Black Friday approaches.....

 

https://econsultancy.com/why-are-vr-headset-sales-declining/

The biggest blow to VR sales recently was that the blockbuster console game Red Dead Redemption II was not even designed for VR. There isn't even a PC version of the game at all.

14 hours ago, jabloomf1230 said:

https://econsultancy.com/why-are-vr-headset-sales-declining/

The biggest blow to VR sales recently was that the blockbuster console game Red Dead Redemption II was not even designed for VR. There isn't even a PC version of the game at all.

You have to wonder.....

Even as the occasional article like you posted appears, companies on the ground with money on the line and skin in the game seem to be pushing ahead. Just in the last month or so, we have the release of the Odyssey plus, the Pimax 5 and 8k, the Oculus Quest, the pictures of a new Headset from Valve, the announcement of the Oculus S.........

We'll have to see.

 

The same basic problems with VR still exist. That doesn't mean further technology advances won't address them. It just means that adoption will remain slow and VR will continue as a small niche.

Sony has been disappointed with sales of the Playstation VR, but that may change when the PS5 is released. The PC is not the gaming platform of choice and that hasn't helped VR either. The present bunch of headsets are starting to have the aroma of 3D TV, another tech that still hasn't made it.

1 hour ago, jabloomf1230 said:

The present bunch of headsets are starting to have the aroma of 3D TV, another tech that still hasn't made it.

Question: do you have a VR headset, or have you tried one?

In the meanwhile, from the glass half full side of the equation, here is some another perspective: https://qz.com/1298512/vr-could-be-as-big-in-the-us-as-netflix-in-five-years-study-shows/

I seem to recall having this conversation before. When PS VR was released, I really thought about buying it, but a friend of mine bought one first, so I tried it. He was ecstatic about the immersion, but my impression was more muted; that it was an expensive intermediate technology. So the prudent  approach was to keep reading and wait for the wrinkles to be ironed out. That was exactly 2 years ago and 3 million PS VR units sold worldwide. In that time not much has changed. 

Personally, I play no games on a PC except XP11, DCS and P3d4 and the headset display quality is inferior to a 4k monitor. If a PC headset was $79.95, I might buy it for FS use. But I'm still waiting for a console VR headset that is suitable.

It’s true display quality of vr (rift) is inferior to 4k but immersion of vr is unmatched. 

When p3d is running on my pc, my 55” 4k screen is a paper weight. 

Looking forward to the next gen hmd to arrive but for now, rift cv1 is outstanding for fs. 

This is why the discussion about VR is like deja vu. BTW, 80 million PS4 consoles have been sold since its introduction. 3 divided by 80 gives one a good idea of overall VR market penetration (3.8%). And people with consoles and smartphones drive the technology forward in the gaming industry, not people with PCs.

 

3 hours ago, jabloomf1230 said:

And people with consoles and smartphones drive the technology forward in the gaming industry, not people with PCs.

VR has never been seen as "only" a gaming technology. You also see it appearing in education, training, medicine and other areas. I think the potential is still massive, and not many of those use-cases necessitate 4K equivalent displays.

I would say most of them don't.

In the meanwhile, the forecasts I've seen still predict 50 to 60 million headsets out there by 2022. Which is nothing to be sneezed at, and more than enough to support a thriving support and creative ecosystem. Flightsim has a fairly thriving aftermarket after all, and I would be astonished if there were even a million civilian sim users worldwide.

However, as usual in conversations like this, I'm more than willing to come back in 5 years or so, and see where things stand, and where the burgeoning societal presence and recognition evidenced by the proliferation of channels like Mr Angs have led us.

The potential is massive, just like the potential is for a viable 3D TV technology. But if the technology for VR doesn't progress at a better rate, it will be a long time before it is a commercial success. Eventually someone will release a high resolution headset that sells at a reasonable cost. And all these discussions will be moot. But until then we might as well be discussing whether 8 track cassette players will overtake the audio market.

Edited November 18, 20187 yr by jabloomf1230

 

2 hours ago, jabloomf1230 said:

But if the technology for VR doesn't progress at a better rate, it will be a long time before it is a commercial success.

I don't really feel the clock ticking on this as some seem to: for me it's already pretty successful, and for the future, things happen when they happen. I'm enjoying what's available now, as tomorrow is promised to nobody. As we speak, people all over the world are having fun with their headsets, and while they may wish for lower prices and higher resolutions, for many, that's not going to stop them from being the first to experience the future.

This is pretty much my stance, and I put my money where my mouth was/is by purchasing an Odyssey+ last night.