Friday, February 17th 2017
Valve Reportedly Indifferent to Fate of Virtual Reality Tech
It seems Valve is far from concerned about rumors of an underwhelming Virtual Reality headset market. In a recent interview with the head of the game studio, Gabe Newell said his company was still "optimistic" in regards to VR's present state of affairs, and that it's "going in a way that's consistent with our expectations." He also added that Valve was "pretty comfortable with the idea that it will turn out to be a complete failure."
VR Tech sales have come under scrutiny due, in part, to lack of information. Neither Valve nor Oculus' respective marketplaces have produced sales data, leaving speculation to run rampant. To further fuel the fire, leaked figures from late last year suggest only 140,000 HTC Vive headsets had been sold, below market expectations for what is supposed to be the next "big thing."
Valve is probably maneuvering itself into a comfortable, mostly neutral position in regards to the drama, considering that the company has invested little in the VR technologies hardware itself (the closest they have to a headset is a partnership with the HTC Vive line in the Steam Store) and Steam serves mostly as a software marketplace for whatever is selling, thus they can do well regardless of VR's success by simply selling software products from whichever field ends up being the most successful.
Sources:
BBC, Polygon
VR Tech sales have come under scrutiny due, in part, to lack of information. Neither Valve nor Oculus' respective marketplaces have produced sales data, leaving speculation to run rampant. To further fuel the fire, leaked figures from late last year suggest only 140,000 HTC Vive headsets had been sold, below market expectations for what is supposed to be the next "big thing."
73 Comments on Valve Reportedly Indifferent to Fate of Virtual Reality Tech
By the way, these buildings are often the size of large warehouses. It's a lot of ground to cover and a lot of room for mistakes to be made. It's a bad thing when construction crews have to improvise.
There 2 major problems marketing it currently
1. It has too high of initial cost for most people
2. The games look like crap compare to none VR when viewing from any device other then actually having the Vive headset on and playing it. There no words or way(visually or verbally) to explain the experience to someone that never had one on.
Samsung while the gear VR is no where close to the vive, has the best marketing strategy for there commercial which is showing people reactions while using the gear VR rather then attempting to show what a vr game look like on an tv which is simply impossible.
That being said this is first generation of modern VR (I not counting stuff from the 90's which is nothing even close to what we have today) and there always going to be a high cost of entry for early adapters and you going to have to deal with many issues that come along with new technology. I bought the Vive fully aware of this so I not been disappointed but it not for everyone.
For me it was the first time in many years that I played a game that made me go WOW. happened all the time when I was a younger but lately while there plenty of games I enjoyed playing, I did not get that WOW factor until some of my experiences with the Vive.
My only wish was that this technology came out when I was a little younger and could duck, jump, move quickly and swing my hands around for hours with out my knees bugging me and running out of breath. I absolutely LOVE the game raw data but cant play it more then a hour(and a hour is even pushing it) without being covered in sweat and aching. I guess on the plus it giving me motivation to improve my fitness.
That being said till the technology improves a little bit resolution wise I prefer the room scale experience. Moving around and being on edge let me get immerse in the experience and I don't notice some of the pixelation flaws that more obvious to me while seated. Some of that might also be the quality of the content.
I get what many of you supporters are saying and it has uses, but mostly for practical building applications and other things it wasn't even really designed for...much like NASA and other projects come up with things with uses we didn't even intend, and that's great! However, having to wear heavy goggles that strap on your head however good things look, is not going to be in my opinion anywhere near the final product that will get us enthralled as a world in it, when we get to the point we can do 3d VR holographs with interactive characters like in Star Trek next generation with no CPAP like headgear and it is relatively inexpensive we'll be talking...till then it'll be just what it is now unless it costs 50$.
Haters gonna hate, old timers will live in their own time bubbles forever.
Maybe people could try this but again probably to much work for them.
I think VR is still in its adolescence stage. It has potential, but the tech isn't there yet to make it a big deal. Personally, I have high expectations of VR, and it is probably due to watching a lot of Sword Art Online and Ghost in the Shell Animes. Animes has set the bar high for VR, and those animes defined the high points of VR. It should immerse us (consumers and users) into a man-made world through all our senses. Right now, we aren't there yet. I hope when I am in my 80s, I get to spend my remaining days paralyzed on a hospital bed with a VR headset on my face. Right now, I am not spending $1,000 for a tv planted to my face. My 75" Sony HDR TV is more than enough for my viewing pleasure, and it is another 60 lbs if I were to tape it to my face like a VR Headset.
I'm going back in.. lol Well after I go pick up supper. I bought John Wick last week and it's awesome. I just bought Robinson as well and it really good even if it's with an xbox controller.
As for me, until someone solves the issue of putting something with weight on my head that cuts me off from those I love around me, then VR is not for me.
VR/AR, personal genomic sequencing, Skynet level AI, CRISPR genome editing, designer human, Mars colonization. It is not science fiction any more.
Dude i will hit you up later via PM. Solo Serious Sam VR is a bit lonely.
There's practical and then there's tech gimmicks. Each having their place.
Besides, speaking to your point, if the technology advances sufficiently and becomes less costly, there won't be a shortage of games/experiences which can be enjoyed sitting down. In fact, there are already many games suited for that purpose... you don't NEED a big room to wave your hands around. That's something certain games cater for, but others are best enjoyed in a static position (driving games being an obvious example). It may be a limitation for some people who want a more physical experience, but it won't rule out adoption of the tech altogether. And who knows, in 50 years time houses will probably come pre-built with Holodeck rooms. ;)
Now we get other end of spectrum, live a little, death to our eyes what are you talking about? etc. Again, maybe "death" to our eyes is bit dramatic, but in reality that may be at least partially true, when you can find a credible doctor or researcher that tells you with absolute certainty that hours of looking at a monitor at a good distance won't have any effect on your eyes...then I may consider your position more. That said, this is new tech but please don't tell me having similar images but more complex and "holograph"ish literally on top of your eyes has no effect on your eyes when a monitor at feet distance vs. this at cm distance does? Please. Funny you are the one throwing "close minded" out there as he simply tells you what he thinks, regardless of whether you or I think he's full of shit most close minded one here is you, ironically. He may be to some degree being so admittedly anti-anything VR but you only make his point for him when you just tell him how to "live". Just my humble opinion.Good points, but gimmick I think at this stage is a fair word to use you may not agree and some may, but it's early enough in its' development where I can see why someone would think that way of it. You don't have to agree and I may not totally even buy that it is a gimmick, but unfair? Hardly, it's an opinion and like assholes, we all have them for whatever they are worth but all are valid to use here. Not saying you can't say he's full of shit, all good, I just think saying it's "grossly unfair" is kinda like the "live a little" and "haters" comments, just essentially calling the other side deniers and labeling what they think. Also thanks for joke with Holodeck:), well played sir! That said, I think the Holodeck analogy I made is a good one, that is the "extreme" position from where we are now but planes and calculators were nothing but dreams or barely functioning items during the lifetimes of many who are still alive today, so not that relatively long ago considering now we are talking about VR; so Holodeck may be 50 years or...? but point is not out of bounds whatsoever and my thought is we need to close gap from VR today and the Holodeck before this stuff really takes off.
It's certainly come a long way so I'm close to being interested, perhaps Christmas. Give me time to save for a decent setup.
I just want people to try it. I have demoed my Vive and Gear VR to a good number of people and all of them enjoyed it and wanted one. I can't say all of them went out and bought one due to price, but when the price does come down then I do see them buying one.