Oculus annouces the Oculus Quest, All in One VR, Spring 2019, $399

[I KILL PXLS]

This is not mainstream VR. Mainstream VR will be 4K for 200 bucks or so 300 max. No device ever has been considered anywhere near the mainstream for 400 dollars let alone a VR device.

Click to shrink...

I really don't think the mainstream is waiting for 4k headsets to jump in. What they want is ease of use with quality experiences at a decently affordable price. If a 4k PCVR hmd came out tomorrow at $200-$300 and was still wired and needed a PC or console to run and cameras to set up around the room, they would be less interested in it than the Quest. I still think it's maybe $150-$200 from that sweetspot price point and it's still too early to tell how the software lineup will turn out, but otherwise this is the closest we've gotten to what they want.

 

[potentialtodisplease]

Is this a joke? It could even cost 50 bucks in ten years, but we are talking about what's reasonable now.

Click to shrink...

Nobody is talking about right now. The whole point of half that conversation is when VR is going to take off. Which is not now.

 

[potentialtodisplease]

Is this a joke? It could even cost 50 bucks in ten years, but we are talking about what's reasonable now.

Click to shrink...

Nobody is talking about right now. The whole point of half that conversation is when VR is going to take off. Which is not now.

I really don't think the mainstream is waiting for 4k headsets to jump in. What they want is ease of use with quality experiences at a decently affordable price. If a 4k PCVR hmd came out tomorrow at $200-$300 and was still wired and needed a PC or console to run and cameras to set up around the room, they would be less interested in it than the Quest. I still think it's maybe $150-$200 from that sweetspot price point and it's still too early to tell how the software lineup will turn out, but otherwise this is the closest we've gotten to what they want.

Click to shrink...

People are waiting for a AAA game to blow their minds in VR. I firmly stand behind that. Ease of use is not really that bad right now, so I have no idea why people keep whining about a few wires. 80m people managed to hook up their PS4. They will manage to hook up a VR device as well. Quality experiences are basically 4K total immersion in GTA or a Sports title.

 

[P-Switch]

This is not mainstream VR. Mainstream VR will be 4K for 200 bucks or so 300 max.

Click to shrink...

This is not mainstream VR, this is delusional wishful thinking.

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VR gaming will never be a mainstream, mass consumer product.

(Ok, who knows what humanity will be like 50 years from now lol...maybe never is a bit strong :P)

But long term VR gaming is, and will always be, a core/enthusiast gamer market.

It doesn't matter the incremental quality improvements, nor the price reductions...mass consumers aren't looking for headgear to put over their heads and eyes to consume media.

Consumption of media...whether its tv/music/film/games...continues to head more towards absolute convenience over anything else. Mass consumers are A-OK sacrificing quality/uniqueness for ease and convenience.

Mass consumer gamers will always choose the more convenient way to play videogames, and that's not VR. At least not for a long long long time.

I love the concept of VR cause I'm a gamer enthusiast, and I know how "game changing" the experience of moving in a game through a VR 3D space can be....but I'm telling you despite the cool factor, there are still too many hurdles for mass consumers to cross in order to seek it out over the alternatives.

Being wireless and relatively cheap and console/pc free still doesn't eliminate those hurdles

 

[whiskas_fanatic]

Can you guys help me, I cant find one certain pic from presentation. There was a slide with launch games/studios list - with Superhot VR etc. - I've seen it in some article and I don't remember which exactly.

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Found it myself in my browser history, enjoy!

 

[Bookoo]

Found it myself in my browser history, enjoy!

Click to shrink...

Nice. I hope some of these devs are working on new stuff, but I expect many of these devs are working on ports of their Rift/Go games.

 

[Natiko]

So out of curiosity - for just a low end entry into VR as I await building a computer some day, would this be better or PSVR with a launch PS4?

 

[potentialtodisplease]

VR gaming will never be a mainstream, mass consumer product.

(Ok, who knows what humanity will be like 50 years from now lol...maybe never is a bit strong :P)

But long term VR gaming is, and will always be, a core/enthusiast gamer market.

It doesn't matter the incremental quality improvements, nor the price reductions...mass consumers aren't looking for headgear to put over their heads and eyes to consume media.

Consumption of media...whether its tv/music/film/games...continues to head more towards absolute convenience over anything else. Mass consumers are A-OK sacrificing quality/uniqueness for ease and convenience.

Mass consumer gamers will always choose the more convenient way to play videogames, and that's not VR. At least not for a long long long time.

I love the concept of VR cause I'm a gamer enthusiast, and I know how "game changing" the experience of moving in a game through a VR 3D space can be....but I'm telling you despite the cool factor, there are still too many hurdles for mass consumers to cross in order to seek it out over the alternatives.

Being wireless and relatively cheap and console/pc free still doesn't eliminate those hurdles

Click to shrink...

I'm not talking about grandmas using the shit lol. We aren't talking 100m sales here for one system. I am talking anyway about 10-20m sales as hitting the mainstream market for VR. So that is definitely doable. But hey I wouldn't speak 10 years into the future and call myself an accurate seer at this point. That is way too long much less 50 years ha.

As four your hurdles it all depends on experience and word of mouth. No, VR is not ready yet. But in 5 years it will be ready for a massive growth spurt. Actually, that will probably come even sooner. Now what some people consider massive is ridiculous. No one in their right mind thinks VR is going to have 80m in sales or something like that. I agree about consumers and all that junk. It all sounds so horrible when people speak this way btw. Consumption of media sounds so fucking gross I cannot stand the term. It's like some fucking corporate speak.

The funniest part of your post though is the first sentence, which will easily be proven objectively wrong within 15 years. No doubt about it. That's the kind of sentence that looks ridiculous over a timeframe. It's the kind of sentence that was uttered in the 70s and even the 80s about computers.

1980 Nostradamus: PC gaming will never be a mainstream, mass consumer product. Now fuck off as I go back to my typewriter!

 

[P-Switch]

I'm not talking about grandmas using the shit lol. We aren't talking 100m sales here for one system. I am talking anyway about 10-20m sales as hitting the mainstream market for VR. So that is definitely doable. But hey I wouldn't speak 10 years into the future and call myself an accurate seer at this point. That is way too long much less 50 years ha.

Click to shrink...

Hah...well yea, 10 million or less sales on a dedicated gaming device is a device that only appeals to core/enthusiast gamers.

I see "mainstream" as involving casual video gamers...the people who really drive video game hardware and software.

"Grandmas" aren't even about this...they are considered people who would never buy a dedicated video game device for anything (ok well, maybe Wii once lol)

Sure 10 million is possible for something like this...but that's hardly "mainstream" acceptance.

As four your hurdles it all depends on experience and word of mouth. No, VR is not ready yet. But in 5 years it will be ready for a massive growth spurt. Actually, that will probably come even sooner. Now what some people consider massive is ridiculous. No one in their right mind thinks VR is going to have 80m in sales or something like that. I agree about consumers and all that junk. It all sounds so horrible when people speak this way btw. Consumption of media sounds so fucking gross I cannot stand the term. It's like some fucking corporate speak.

Click to shrink...

Eh, no better way to describe how humanity interacts with tv/movies/music/games/radio/books these days.

It's not corporate speak...if we are talking about how/when mass people chose to move to a different thing in entertainment...modern day consumption of media is the only way to talk about it!

The funniest part of your post though is the first sentence, which will easily be proven objectively wrong within 15 years. No doubt about it. That's the kind of sentence that looks ridiculous over a timeframe. It's the kind of sentence that was uttered in the 70s and even the 80s about computers.

Click to shrink...

Ah yes....I remember that "in 15 years....!" promise 20 years ago when I went to VR arcades that were very popular in the mid to late 90's :P

VR gaming will never be a mainstream, mass consumer market. Doesn't matter how more advanced it's visuals/performance get.

Feel free to have me eat crow in 15 years when more people choose VR gaming over pc monitor/tv/2d screen gaming.....

VR can definitely be a viable, successful, and long lived gaming apparatus. I'm not saying it's dead.

I'm just saying it will never be accepted by the mainstream or mass market. Too inconvenient.

History has shown that convenience is what drives mass consumer response to media, not the experience/quality.

 

[ninjaboyjohn]

So out of curiosity - for just a low end entry into VR as I await building a computer some day, would this be better or PSVR with a launch PS4?

Click to shrink...

Hrm! I'd wait and see what the launch titles are like and see if you can try each at a store / from a friend.

My thoughts are:

PSVR
- some awesome exclusives never coming to Oculus (Wipeout, Astrobot, and RE7 (sniff)
- no / little screen door effect
- More powerful

Quest
- way better roomscale & hand tracking experience than PSVR with move controllers
- some cool exclusives (Robo Recall and whatever else comes from Oculus Studios)
- Less powerful
- No cords & portable

Basically, if you want Sony exclusives or are okay playing games that are more gamepad based than hand control based and involve you sitting down, PSVR is probably the way to go. If you want immersive experiences where you move around the room touching and grabbing stuff (Super Hot on Quest looks awesome), or want a portable VR system to take with you on trips or over to friends houses or to another room so your significant other can watch tv, then Quest is probably the way to go :D

 

[skeezx]

So out of curiosity - for just a low end entry into VR as I await building a computer some day, would this be better or PSVR with a launch PS4?

Click to shrink...

while i think PSVR is still worth getting it's very much a "gen 1" experience and aging pretty fast, so if you haven't gotten on that train yet may as well just hold til the next big thing (assuming Quest is indeed that) if you have to choose just one

 

[HyGogg]

So out of curiosity - for just a low end entry into VR as I await building a computer some day, would this be better or PSVR with a launch PS4?

Click to shrink...

Ignoring the software question as it's still somewhat unknown (and PSVR has a big head start), this is probably going to be the better experience.

PSVR's lack of 360 tracking and good hand presence are serious limiting factors and this does both of those really well. The screens are also much higher res which helps.

This does not have the graphical rendering power of even an original PS4 of course, so there's still a likelihood that the graphics will be a bit simplified, but my experience with VR is that the realism of the graphics is less important to immersion than good tracking and hand presence.

That said the software question is still a big one. PSVR makes up for it's underwhelming tracking support with some great seated controller experiences, and stuff like RE7, WipeOut, AstroBot, etc are substantial and great gameplay experiences that'll keep you busy for hours, even if they won't deliver the sense of VR "presence" as roomscale games.

 

[Deleted member 43077]

fantastic evolution especially because it can play games like robo recall.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

fantastic evolution especially because it can play games like robo recall.

Click to shrink...

Speaking of Robo Recall... :)

 

[Natiko]

Hrm! I'd wait and see what the launch titles are like and see if you can try each at a store / from a friend.

My thoughts are:

PSVR
- some awesome exclusives never coming to Oculus (Wipeout, Astrobot, and RE7 (sniff)
- no / little screen door effect
- More powerful

Quest
- way better roomscale & hand tracking experience than PSVR with move controllers
- some cool exclusives (Robo Recall and whatever else comes from Oculus Studios)
- Less powerful
- No cords & portable

Basically, if you want Sony exclusives or are okay playing games that are more gamepad based than hand control based and involve you sitting down, PSVR is probably the way to go. If you want immersive experiences where you move around the room touching and grabbing stuff (Super Hot on Quest looks awesome), or want a portable VR system to take with you on trips or over to friends houses or to another room so your significant other can watch tv, then Quest is probably the way to go :D

Click to shrink...

while i think PSVR is still worth getting it's very much a "gen 1" experience and aging pretty fast, so if you haven't gotten on that train yet may as well just hold til the next big thing (assuming Quest is indeed that) if you have to choose just one

Click to shrink...

Ignoring the software question as it's still somewhat unknown (and PSVR has a big head start), this is probably going to be the better experience.

PSVR's lack of 360 tracking and good hand presence are serious limiting factors and this does both of those really well. The screens are also much higher res which helps.

This does not have the graphical rendering power of even an original PS4 of course, so there's still a likelihood that the graphics will be a bit simplified, but my experience with VR is that the realism of the graphics is less important to immersion than good tracking and hand presence.

That said the software question is still a big one. PSVR makes up for it's underwhelming tracking support with some great seated controller experiences, and stuff like RE7, WipeOut, AstroBot, etc are substantial and great gameplay experiences that'll keep you busy for hours, even if they won't deliver the sense of VR "presence" as roomscale games.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the responses! Sounds like I might be best waiting for this to release (assuming good game support). I can always pick up whatever successor to PSVR eventually comes and hoping they bring the best games over at that point.

 

[potentialtodisplease]

Hrm! I'd wait and see what the launch titles are like and see if you can try each at a store / from a friend.

My thoughts are:

PSVR
- some awesome exclusives never coming to Oculus (Wipeout, Astrobot, and RE7 (sniff)
- no / little screen door effect
- More powerful

Quest
- way better roomscale & hand tracking experience than PSVR with move controllers
- some cool exclusives (Robo Recall and whatever else comes from Oculus Studios)
- Less powerful
- No cords & portable

Basically, if you want Sony exclusives or are okay playing games that are more gamepad based than hand control based and involve you sitting down, PSVR is probably the way to go. If you want immersive experiences where you move around the room touching and grabbing stuff (Super Hot on Quest looks awesome), or want a portable VR system to take with you on trips or over to friends houses or to another room so your significant other can watch tv, then Quest is probably the way to go :D

Click to shrink...

Hah...well yea, 10 million or less sales on a dedicated gaming device is a device that only appeals to core/enthusiast gamers.

I see "mainstream" as involving casual video gamers...the people who really drive video game hardware and software.

"Grandmas" aren't even about this...they are considered people who would never buy a dedicated video game device for anything (ok well, maybe Wii once lol)

Sure 10 million is possible for something like this...but that's hardly "mainstream" acceptance.



Eh, no better way to describe how humanity interacts with tv/movies/music/games/radio/books these days.

It's not corporate speak...if we are talking about how/when mass people chose to move to a different thing in entertainment...modern day consumption of media is the only way to talk about it!



Ah yes....I remember that "in 15 years....!" promise 20 years ago when I went to VR arcades that were very popular in the mid to late 90's :P

VR gaming will never be a mainstream, mass consumer market. Doesn't matter how more advanced it's visuals/performance get.

Feel free to have me eat crow in 15 years when more people choose VR gaming over pc monitor/tv/2d screen gaming.....

VR can definitely be a viable, successful, and long lived gaming apparatus. I'm not saying it's dead.

I'm just saying it will never be accepted by the mainstream or mass market. Too inconvenient.

History has shown that convenience is what drives mass consumer response to media, not the experience/quality.

Click to shrink...

I don't disagree with a lot of your post. What I disagree with is this:

In 15 years the landscape is going to significantly change. VR is going to change our lives. People might not be able to see this now, but to me it is coming. It might be 20 years. But it won't be any more than that. You have physicists talking about a singularity in 60 years. Well, my point is at some point VR becomes almost an alternate dimension. Hell, this is damn gonna happen in 10 years if you ask me. But anyway, at that point VR is not just gonna be something gamer kids put on. It will fundamentally alter how we think and feel.

 

[Wollan]

If anything they are adding more components & technologies to the VR headsets going forward. Eye-tracking, varifocal displays, HRTF audio, cameras facing back etc.
That $399 price for standalone 6DOF VR is here to stay (and as obvious from reactions this week that low price came as a big surprise to many). They will keep cramming more technologies into that price-point.
Maybe this means that Oculus Go ($199 class 'VR') will eventually be equivalent to the first Oculus Quest specs w/6DOF but you will NEVER be able to run 4K per eye on portable headsets without foveated eye-tracking technology and that is extra component cost. Not with silicon-based computer chips at least.

Better form factors and social experiences that has great word of mouth (all backed up by better technologies) will be what steadily increases uptake going forward.
The Oculus Quest is the real start of that. We needed for this category of VR products to be established.

 

[1-D_FE]

I don't disagree with a lot of your post. What I disagree with is this:

In 15 years the landscape is going to significantly change. VR is going to change our lives. People might not be able to see this now, but to me it is coming. It might be 20 years. But it won't be any more than that. You have physicists talking about a singularity in 60 years. Well, my point is at some point VR becomes almost an alternate dimension. Hell, this is damn gonna happen in 10 years if you ask me. But anyway, at that point VR is not just gonna be something gamer kids put on. It will fundamentally alter how we think and feel.

Click to shrink...

Exactly. VR and AR are also going to merge at a certain point. You got people talking about all this fad nonsense, but there is absolutely going to come a time when not a single person is going to hang some goofy, bulky display on their wall. They're going to watch all their content on massive theater screens with picture quality that destroys the best TVs currently available.

Now, humanity seems genuinely bent on destroying itself. So it's always dangerous predicting timelines when you can't predict when/if the wheels are going to fall off. But if things are allowed to continue on their current tech trajectory, dedicated displays are on the fast track to becoming obsolete. VR/AR is a revolution that's going to change things just as much as the internet did.

 

[Fall Damage]

I believe the Rift launched at $599 without touch controllers which eventually cost an additional $199. A high end PC with a GTX 970 was also required. Even today a lot of steam gamers don't meet that requirement, in 2016 it was a small minority for sure. When you factor in the cables and space requirements it's a fairly small group of people who will buy this product, even out of those interested in the tech. Now we have the same experience (yes at lower fidelity and smaller software library) for less money, with no PC requirement or cables, and it's completely wireless/portable.

The three product tiers seems to be a good strategy to also cover the high and low end, but I believe the Quest will appeal to the most people by far.

 

[Tregard]

Real Pipe dream, but I'd love to see a Civilization spin-off for Oculus, "CiVR".

I'd love to see them make a large globe out of hexagonal tiles and you can spin around the globe as you make moves.

I wonder what larger IPs we'll be seeing as the Quest builds steam.

 

[I KILL PXLS]

Real Pipe dream, but I'd love to see a Civilization spin-off for Oculus, "CiVR".

I'd love to see them make a large globe out of hexagonal tiles and you can spin around the globe as you make moves.

I wonder what larger IPs we'll be seeing as the Quest builds steam.

Click to shrink...

I'd be so in to that. Pretty much all of the strategy titles are realtime right now and those stress me out.

 

[Anthony Hopkins]

At first I was a little disappointed that it runs a mobile SOC but then I learnt the GPU is 567gflops and the CPU in it is about the same as a PS4.

Is it $399 for 64gb?

You are paying a premium for the 6dof ,oled
Bundled controllers and slight spec boost.

Im sure the device and expirence will be very good, I do hope the battery life is better.

$399 seems a bit high though.

$349 would be more acceptable.

 

[cakefoo]

At first I was a little disappointed that it runs a mobile SOC but then I learnt the GPU is 567gflops and the CPU in it is about the same as a PS4.

Is it $399 for 64gb?

You are paying a premium for the 6dof ,oled
Bundled controllers and slight spec boost.

Im sure the device and expirence will be very good, I do hope the battery life is better.

$399 seems a bit high though.

$349 would be more acceptable.

Click to shrink...

Oculus are pricing it very conservatively.

Look at it this way: the 64GB Go is the most popular model (straight from Carmack's mouth). Who could have ever imagined just a year later, that better hardware, displays, 6DOF plus controllers would be priced at just $150 more?

It bodes well for the price conscious- a year from now, they could knock $100 off.

 

[Arthands]

At first I was a little disappointed that it runs a mobile SOC but then I learnt the GPU is 567gflops and the CPU in it is about the same as a PS4.

Is it $399 for 64gb?

You are paying a premium for the 6dof ,oled
Bundled controllers and slight spec boost.

Im sure the device and expirence will be very good, I do hope the battery life is better.

$399 seems a bit high though.

$349 would be more acceptable.

Click to shrink...

I mean its a standalone, and mobile chips are optimized for use in portable form here. Using mobile chip is a no brainer and the wiser decision

Without the smartphone overhead it should perform better than mobile VR on a smartphone using the same chip

 

[Shola Akinnuso]

I'm certainly excited for Quest. As a PSVR owner with an embarrassing number of games, If I'm being honest, my best times in VR were on the GEAR VR due to the free movement and the better social integration. While I'll miss the PSVR exclusives, the games that I loved most could easily be done in Quest. I've spent much more time with Moss, I expect you to die, job similator, Crystal Rift and absolutely Dead Hungry over Firewatch, RE:7, and Farpoint. I simply can't get them to work properly consistently due to the hassle of setup and changing variables.

Too often I'll want to play PSVR and just grab the SWITCH due to ease of use. Months before the Quest announcement, I'd seriously consider just getting rid of my whole VR setup for a GO, but knew that Quest was on the horizon so i waited.

If Sony revisits VR in the next gen with a ground up redesign, I'll give them another look. I've already amassed a sizable library of PSVR titles, so backwards compatibility is definitely in my interests.

But the Oculus ecosystem has been impressive even from my time with Gear VR. When the only game that I'm really going to miss is Skyrim, and I'm willing to take the technological dip for the sake of ease of use, that's saying something for Quest. I'm super excited, and frankly, I couldn't get rid of my cumbersome g1 PSVR fast enough.

 

[Quample]

The Quest looks like a solid product. I have a Rift and while I don't love the wire, I can't imagine using VR anywhere but home yet. Too bulky, too many constraints. With that said, if they figure out dynamic foveated rendering for Quest 2, I'm all over it.

And when the standalone and PC headsets become a single product...that's when VR starts taking over the world. At that point I also think VR/AR are going to be inextricably linked as well, and the future battle will be form factor that allows you to wear it all day.

Timeline wise it's fun to guess. I think Oculus will define the major generational leaps for a while until Google/MS /Apple decide to stop dilly-dallying. I think Gen 2 PCVR will be 2020-2021, I hope they hold off until wireless only/dynamic foveated rendering and vastly superior headset form factor are possible.

The next Go could even happen before the next Rift, I think it makes more sense to do a refresh every couple years for a cheaper device that will still drastically evolve each iteration.

The gen 2 Quest will probably come right after the next Rift (for better or worse they probably want to push a new product every year moving forward).

2019 - Quest
2020 - Go 2
2021 - Rift 2
2022 - Quest 2
2023 - Go 3 - at this point I think if VR continues to ramp up Go's will have close to annual iterations. I went from 3 year gap to one year gap but who's counting eh?
2024 - Quest 3/Go 4
2025 - Go 5
2026 - Rift and Quest will merge. Go will take over the middle ground as the tech will be better and cheaper. At this point competing companies may start taking over or at least speeding up the process.
.
.
.
2035 - Mixed Reality glasses that connect to all your shit.

Thanks for reading me sort of talk about the Quest but not really. When I think of VR shit I often just start rambling about nothing...and everything.

 

[xyla]

The Quest looks like a solid product. I have a Rift and while I don't love the wire, I can't imagine using VR anywhere but home yet. Too bulky, too many constraints. With that said, if they figure out dynamic foveated rendering for Quest 2, I'm all over it.

And when the standalone and PC headsets become a single product...that's when VR starts taking over the world. At that point I also think VR/AR are going to be inextricably linked as well, and the future battle will be form factor that allows you to wear it all day.

Timeline wise it's fun to guess. I think Oculus will define the major generational leaps for a while until Google/MS /Apple decide to stop dilly-dallying. I think Gen 2 PCVR will be 2020-2021, I hope they hold off until wireless only/dynamic foveated rendering and vastly superior headset form factor are possible.

The next Go could even happen before the next Rift, I think it makes more sense to do a refresh every couple years for a cheaper device that will still drastically evolve each iteration.

The gen 2 Quest will probably come right after the next Rift (for better or worse they probably want to push a new product every year moving forward).

2019 - Quest
2020 - Go 2
2021 - Rift 2
2022 - Quest 2
2023 - Go 3 - at this point I think if VR continues to ramp up Go's will have close to annual iterations. I went from 3 year gap to one year gap but who's counting eh?
2024 - Quest 3/Go 4
2025 - Go 5
2026 - Rift and Quest will merge. Go will take over the middle ground as the tech will be better and cheaper. At this point competing companies may start taking over or at least speeding up the process.
.
.
.
2035 - Mixed Reality glasses that connect to all your shit.

Thanks for reading me sort of talk about the Quest but not really. When I think of VR shit I often just start rambling about nothing...and everything.

Click to shrink...

Is HTC out of the race? I thought the new Valve controller were practically around the corner?

Would love to see some real competition between Sony, Oculus and HTC over the next few years - the Vive 2 should also not be too far off, right? With the Vive Pro being a stopgap, the tech getting cheaper, the controllers being "ready" and the new graphics card generation out, wouldn't it be realistic to expect a release in 2019?

 

[Rice Eater]

The Quest looks like a solid product. I have a Rift and while I don't love the wire, I can't imagine using VR anywhere but home yet. Too bulky, too many constraints. With that said, if they figure out dynamic foveated rendering for Quest 2, I'm all over it.

And when the standalone and PC headsets become a single product...that's when VR starts taking over the world. At that point I also think VR/AR are going to be inextricably linked as well, and the future battle will be form factor that allows you to wear it all day.

Timeline wise it's fun to guess. I think Oculus will define the major generational leaps for a while until Google/MS /Apple decide to stop dilly-dallying. I think Gen 2 PCVR will be 2020-2021, I hope they hold off until wireless only/dynamic foveated rendering and vastly superior headset form factor are possible.

The next Go could even happen before the next Rift, I think it makes more sense to do a refresh every couple years for a cheaper device that will still drastically evolve each iteration.

The gen 2 Quest will probably come right after the next Rift (for better or worse they probably want to push a new product every year moving forward).

2019 - Quest
2020 - Go 2
2021 - Rift 2
2022 - Quest 2
2023 - Go 3 - at this point I think if VR continues to ramp up Go's will have close to annual iterations. I went from 3 year gap to one year gap but who's counting eh?
2024 - Quest 3/Go 4
2025 - Go 5
2026 - Rift and Quest will merge. Go will take over the middle ground as the tech will be better and cheaper. At this point competing companies may start taking over or at least speeding up the process.
.
.
.
2035 - Mixed Reality glasses that connect to all your shit.

Thanks for reading me sort of talk about the Quest but not really. When I think of VR shit I often just start rambling about nothing...and everything.

Click to shrink...

I can't wait to see how far the tech progresses by 2030. Not just VR but also AR. I'm 35 now and I don't want to be too old by the time VR and AR is really good. I don't even have a kid yet but if I have one soon man I'd love for us to do stuff like going to the park with AR glasses and play a 2 player game fighting off zombies or have some kind of sword and sorcery adventure.

And with VR I'd love to be able to hang out with a cousin of mine who lives over 20 hours away from. It'd be amazing if VR could really be used to make him feel like he's in the same room with me and we could munch on something and have a nice long conversation.

 

[Deleted member 12790]

I can't wait to see how far the tech progresses by 2030. Not just VR but also AR. I'm 35 now and I don't want to be too old by the time VR and AR is really good. I don't even have a kid yet but if I have one soon man I'd love for us to do stuff like going to the park with AR glasses and play a 2 player game fighting off zombies or have some kind of sword and sorcery adventure.

And with VR I'd love to be able to hang out with a cousin of mine who lives over 20 hours away from. It'd be amazing if VR could really be used to make him feel like he's in the same room with me and we could munch on something and have a nice long conversation.

Click to shrink...

speaking of AR -- despite not being nearly as revolutionary in terms of hardware as they had originally promised, magic leap going out to so many developers has lead to a LOT of really awesome AR demoes out there. Some of the stuff I've seen posted around is amazing.

I really, really can't wait for Hololens 2, because I think Microsoft is about to make a really big splash, especially if the FOV is doubled from Hololens 1 like they have said.

 

[robjoh]

Nobody is talking about right now. The whole point of half that conversation is when VR is going to take off. Which is not now.


People are waiting for a AAA game to blow their minds in VR. I firmly stand behind that. Ease of use is not really that bad right now, so I have no idea why people keep whining about a few wires. 80m people managed to hook up their PS4. They will manage to hook up a VR device as well. Quality experiences are basically 4K total immersion in GTA or a Sports title.

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I and my wife went to a VR site in Stockholm to play a very simple game called the raft. It wasn't an AAA experience at all, pixelated graphics and not the best field of vision. It was hilarious and really fun. Even my wife who is far from a gamer loved it. So I am sceptical that people are waiting for an AAA game to blow their minds. For me the reason why I have never had any thoughts about VR is that the setup felt to cumbersome and the price was to high.

I still think the entry level is somewhat over the price I am ready to pay, but a stand alone unit is at least something I can use in my small flat. Give me ok graphics and a fun experience; and I might jump in.

 

[potentialtodisplease]

I and my wife went to a VR site in Stockholm to play a very simple game called the raft. It wasn't an AAA experience at all, pixelated graphics and not the best field of vision. It was hilarious and really fun. Even my wife who is far from a gamer loved it. So I am sceptical that people are waiting for an AAA game to blow their minds. For me the reason why I have never had any thoughts about VR is that the setup felt to cumbersome and the price was to high.

I still think the entry level is somewhat over the price I am ready to pay, but a stand alone unit is at least something I can use in my small flat. Give me ok graphics and a fun experience; and I might jump in.

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I said that because typically it takes something like GTA or a Sports game to get younger crowds into something. Sport especially are a gateway into the great mass audience that loves sports. It's doable without those things, but much much easier with them.

 

[KORNdog]

doesn't this kind of render the oculus go they released this year utterly pointless? i realize it's cheaper, but it's comparatively shit too.

i want to see what sort of performance they can get out of this before i potentially jump in. the freedom of movement will be great compared to PSVR for something like super hot, but i still want some visual niceness akin to whats on show in something like RE7. robo recall could be amazing, but i need to see it running on quest first. if there's too much of a visual hit i'll probably just wait it out for the next version of quest.

 

[robjoh]

I said that because typically it takes something like GTA or a Sports game to get younger crowds into something. Sport especially are a gateway into the great mass audience that loves sports. It's doable without those things, but much much easier with them.

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I just don't think it needs to be an AAA experience. Something of the level of Wii Sport/Minecraft/Rocket League could do it. Anything that can create a new experience that a large amount of people want to try. It doesn't need to be the best graphics but it needs to be affordable.

 

[Quample]

Is HTC out of the race? I thought the new Valve controller were practically around the corner?

Would love to see some real competition between Sony, Oculus and HTC over the next few years - the Vive 2 should also not be too far off, right? With the Vive Pro being a stopgap, the tech getting cheaper, the controllers being "ready" and the new graphics card generation out, wouldn't it be realistic to expect a release in 2019?

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I don't think HTC is out of the race, nah. Not sure where they are though. What I know is Zuckerberg clearly has a glint in his eye when it comes to VR and Facebook has been pretty open about their direction. I can't say the same about HTC, but I admit I'm partial to the device I own. I could see HTC going more in the enterprise direction but who knows, Valve and the Vive seem attached at the hip at the moment so I don't think they'll move out of gaming anytime soon. I will say that the Vive Pro really threw me for a spin though, maybe that's why I've been less interested with them lately. The Vive Focus also seems underwhelming especially after the Quest unveiling but once again I don't know quite enough on the HTC side to judge.

I will also say that while it may be a smarter move to keep headsets at a lower price, if Vive can bring considerably higher quality the next time around at a premium price, that may make me reconsider my next gen purchase (especially if it seems like it will be another 5 year cycle).

It will be really interesting to see companies like Apple invest more in the tech. Like they'll do their "closed ecosystem" like Oculus but it'll be so good and trendy that nobody cares haha. And then Google will want to give VR to everybody for "free" while secretly stealing our essence. Look forward to it!

 

[xyla]

doesn't this kind of render the oculus go they released this year utterly pointless? i realize it's cheaper, but it's comparatively shit too.

i want to see what sort of performance they can get out of this before i potentially jump in. the freedom of movement will be great compared to PSVR for something like super hot, but i still want some visual niceness akin to whats on show in something like RE7. robo recall could be amazing, but i need to see it running on quest first. if there's too much of a visual hit i'll probably just wait it out for the next version of quest.

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Apparently the Go has a big market in Asia. It's enough VR to do movies or something like porn. If you want to experience VR but are not interested in gaming, the Go seems fine enough. And it will only get cheaper and better. It's a good product line - but we are not the target audience.

 

[1-D_FE]

Is HTC out of the race? I thought the new Valve controller were practically around the corner?

Would love to see some real competition between Sony, Oculus and HTC over the next few years - the Vive 2 should also not be too far off, right? With the Vive Pro being a stopgap, the tech getting cheaper, the controllers being "ready" and the new graphics card generation out, wouldn't it be realistic to expect a release in 2019?

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The Knuckles controller is for SteamVR devices and is going to be manufactured by Valve. It really has nothing to do with HTC other than the fact the Vive is the only real commercial device that uses SteamVR.

It's hard to know what's going on with HTC. It's not a company that's in good financial health. Reality probably is this: If SteamVR is going to have an exciting gen 2 product, it probably will need to come from someone else. There are some legit places this could come from too. StarVR is backed by people like Acer. This could be consumer level in two years. LG could decide to re-enter with next-gen specs. Valve themselves could decide to enter if they could get production costs to an acceptable level. Or some surprise (ie a Pimax type company that takes off). So even if HTC can't compete with Rift 2, it doesn't mean it's the end of SteamVR.

 

[1-D_FE]

Apparently the Go has a big market in Asia. It's enough VR to do movies or something like porn. If you want to experience VR but are not interested in gaming, the Go seems fine enough. And it will only get cheaper and better. It's a good product line - but we are not the target audience.

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If you're money sensitive, I agree. But I also strongly agree with Carmack (in his keynote). He thinks the media ratio is going to be far higher than the predicted 20 percent on the Quest.

If you can afford the extra money, the OLED screens in Quest are going to provide a vastly superior media experience.

 

[Diego Renault]

This will be as successful as the OuyaI I feel.

 

[Quample]

I can't wait to see how far the tech progresses by 2030. Not just VR but also AR. I'm 35 now and I don't want to be too old by the time VR and AR is really good. I don't even have a kid yet but if I have one soon man I'd love for us to do stuff like going to the park with AR glasses and play a 2 player game fighting off zombies or have some kind of sword and sorcery adventure.

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Hey, at worst you'll be old enough that the tech makes you feel young again! I'm 32 and I feel ya there, but at the same time I'm glad I'm old enough to be able to really take in VR's emergence from the primordial ooze, but not too old to see where it's going to go.

 

[DrROBschiz]

I wonder what games this can run at the peak of its performance

 

[Arthands]

Found it myself in my browser history, enjoy!

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Damn, from my guess there's going to be lots of ports...

- Arizona Sunshine
- In Death VR
- SUPERHOT
- Shooty Fruity
- Harmonix Music VR
- ESPER collection
- Electronauts / Raw Data / CREED VR
- I Expect You To Die
- LUNA
- Face Your Fear 2
- (armature's secret original IP VR title)

 

[1-D_FE]

Damn, from my guess there's going to be lots of ports...

- Arizona Sunshine
- In Death VR
- SUPERHOT
- Shooty Fruity
- Harmonix Music VR
- ESPER collection
- Electronauts / Raw Data / CREED VR
- I Expect You To Die
- LUNA
- Face Your Fear 2
- (armature's secret original IP VR title)

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Things like: Tetris Effect (which I firmly believe is coming elsewhere in time), Rez, Racknet NX, Eleven: Table Tennis, Compound, Jeff Minter games, etc could all be fantastic on Quest with very little downgrade in a downport. I don't think there's anything wrong with ports and in cases like Racket NX/compound, would be vastly superior on an untethered device. My list is all speculation, obviously, but there's a ton of stuff Oculus should be going after hard.

 

[Noisepurge]

So out of curiosity - for just a low end entry into VR as I await building a computer some day, would this be better or PSVR with a launch PS4?

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Would go with PSVR still, as it has tons of good big games like Skyrim, Wipeout and Resident Evil 7.

This being a cheap self contained unit i wouldn't expect this to run Skyrim and Fallout at all, but focus on the smaller VR "experiences" still. Even though Superhot and BeatSaber already are killer apps for sure.

 

[xyla]

The Knuckles controller is for SteamVR devices and is going to be manufactured by Valve. It really has nothing to do with HTC other than the fact the Vive is the only real commercial device that uses SteamVR.

It's hard to know what's going on with HTC. It's not a company that's in good financial health. Reality probably is this: If SteamVR is going to have an exciting gen 2 product, it probably will need to come from someone else. There are some legit places this could come from too. StarVR is backed by people like Acer. This could be consumer level in two years. LG could decide to re-enter with next-gen specs. Valve themselves could decide to enter if they could get production costs to an acceptable level. Or some surprise (ie a Pimax type company that takes off). So even if HTC can't compete with Rift 2, it doesn't mean it's the end of SteamVR.

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I don't have a source atm, but I think I've heard that the Vive was the most successful consumer VR device at one point? Must have been overtaken by PSVR at this point, but still. Should have been a successful launch for HTC.
And isn't Valve also the designer around the Lighthouses and the Vive controller? I could see them sticking with HTC if they have a good synergy. Especially since money shouldn't be a problem on that end.

Doesn't have to be HTC, but I really enjoy Valve's innovation in the VR department and at the same time since Oculus is anchored in the Facebook realm, I'm not really drawn towards them. Hopefully HTC/Valve announces their next step in the next 6 month or so. Before the Quest launches, they pretty much have to at least announce their plans.

If you're money sensitive, I agree. But I also strongly agree with Carmack (in his keynote). He thinks the media ratio is going to be far higher than the predicted 20 percent on the Quest.

If you can afford the extra money, the OLED screens in Quest are going to provide a vastly superior media experience.

Click to shrink...

Sure, I agree. An OLED screen will make a big impact - Still, it's not a bad thing for the mass market to have a 150-200$ VR experience on the market that's "good enough".

 

[1-D_FE]

I don't have a source atm, but I think I've heard that the Vive was the most successful consumer VR device at one point? Must have been overtaken by PSVR at this point, but still. Should have been a successful launch for HTC.
And isn't Valve also the designer around the Lighthouses and the Vive controller? I could see them sticking with HTC if they have a good synergy. Especially since money shouldn't be a problem on that end.

Doesn't have to be HTC, but I really enjoy Valve's innovation in the VR department and at the same time since Oculus is anchored in the Facebook realm, I'm not really drawn towards them. Hopefully HTC/Valve announces their next step in the next 6 month or so. Before the Quest launches, they pretty much have to at least announce their plans.



Sure, I agree. An OLED screen will make a big impact - Still, it's not a bad thing for the mass market to have a 150-200$ VR experience on the market that's "good enough".

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There still could be a chance for a wildcard in this. We know LG is working on a lot of VR stuff (OLED panels/lenses). They may have simply abandoned their Steam prototype because the prices collapsed and it no longer made since to be late to the party with an HMD with only marginal improvements. Personally, I think this is the dream scenario for SteamVR. If they could get LG to go all in on a truly next gen HMD.

 

[I KILL PXLS]

I don't have a source atm, but I think I've heard that the Vive was the most successful consumer VR device at one point? Must have been overtaken by PSVR at this point, but still. Should have been a successful launch for HTC.
And isn't Valve also the designer around the Lighthouses and the Vive controller? I could see them sticking with HTC if they have a good synergy. Especially since money shouldn't be a problem on that end.

Doesn't have to be HTC, but I really enjoy Valve's innovation in the VR department and at the same time since Oculus is anchored in the Facebook realm, I'm not really drawn towards them. Hopefully HTC/Valve announces their next step in the next 6 month or so. Before the Quest launches, they pretty much have to at least announce their plans.

Sure, I agree. An OLED screen will make a big impact - Still, it's not a bad thing for the mass market to have a 150-200$ VR experience on the market that's "good enough".

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Regardless of what happens with HTC, Valve will figure out a way to put out another SteamVR headset. Whether that's by themselves or through another partner. Pretty much the entire reason the Vive exists is because they didn't want to cede the VR market to the Oculus store and the Quest is an even bigger threat to that since you don't even need a PC to use it.

 

[xyla]

There still could be a chance for a wildcard in this. We know LG is working on a lot of VR stuff (OLED panels/lenses). They may have simply abandoned their Steam prototype because the prices collapsed and it no longer made since to be late to the party with an HMD with only marginal improvements. Personally, I think this is the dream scenario for SteamVR. If they could get LG to go all in on a truly next gen HMD.

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Yep, I'm hoping for a big reveal of SteamVR 2.0 with Valve's 3 VR games sometime "soon". Once that is ready, I'll see myself buying in.

 

[Liam Allen-Miller]

This will be as successful as the OuyaI I feel.

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And the award for most out of touch ResetEra user goes to...

 

[Deleted member 2620]

This will be as successful as the OuyaI I feel.

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this would be a very juicy ban bet imo

 

[Tayaya]

So out of curiosity - for just a low end entry into VR as I await building a computer some day, would this be better or PSVR with a launch PS4?

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As someone that owns a PSVR and the Oculus GO, I feel I can give some decent input here. I have the Quest on Pre-order so I can post a good comparison when it arrives.

DoF limitations and controllers aside, the GO displays are much sharper than those on the PSVR, however there is a bit of bloom from the use of fresnel lenses that does annoy me some. Colors on the PSVR are much better, but that low resolution really does get noticed when playing anything with textures/text. The Quest uses OLED so I am expecting PSVR black and color levels with an even higher resolution per-eye than the GO, but still some visible bloom due to the fresnel lenses. For visual quality alone I predict the Quest will outclass the PSVR handily, just based on what they pulled off with the GO.

Controls - PSVR has done surprisingly well with the Move controllers considering how antiquated they are. However there are undoubtedly tracking issues, and anyone that denies that is a fanboy. I LOVE my PSVR but the tracking issues are frustrating sometimes. With enough space and good camera positioning (higher is better, angling down) it gets better. Quest tracking I can't comment on personally but the impressions coming from the press say it's super good, plus you have analog sticks! Quest should be your winner here.

Setup - I'd use my PSVR more if it wasn't a pain in the ass to set up all the time. If I leave it out, the cat chews the wires. The camera falls behind the TV when I am dusting. Gotta charge those Moves. Can't take with me to show to friends. Quest is gonna win here hands down - I already use my GO more than my PSVR for movie watching and playing Ultrawings, even though the VR experience is much higher quality on the PSVR version, just because having a headset you can pick up and plop on your head and just play is an amazing convenience.

Sounds like the Quest really is the way to go. Until you look at some of those exclusives....

GT Sport and Dirt Rally - Yes the GT Sport mode is limited to time trials and one-on-ones against an AI you can literally beat in reverse, but for me that's good enough. If you have a wheel that goes doubly so. I took the 787B around Le Sarthe and damn near cried when I was done... it's amazing to take your dream cars out for a spin like that!

Wipeout - Holy crap is this good. Remember when Hackers came out and the version of Wipeout they played looked like the future? Well compared to Wipeout in VR it's hot garbage. Wipeout manages to look super crisp while also running super fast and fluid, and is one of the best VR experiences anyone that likes Wipeout can have.

Battlezone - It tanked in reviews (no pun intended) but for me this one's really fun. You feel like you are driving a big hovertank, and the graphics look like what we all imagined VR would look like when they were demoing it in the 90's. With friends it's really fun and encourages strong co-op play.

Astro Boy - It's as charming and fun to play as everyone tells you it is. I can't really add much because I've only played half of it, but it's mainly becuase I don't want it to ever end so I just nibble at it.

There are more, but this post is getting long!

If you don't care about racing games and are willing to give up Astro Boy, the Quest will be the no-brainer choice, but those exclusives are strong (Oh I forgot about RE VII too, which is a treat in VR). It's going to get Job Simulator, Thumper, SuperHot, and Beat Saber, which are my most-played VR games, as well as some great Oculus exclusives. The Oculus hardware should provide a crisper image and make up for the toned down visuals with pure portability and convenience, plus room scale gaming (which the PSVR is horrible at - see the Rick and Morty game for an example). Sony's product is very good, though - their lenses are amazing, the exclusives are very strong, and there's a LOT on the store. You can't go "wrong" either way, but I think the Quest is going to be the one to recommend once I have both, IF you can get by without the Sony exclusives. If you can't, get both next time PSVR goes on $149 sale!