Xbox chief: “Nobody’s asking for VR” for Project Scarlett

silvagti

silvagti

silvagti

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https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/11/xbox-chief-nobodys-asking-for-vr-for-project-scarlett/

I'm pretty disappointed by Microsoft's lack of VR support. From ditching mixed reality to confirming they aren't planning on VR support for the next Xbox I don't understand what they're thinking.

It's odd as on the one hand they're pursuing Hololens and seem to be banking on augmented reality being the next revolution that takes over from smartphones. However, they seem to be ignoring VR completely now.

Perhaps they don't see any overlap between AR and VR? At any rate I don't doubt I'll bother with the next Xbox if VR isn't in it's future.
 
Kreeeee said:
It makes sense. Very few people buy PlayStation's VR solution so why try to compete in a stagnant market?
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That is true I guess. I think Sony said sales of PSVR were around 4 million but as a proportion of PS4 owners that's still quite a poor attach rate. Still, given it's a £200-300 add on its not surprising I guess.

I'm still surprised that Microsoft are so negative on VR generally though given the future potential of VR/AR. Especially with Facebook/Oculus going all in and Apple starting to make noises about it.

I kind of thought Microsoft would want to keep developing VR tech just to make sure they're not late to the party when it or augmented reality does take off.
 
Microsoft has had a few big misses on new hardware trends - the smart phone side of things was huge and something that Bill Gates regrets not pursuing harder to this day. Tablets were another where they missed the boat and are arguably only just now starting to catch back up... Just likje VR it's not that they weren't there in those markets, they just kind of half heartedly dabbled and got washed away by the competition - very similar really to the WMR stuff.

I'm sure if VR does take off more they will tag along and eventually (maybe) catch up... the Xbox Scarlett will be just as capable of it as the PS5 if they choose to offer something eventually, they just don't seem to be interested in being trail blazers. For now they are probably right that it's still very much a niche and they have much more important things to focus on if they want to have a better stab at rivalling Sony this time around and it's kind of hard to argue with that. I'm also generally using the console in a more social setting in the home, I'm happy for now with using my PC and/or the quest.

What does upset me more is the complete lack of acknowledgement that PCVR is a thing - I'd give any of you guys' kidneys to Satan himself for a VR mode in horizon 4 PC for example. The new flight sim they were completely oblivious to the demand for VR until the collective internet exploded over the lack of it.
 
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silvagti said:
I'm pretty disappointed by Microsoft's lack of VR support. From ditching mixed reality to confirming they aren't planning on VR support for the next Xbox I don't understand what they're thinking.
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If there's not a sufficient market for it why should they waste money on it? They can always retrofit it later if necessary.

Zeeflyboy said:
Tablets were another where they missed the boat
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Actually they were too early and gave up.
 
Quartz said:
If there's not a sufficient market for it why should they waste money on it? They can always retrofit it later if necessary.



Actually they were too early and gave up.
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That seems to be the story of Microsoft over the last 2 decades unfortunately. They arrive to early to the party with a half baked product and seemingly give up just as things reach mass market.

They have smartphones (Windows CE/mobile) for years then just as touch screen phones reach critical mass market they drop the ball totally and Google/Apple dominate.

Likewise with tablet computers they bring out half hearted touch support for Windows xp tablets then when the iPad comes out they're caught napping and respond with the awful Windows 8 years later!

I guess it's tough to know when to enter a new market. Can't help but feel they're away to drop the ball again though and let Apple/Facebook own the Augmented reality market for themselves when it does take off.
 
silvagti said:
That seems to be the story of Microsoft over the last 2 decades unfortunately. They arrive to early to the party with a half baked product and seemingly give up just as things reach mass market.

They have smartphones (Windows CE/mobile) for years then just as touch screen phones reach critical mass market they drop the ball totally and Google/Apple dominate.

Likewise with tablet computers they bring out half hearted touch support for Windows xp tablets then when the iPad comes out they're caught napping and respond with the awful Windows 8 years later!

I guess it's tough to know when to enter a new market. Can't help but feel they're away to drop the ball again though and let Apple/Facebook own the Augmented reality market for themselves when it does take off.
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If you want to be first in the market and have a good chance of dominating it, you have to invest money to develop that market, sometimes for quite a while. If you look at the likes of Amazon, Itunes, Android, etc a lot of money was spent to create the market and product, and then others came in to try and steal a slice of the pie.

Microsoft with all their money could have been those groundbreaking companies, but they always seem to lose their nerve and bail out after a few years of investment after some change of management focus, and then end up being an also-ran who should have just hung in there a little bit longer.
 
I don't know why they just don't partner with Oculus and make scarlet rift/quest link compatible. It would surely be a win for both companies as they would both sell more hardware and software.
 
This is what I don't understand about Microsoft. They had Xbox and windows mixed reality for several years yet choose never to integrate them despite the fact that it would likely have been easy for them to do so and would have instantly given them a superior alternative to Playstation VR?

Given the higher resolution of WMR headsets, the better tracking provided but the inside-out cameras, decent VR controllers and the the most powerful console (Xbox one X) which would have been ideal for VR Microsoft could have dominated the market with very little effort.

Yet for some reason they gave up on VR completely. I think they'll regret that decision.....

jennidc said:
I don't know why they just don't partner with Oculus and make scarlet rift/quest link compatible. It would surely be a win for both companies as they would both sell more hardware and software.
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I'm not sure what Microsoft could offer Oculus/Facebook that would make them want to form a partnership though?
 
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silvagti said:
Microsoft could have dominated the market with very little effort.
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What market though... That's how they will see it. Given the bloody nose they received with the last launch and the Kinect, there's not a cat in hells chance they will deviate from a mantra of being 'on brand' and one message with the next Xbox.

It'll be the same with Sony and the PlayStation, I doubt you'll hear any association with PSVR 2 within the first 18 months. Sony and MS intend on batting it out against each other on the strongest suits, VR would be a weakness in that strategy right now.
 
MS almost ruined the Xbox 1 launch by bundling Kinekt as standard, they've also witnessed 3D gaming die off, chances are they just want a gimmick free platform going forward. Until VR is truly wireless and simly glasses rather than giant virtual boy style headsets it's largely seen as a complex and unweildy concept, one of the reasons I haven't got or even tried a VR headset yet.
 
PC777 said:
MS almost ruined the Xbox 1 launch by bundling Kinekt as standard, they've also witnessed 3D gaming die off, chances are they just want a gimmick free platform going forward. one of the reasons I haven't got or even tried a VR headset yet.
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That's true I guess. One bitten twice shy. At the same time I do think it'll take more than just a slightly more powerful version of an existing console with nicer graphics to convince gamers they want to upgrade. Historically most console launches between general need some kind of selling point to convince consumers it's a worthwhile upgrade. Eg. 3D graphics and CD multimedia support in the 90s. HD, wireless and online in the noughties.

That's something I personally felt the Xbox one lacked. There was no killer must have unique feature setting it apart from the other systems. Other than Kinect which was a huge let down .Playstation had VR and Nintendo had touch controls/portability.

We've already had mid life 4k graphics updates for the ps4 and Xbox one so I wonder just how much of a jump they can make over current gen anyway. I think Microsoft and Sony need a unique feature to convince consumers to buy their system over the other.

lokiss said:
What market though... That's how they will see it. Given the bloody nose they received with the last launch and the Kinect, there's not a cat in hells chance they will deviate from a mantra of being 'on brand' and one message with the next Xbox.
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Personally given how the current generation turned out I think Microsoft needs an edge to convince folk looking to upgrade that they should buy an Xbox rather than a Playstation. Otherwise there's a risk those who switched to Sony will simply buy a ps5, ignore Microsoft's offering and the next generation will cement Sony's sales lead.

We know VR isn't going to be the focus for Microsoft so I wonder what the sales pitch will be?
 
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