Oculus Rift Discussion

[Snatch1414]

Yeah I think you have something there. Plus the thing is selling out like crazy so whatever. MS sold 15 million Kinects and it was never anything but a complete piece of shit so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Both this and Exhuminator's points are really good and ones that I hadn't considered before. So while I'm still butthurt, I guess that's really most all of what it is - butthurt. I suppose I'm forced to admit that their pricing does at least somewhat make sense, even if it's still a dick move in my book given all their "around $350" crap.

I swear to god there was an article quoting one of their people saying they were shooting for $199, but I wouldn't know the first place to look for it.

[isiolia]

I swear to god there was an article quoting one of their people saying they were shooting for $199, but I wouldn't know the first place to look for it.

Polygon has a couple articles from talking to Palmer Luckey, explaining the cost increase, and that the real hurdle is how high end a PC you'll need anyway.

Might be an PR answer, but mostly, I think it makes sense. Not like we haven't gotten cheaper VR in the meantime via Cardboard or Gear VR even...the experience there is just lacking. Kinda like the Kinect - the tech behind it is very impressive, but cut down to a consumer price point, with limited CPU resources...it becomes less so.

[Pulsar_t]

I still say augmented reality is the method people will work and game in the future.. Just how far off is another thing. You can add all sorts of camera on a VR helmet, hell even make it wireless, but it's a clunky thing and you can't interface with reality. AR gives you both worlds (Granted, less of the virtual)

[Fragems]

A VR with a quality pass through camera is AR. We will probably see this with the next generation of headsets and possibly even some this gen(although not in portable form). The VR article in Game Informer mentioned that Valve alongside HTC are currently working on a pass through option for the Vive so people don't have to take off the set every time they need to look around. That being said the the Vive doesn't interest me as much since you basically need a small room to devote to it since the motion tracking requires a 5x5 meter space .

I'd say your best off waiting for the next gens of headsets or hopefully a discounted bundle by next winter. I'd say the next big leaps they will be looking towards is Pass Through cameras and better portability since the cords and being deprived of site are two of the biggest draw backs at the moment. I kind of have an itch to try some of it out so I might pick up one of the Dev Kits if those dip in price on eBay once the retail models release and then hold out till next gen.

[Jmustang1968]

I still say augmented reality is the method people will work and game in the future.. Just how far off is another thing. You can add all sorts of camera on a VR helmet, hell even make it wireless, but it's a clunky thing and you can't interface with reality. AR gives you both worlds (Granted, less of the virtual)

I think both have a place, and for different people. For many, gaming is an escape. They dont want shit added to their regular lives. VR can offer that next step up in escapism entertainment.

[Pulsar_t]

I still say augmented reality is the method people will work and game in the future.. Just how far off is another thing. You can add all sorts of camera on a VR helmet, hell even make it wireless, but it's a clunky thing and you can't interface with reality. AR gives you both worlds (Granted, less of the virtual)

I think both have a place, and for different people. For many, gaming is an escape. They dont want shit added to their regular lives. VR can offer that next step up in escapism entertainment.

Oh I don't think VR will go away completely, in fact it'll be probably the 3rd most used standard after AR and plain "2D" displays.

[Golgo 14]

I'm going to be straight up honest with you dudes. This thing could still cost $2000 and it would sell to a large demographic that remains silent out of shame. Nope I don't mean the folks who want to play FPS and dungeon crawlers in VR, or perhaps be a virtual astronaut or pretend surgeon or anything lofty like that.

I mean ronery weebs who desperately want an anime girlfriend that they can interact with in the most realistic way possible. Yep. Now I could back up this statement with a laundry list of links showing various uses of ORVR, convincingly illustrating what people have done so far with this concept. Trouble is those links are all highly NSFW (though quite amusing in a schadenfreude kind of way). Most of these projects are indie basement developer stuff, but larger companies are starting to catch on to the demographic potential. Here's a SFW example:

In short, there are a lot of people willing to pay major money for a virtual reality waifu they can virtually bone. Listen if people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for RealDolls (and they do, every day), they are certainly willing to pay for a far more convincing artificial girlfriend that comes with physically interactive elements. And if I was selling Oculus Rift, I might try to bleed those folks dry first too, before hitting the wider waters at a less lucrative price point.

So, Oculus will appeal to people who masturbate? Sounds like good news for Facebook shareholders.

[Exhuminator]

I believe a device which incorporates the capability to use VR or AR at any given moment is the true future of this sort of immersive gaming. With the right type of lenses, it would be easy to do both with one device.

I do believe that AR/VR is the future of electronic gaming. But we are still not there yet with the technology. We are not where it needs to be, cost wise and comfort wise. I believe we will get there within the next 20-30 years though. I'm glad to see companies making strong strides to get us further down the path, but personally speaking the reward VS cost ratio is not balanced enough yet for my own investment.

[Nemoide]

I hope that someone out there buys an Oculus Rift with the intention of watching The Lawnmower Man on it.

[Exhuminator]

cheaper VR in the meantime via Cardboard or Gear VR even...the experience there is just lacking

Might be lacking, but not useless at least:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/07/health/go ... index.html