The Next Next Gen Thread o/\o - The Bear and Badger

Yossarian

4.2M according to Wiki.

It’s certainly not bad, but it doesn’t suggest to me that the next gen will be won or lost on VR support. Could be wrong, obvs, it may take off.

MattyJ

GooberTheHat wrote:

Is that good? It sounds good, but is that good numbers for manufacturers?

Selling 5 million VR sets at a couple hundred quid sounds pretty good to me

Kara_Jane_Adams

GooberTheHat wrote:

I haven’t seen much evidence to suggest that VR isn’t still a niche concern at the moment. A quick look at sales figures on Wikipedia suggests that fewer than one in twenty PS4 owners has PSVR.

That's still a hefty number isn't it?

Depends how you look at things, I mean the obvious business question is why you would target a game towards a potential audience of 4.2 million when you have the PS4 itself with over 100 million potential customers, another 50+ million for Xbox One and a good 41+ million for Nintendo Switch.

As a platform it's still niche.

Obviously it's still worth developing for, but it's not something you would choose to throw a load of money behind a AAA title for at this point.

MattyJ

Yossarian wrote:

4.2M according to Wiki.

It’s certainly not bad, but it doesn’t suggest to me that the next gen will be won or lost on VR support. Could be wrong, obvs, it may take off.

Over the next ~7 years of the generation it could be a massive thing.

Yossarian

It could, but I’m still sceptical of it truly going mainstream as an entertainment device.

Kara_Jane_Adams

Maybe once it gets small enough and portable enough to appeal to the more casual gamer.

Lets face it, if you couldn't convince people to wear 3D glasses, it's unlikely they'll adopt VR without giving them a very good reason.

b0r1s

Not in its current form but eventually it will be. It feels inevitable. The Oculus Connect stuff shows how much Facebook are putting behind it. The hook of virtually being the same room as distant family just by popping on some specs will make it mainstream.

bad_hair_day

Boris knows. Next gen for moi could be an external graphics card getup for the laptop. PCVR via Quest is teh future yadda yadda.

Yossarian

Yeah, I think that the weirdness of utterly shutting yourself off from your surroundings will weigh against it. Being cut off from your immediate family in the same room as you is a bit of a barrier, IMO.

Kara_Jane_Adams

It's not like they can't build a viable platform without widespread appeal, but then you get back to the argument of why you would throw major resources behind a niche product when there are more viable platforms already available.

Personally I think the very best they could hope for would be gamecube numbers and that's if they have decent first party support.

but I'd be happy to be wrong.

b0r1s

Once the cameras get better you won’t be cut off that much. Even now with the open form speakers and no headphones you being able to step through the guardian and see your room means it feels far less isolated.

bad_hair_day

Yossarian wrote:

Yeah, I think that the weirdness of utterly shutting yourself off from your surroundings will weigh against it. Being cut off from your immediate family in the same room as you is a bit of a barrier, IMO.

Most people play games on their own, no?

Yossarian

Probably not in a dedicated room where you can be fairly sure nobody else will come in.

Yossarian

b0r1s wrote:

Once the cameras get better you won’t be cut off that much. Even now with the open form speakers and no headphones you being able to step through the guardian and see your room means it feels far less isolated.

This is more moving into the realm of AR, which I think has got more chance of mainstream appeal for this very reason.

bad_hair_day

Most VR games you can remain seated. Even erect, you don't need much space.

RedDave2

bad_hair_day wrote:

Yossarian wrote:

Yeah, I think that the weirdness of utterly shutting yourself off from your surroundings will weigh against it. Being cut off from your immediate family in the same room as you is a bit of a barrier, IMO.

Most people play games on their own, no?

Yes, but I get the cut-off thing. I'm fine with it for adults, I wouldn't put one near my kid. Kids can be hard enough to get off the TV/ Console, VR is a step more immersive. I don't know if its a system seller (although imagine if Sony boxed the PS5 with it as standard) but I can only see it growing. The comparison to 3D is a bit unfair - 3D is a visual touch which is cool, but VR is a whole new way to play a game. It's not for me from a sheer personal basis (I think I'll always be a joypad in the hand kind of guy) but PSVR is really impressive. I don't think Sony have even put that much behind it this gen.

LivDiv

MattyJ wrote:

GooberTheHat wrote:

Is that good? It sounds good, but is that good numbers for manufacturers?

Selling 5 million VR sets at a couple hundred quid sounds pretty good to me

Depends on the profit margin and how much they invested in R&D.

LivDiv

bad_hair_day wrote:

. Even erect, you don't need much space.

Speak for yourself.

b0r1s

Yossarian wrote:

b0r1s wrote:

Once the cameras get better you won’t be cut off that much. Even now with the open form speakers and no headphones you being able to step through the guardian and see your room means it feels far less isolated.

This is more moving into the realm of AR, which I think has got more chance of mainstream appeal for this very reason.

Not exactly. It’s more mixed reality. AR feels even more gimmicky game wise than VR at present. Having a game based on your surroundings would be limiting. It’s just using the tech of AR to make VR safer and less isolating. Think you’d still have the experiences in fully in VR with maybe family members just able to “step” in to your game if they need something.

Kara_Jane_Adams

RedDave2 wrote:

The comparison to 3D is a bit unfair - 3D is a visual touch which is cool, but VR is a whole new way to play a game. It's not for me from a sheer personal basis (I think I'll always be a joypad in the hand kind of guy) but PSVR is really impressive. I don't think Sony have even put that much behind it this gen.

At the moment I don't think so, VR with very few exceptions has been "here's a load of game styles you can play traditionally, but now with VR" it doesn't have a game that defines the hardware.

It could be a whole new way to play games, but for right now it falls short of that.

Minkymu

bad_hair_day wrote:

Boris knows. Next gen for moi could be an external graphics card getup for the laptop. PCVR via Quest is teh future yadda yadda.

Don’t you fucking dare do that. Amy would be devastated to not here your cockerney flute

Yossarian

I’m not sure that AR will necessarily be much good for games, but the whole distant relative thing in your virtual, or even non-virtual, space could be achieved better with AR.

bad_hair_day wrote:

Most VR games you can remain seated. Even erect, you don't need much space.

It’s not about the space, it’s about knowing that there may be other people in the room with you that you are oblivious to.

Kara_Jane_Adams

Yossarian wrote:

It’s not about the space, it’s about knowing that there may be other people in the room with you that you are oblivious to.

Especially when they keep sneaking in behind you and popping balloons.

I wonder why my housemate decided to move out and get his own place.

bad_hair_day

Minkymu wrote:

bad_hair_day wrote:

Boris knows. Next gen for moi could be an external graphics card getup for the laptop. PCVR via Quest is teh future yadda yadda.

Don’t you fucking dare do that. Amy would be devastated to not here your cockerney flute

Cockerney? How dare you sir!
Titanfall 3 could be cross play - one can hope.

Minkymu

South of Dudley mate.Titanfall 3 i think is a dead duck unfortunately. Respawn are too gassed with free to play shite

RedDave2

Kara_Jane_Adams wrote:

The comparison to 3D is a bit unfair - 3D is a visual touch which is cool, but VR is a whole new way to play a game. It's not for me from a sheer personal basis (I think I'll always be a joypad in the hand kind of guy) but PSVR is really impressive. I don't think Sony have even put that much behind it this gen.

At the moment I don't think so, VR with very few exceptions has been "here's a load of game styles you can play traditionally, but now with VR" it doesn't have a game that defines the hardware. It could be a whole new way to play games, but for right now it falls short of that.

I get what you mean but I don't mean VR has shown a whole lot of new games styles (yet) but I generally thing some of the games I've tried where boosted hugely by being VR - I can't think of a single 3D game where that was the case (to be fair, limited experience of both) Only Mario 3D Land on the 3DS felt like it would lose a lot if you took away the 3D.

Beat Sabre and Astro Bot I think would lose so much from not being VR games. I haven't played all of it but Resident Evil 7 was the first horror game that really hit home for me thanks to VR and who didn't love the Battlefront Star Wars mission? Games have tried to create that in-cockpit feeling for ages - that nailed it.

djchump

If you want to be *in* the game, VR is the way.
Whole scene will probably get a bump when Apple’s AR glasses come out.

Dinostar77

Until VR technology is reduced down to putting on a pair of ray-bans or the equivalent i have no interest personally.

Diluted Dante

Your vision needs to be completely cut off from the outside world or it wont work.

Kara_Jane_Adams

Dinostar77 wrote:

Until VR technology is reduced down to putting on a pair of ray-bans or the equivalent i have no interest personally.

I think there are millions of current gamers who feel the same way.

Personally I love it, I just can't see it ever going mainstream.

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