one.

Then again, Who's to say that augmented reality is the proper next leap and this is a stop gap?

I manage call centres and if my resourcing team could wear glasses that allowed them to look round the floor and see information about people as they looked at them, flash alerts up, allow them to see 4 screens worth of monitoring systems without having 4 screens worth of desk space, etc, all while they're not locked into a virtual world, that would be a game changer.

 

[mrcpickering]

I hope it won't be a fad. Just ordered the the Galaxy S7 and it comes with a VR headset!

 

[ukxenon]

I think this will not be a fad
Try it and you will love it