Source: Windows Central
A few years ago I wrote a piece about my thoughts on VR at the time, after using the cheapest and most cumbersome solution, the old Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) headset from HP. Despite the awkwardness of using this device, I still had an appetite for the tech. The first person mining experience in Minecraft VR was alive and blasting zombies in Arizona Sunshine VR just isn’t getting old. At least until you feel VR tired.
As fascinated as I was by VR in 2019, my interest in it diminished over time. It didn’t seem like Microsoft was moving to affordable VR technology as the efforts of the Microsoft Store and WMR largely fell by the wayside in recent years. In addition, competing solutions like the HTC Vive remain prohibitively expensive or, in the case of Oculus, frustratingly tied to the Facebook platform.
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Even so, my curiosity about the technology was recently quenched when I got the chance to try out the fully wireless Oculus Quest 2. It doesn’t require complicated beacon setups or a powerful connected PC tied with a cable or two. Ultimately, this is VR’s ultimate goal of being completely self-contained independent of any external device.
The Oculus Quest 2 is really magical, but it doesn’t solve some of the core problems with VR, which makes me wonder if the technology will ever reach mainstream or remain a niche for hobbyists and enthusiasts. Could Xbox expertise fill the gap?
Thoughts on Oculus Quest 2
Source: Windows Central
The Oculus Quest 2 is a truly remarkable piece of technology and it reminds me of the time I tried HoloLens. I must admit, as much as I despise Facebook for its irresponsibility to the impact of its social networks on society, Oculus’ technical efforts are nothing short of commendable.
The Oculus Quest 2 is a really remarkable piece of technology.
My only other experiences with VR were quick demos in sweaty gaming conventions and the very affordable HP WMR headset of the past. The Oculus Quest 2 brings these experiences with mature and sophisticated software, but also intuitive setup systems out of the water.
Windows Mixed Reality can easily be expanded to Steam, as can Oculus Quest 2 when you’re ready to jump through some frames. If you are looking to establish your technology, ease of use is an absolute must, and this is where the Oculus Quest 2 really shines. A simple set-up sequence will ask you to designate a play area and let them know where the floor is by moving a controller onto the floor. The scanning of the room is shockingly detailed and accurate. The audio directionality is impressive and sounds incredibly loud when it’s upside down, but quiet to everyone else in the room. This is the kind of seamlessness that I would expect this technology to proliferate.
Walking Dead Saints & Sinners is an excellent survival simulation game for Oculus Quest 2.
I’ve tried different games including the popular Beat Saber alongside Superhot and Walking Dead Saints & Sinners. Beat Saber is a fun action game that in some ways reminded me of Kinect, in which you slice cubes that race onto the screen to the beat of pop music. Superhot is another great game for VR that takes place in slow motion. Time only moves when you move, so you can perform John Wick style stunts against an onslaught of faceless agents.
It might be ironic that VR is supposed to be liberating, but somehow it still feels so restrictive.
Walking Dead Saints & Sinners, however, was a different bag. This was a full survival simulation with crafting mechanics, exploration, and a variety of weapons and combat systems. This game, like Minecraft before, I found incredibly disoriented to play. Games where your in-game arm and hand movements do not match your arm and hand movements in real life can lead to motion sickness. No matter how hard I try, I seem overly sensitive to it.
I have to wonder if I would be willing to spend $ 300 on this experience as so many games still make me feel motion sick. I was told it gets easier with time, but how much time? Then I feel like I should just start my Xbox or Nintendo Switch and enjoy a more relaxed, less tiring experience with higher resolution and better graphics.
It might be ironic that VR is supposed to be liberating, but somehow it still feels so restrictive.
Should try Xbox VR?
Source: Windows Central
At the end of 2019, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in an interview that there was not much interest in VR for Xbox. This came after it was announced that the Xbox One would support X VR, which was later tacitly discontinued. Microsoft’s interest in VR only seems to extend to expanded experiences with HoloLens, especially in a business context, even though some consumer-facing VR products like Altspace VR have been purchased. Even so, development continues on these platforms, and Microsoft even brought VR to Flight Simulator late last year.
The fundamental inconvenience of wearing a headset contrasts with why I play: relaxation.
Despite some high profile releases like Half-Life: Alyx, the adoption of VR still isn’t exactly what you would call huge. VR sales reportedly only hit around 5.5 million in 2020, despite the pandemic keeping everyone at home. There may be something to say about supply issues, but the Oculus Quest 2 has been available on Amazon for weeks now, while the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch suffer from massive supply issues.
There just doesn’t seem to be any appetite for this technology. It may not help that to just try VR one has to be willing to make $ 300 and also have to trust the Facebook ecosystem. PC solutions like Valve’s VR platform are also astronomically expensive.
I would be far more willing to invest in an Xbox VR headset because Microsoft doesn’t tie user habits to advertisers and has long been a proven player in gaming. Despite the fact that the Oculus Quest 2 is for sure the best VR headset I’ve used, I still don’t know if I care. It’s a fun novelty at first, similar to Kinect, but the basic inconvenience of having to wear a headset contrasts with why I play: relaxation. Hitting an Xbox brand on a headset isn’t enough to interest me.
An uncertain future
Source: Windows Central
According to most analysts, VR deliveries are expected to increase year on year, but they are not always correct. VR sales actually fell in 2019. One has to wonder how much the pandemic is affecting current interest. If so, there are some. As I said, the Oculus Quest 2 is far from being sold out.
Without user interest, game developers eventually lose interest, and hence we have the chicken and egg problem that Windows Phone fans here are all too familiar with. Without a developer you have no games, without a player you have no developers. Also, it will take longer for the ingenuity of VR as a design discipline to mature without active development and user feedback.
With all that said, I would jump on board without hesitation if one day Facebook or any other company manages to solve some of the biggest ergonomic problems with this technology once and for all. Immersion is fun. But the discomfort is very much no fun. Until someone is able or willing to take a risk to resolve some of these issues, Xbox should probably stick with what it can.
Would you like Xbox to make a VR headset for Xbox Series X? Hit the comments.
Change reality
Oculus Quest 2
The best VR so far
The Oculus Quest 2 is quite simply the best and easiest VR experience money can buy without the need for external tracking beacons or a powerful PC to run it.
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