This is very true. I've written VR articles for websites that get tens of millions of hits per month and they pull in a few thousand page views max (which accounts to like £5 of revenue maybe?).
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Patrick Klepek: "Writing about VR is a giant waste of time" (in terms of website business)
- Thread starter Wollan
- Start date
Nobody that used VR then said that. The only ones saying that then were those that didn't even know what VR was.
No you're wrong,
I've owned a psvr since day one. Had a lot of fun with it, especially Rez Infinite and Resident Evil. When I ended up unhooking it when I replaced my PS4 with a Pro, I just never hooked it back up and never really think about it.
It is a neat thing. It can even go far beyond neat; Area X in VR triggered an emotional response in me I haven't felt for video games since I was a child playing Mario 64 for the first time. But sitting around with a headset on my head for hours at a time isn't a realistic way to play games anymore, for both me personally and I think for society in general. I think it's telling that the Switch, which in a lot of ways is the antithesis to VR, is finding such huge success while VR flounders.
All that said, Moss looks really good and I've been thinking all week about finally busting the psvr back out
It is a neat thing. It can even go far beyond neat; Area X in VR triggered an emotional response in me I haven't felt for video games since I was a child playing Mario 64 for the first time. But sitting around with a headset on my head for hours at a time isn't a realistic way to play games anymore, for both me personally and I think for society in general. I think it's telling that the Switch, which in a lot of ways is the antithesis to VR, is finding such huge success while VR flounders.
All that said, Moss looks really good and I've been thinking all week about finally busting the psvr back out
Vita - "Sony didn't support it, it failed! Where's the Vita news at conferences?!"
PSVR - "Ugh, why is Sony spending so much time showing VR games?!"
Can't win I guess. They're trying to support the thing and showcase games at their biggest conferences.
This is what gets me about the people who are like there are no games that I want to keep my head set on for 4 hours a night. There's no 40 hour games!
That's not what VR is now.
Its about being a guy swinging a katana, or doing old west shoot outs for arcade like times, or doing escape the room puzzles. Some one in this thread said that they were 'experiences' in a negative sense. I don't think he's wrong about them being that but I don't think its a negative. Its a different way of thinking about games. Its not 40 RPGs or massive action adventure games
There's hundreds of these games/experiences. Far more than there ever was for kinnect, eye toy, move, etc.
There's psvr games pretty much every week on psn. That never happened with other gimmicks and I think this sustains it as an investment. Its a new platform rather than just a peripheral. I almost see psvr games and ps4 games as totally different
I see the parallels with other failures but I also see VR as a different type of gimmick, it is its own ecosystem charting its own path. Which makes sense why it hasn't crossed over to the mainstream gaming press. Just like PC only gaming isn't as covered, Mobile, etc
No its not. Its got tons of quality, fully fledged content. They're just not the same types of games as regular console or pc games are.
This is the same complaint about mobile and just ignores the platforms differences and why certain types of games are better suited.
OP
OP
u wot m8
I was playing Skyrim earlier and getting a sweat on losing at Sprint Vector, Then played abit of Diablo 3 with a friend traditionally. They both can coexist, The problem is people just don't cover it enough which is the point of the OP.
VR needs word of mouth mainly as you can't sell it to folk in articles and vids.
From a mainstream consumer perpsective, VR doesn't just need to get cheaper, it needs to get cheaper AND have smaller, more comfortable form factors. I'm talking "wearable glasses" form factor, which is still years out. Wireless. No lighthouse. Stuff that eliminates steps in the process of setting up and using VR, so that it's as simple as just buying them, syncing them and throwing them on.
The games themselves are.. fine I guess. It's basically Wii-era games and I don't really have an issue with those. From a motion sickness/headache standpoint I don't know that you could really do a whole lot of 20+ hour experiences in VR. The main thing is that no AAA publisher is willing to put any of their major teams on a VR-exclusive project. Without that commitment, it's hard to see a killer app emerging that gets major press coverage and has all the E3 hype and becomes a big holiday seller. I'm sure you'll continue to see VR attached to some major games like Bethesda has done with DOOM, Skyrim, and FO4. But it won't be VR-first design.
The games themselves are.. fine I guess. It's basically Wii-era games and I don't really have an issue with those. From a motion sickness/headache standpoint I don't know that you could really do a whole lot of 20+ hour experiences in VR. The main thing is that no AAA publisher is willing to put any of their major teams on a VR-exclusive project. Without that commitment, it's hard to see a killer app emerging that gets major press coverage and has all the E3 hype and becomes a big holiday seller. I'm sure you'll continue to see VR attached to some major games like Bethesda has done with DOOM, Skyrim, and FO4. But it won't be VR-first design.
Hey--
He's right. I mean, Kinda Funny is small potatoes, but when I would do Let's Plays for PSVR, they would under-perform (some exceptions).
That's why I'm doing (I swear this isn't a plug) The PlayStation VR Show now. It's eight episodes, and because there's a Patreon incentive, I don't have to worry as much about views. It's a trial to see if our audience wants more of this than the last time we did it.
I think part of it stems from the passion behind the personality as well. PSX and the 2018 PSVR schedule really did get me re-invested in PSVR and give me a reason to go back to the games I've missed. Hopefully, that narrative is shared by enough people to get them to watch and keep it going.
I think the more niche the outlet, the better chance for success.
Greg
He's right. I mean, Kinda Funny is small potatoes, but when I would do Let's Plays for PSVR, they would under-perform (some exceptions).
That's why I'm doing (I swear this isn't a plug) The PlayStation VR Show now. It's eight episodes, and because there's a Patreon incentive, I don't have to worry as much about views. It's a trial to see if our audience wants more of this than the last time we did it.
I think part of it stems from the passion behind the personality as well. PSX and the 2018 PSVR schedule really did get me re-invested in PSVR and give me a reason to go back to the games I've missed. Hopefully, that narrative is shared by enough people to get them to watch and keep it going.
I think the more niche the outlet, the better chance for success.
Greg
I will say that playing Elite in VR changed my life. And then I realized living completely immersed in a harsh brutal world was not my idea of fun. It was too much commitment. I like the half commitment of a TV screen and the real world in my peripheral vision. VR is kind of exhausting.
Well, once I played Elite in VR I never went back to the flat version. It's actually pretty relaxing compared to all the other VR stuff. One of the few VR games I can play for hours.
VR is a slow burn. It has problems that will be ironed out 1 by 1 over each generation. It will go cordless. It will be fully immersive. resolution will match the human eye. Head tracking will be perfect and developers will get better about designing a natural feeling experience. the stigma of it being anti social will melt. Big budget titles will be designed more and more around it. I think a lot of people want VR but not in its current state.
I was impressed with my PSVR, but it needs some big support which it doesn't have.
I loved Rush of Blood, where the fuck is Time Crisis VR? It'd be perfect.
VR is great for racing sims, but it doesn't bloody have any! GT Sport only has a shitty vs 1 computer car.
I loved Rush of Blood, where the fuck is Time Crisis VR? It'd be perfect.
VR is great for racing sims, but it doesn't bloody have any! GT Sport only has a shitty vs 1 computer car.
I get it. I really enjoyed the VR I've played but I have zero interest in purchasing it. It's way too isolating an experience. That's certainly part of the appeal, but it also means that it will never (no matter the form factor or price) fit into a lot of players' lifestyle. For instance, I have a baby; no way I'd put on a helmet that prevents me from seeing or hearing things around me.
lol yeah that moss review was funny.
"You know that dumb purchase you made for PSVR, well maybe it wasn't THAT dumb cause Moss is good" all kinds of shots.
PSVR compliments the PS4 library pretty well. It's hard to keep up with what's coming out, so to break out PSVR every now and then isn't such a bad thing. Theres a lot of good stuff for PSVR, I wish I was able to buy more of the releases (super hot, Skyrim, Dino Frontier, Farpoint)
"You know that dumb purchase you made for PSVR, well maybe it wasn't THAT dumb cause Moss is good" all kinds of shots.
PSVR compliments the PS4 library pretty well. It's hard to keep up with what's coming out, so to break out PSVR every now and then isn't such a bad thing. Theres a lot of good stuff for PSVR, I wish I was able to buy more of the releases (super hot, Skyrim, Dino Frontier, Farpoint)
That's a strange read on the sentiment that VR coverage gets almost no traffic, indicating that the readership itself has little interest in the tech.
Exactly. Why write about something nobody wants to read about?
It definitely doesn't help when VR games that offer the bigger expereinces are pretty pricey when you can just get some free stuff to 'mess about' and call it a day after a 15 minute session (Not what I do, but how I could see most people treating VR).
I'm still way into my Vive. It's completey unique and unlike anything else. Actually walking around inside environments and my space is just too interesting. Looking at my VR library there is a depth and variety to the games. Really truly neat stuff is going in VR still. I'm lucky that I don't have to move furniture and stuff to play. Nearly everyone I talk to who's lost their enthusiasm cites the setup as an issue. Hopefully that will be mitigated in future generations. I realize my experience is an edge case and I still play more normal games than VR games.. but the richness of experience offered by room scale games is too cool and immersive to ignore. It's fucking insane that it exists.
VR games shouldn't try to be regular non-VR games. VR games should utilize the strengths of the medium. That's pretty obvious. I should know, I've been following it for a while now.
Don't be confused though. The overwhelming majority of games on offer are tech demoes, even if said tech demoes showcase VR's strengths they leave a lot to be desired.
I'm still waiting for a full Budget Cuts release :(
I regularly stream PSVR games and post the archives on my YouTube channel and the views/monetization are consistently worse on the vast majority of the VR videos than others. (Barring "known" or popular releases like RE7 or Skyrim)
I'll never stop doing it because I love VR, but I also echo the sentiment that a lot of people just don't even want to look at VR stuff for a variety of reasons. As long as Sony and/or Oculus continue putting money in, the situation will get better long term, but it's just going to take time.
I'll never stop doing it because I love VR, but I also echo the sentiment that a lot of people just don't even want to look at VR stuff for a variety of reasons. As long as Sony and/or Oculus continue putting money in, the situation will get better long term, but it's just going to take time.
I can totally understand not being interested in VR, not reading the articles, etc. What gets me is the segment of gamers that are not only not interested, but they seem to be on some kind of mission to constantly share WHY they aren't interested and why the whole segment is doomed to failure. If you're really not interested, just move on to the next topic or thread, but I swear every time it comes up somewhere like a podcast or thread on a messageboard, there are people expending extra energy just to be negative about it and list the same old complaints they always do. I don't get it. Just move along.
I think the best time to sell Vr is when we are gonna see Internet as "Cyberspace" like Futurama's episode (I hope you know what I mean).
People like feeling correct. Vindication. Yeah, hah glad I didn't buy VR it's so stupid, I'm better etc
VR isn't dead, its just not dumb and cheap enough for you yet.
I never really use theater mode in my Vive, but reading Jeff Minter's twitter feed the last couple weeks just inspired me to play some Gridrunner Revolution and Space Giraffe on it. OMGF! Absolutely brilliant playing those game in an isolated theater on a big screen OLED. It's why I can run so hot and cold on VR. It can be so amazing and so infuriating at the same time. I really don't understand how anyone can't see it's the future of computing though. VR and AR are going to merge, and even if you absolutely hate motion gaming, you're going to be able to lounge and play all your games on theater screens that are huge and have amazing image quality. That's the end game of HMDs. And the thought of playing games on some little machine that hung from the wall is going to seem as appealing as playing games on a 12-inch black and white CRT does now.
This isn't fair, or it's an outdated take.
Maybe you haven't checked in on the scene lately. But it is at the point now where there actually are a significant amount of quality experiences that are far beyond "tech demos." I mean there's been viable consoles with less quality content than is on SteamVR/oculus store right.
Yeah I too think they show a lot better in video reviews and live plays where the VR interaction can be shown and described in action while playing rather than trying to interpret the description of the experience, plus I think a lot of VR users go straight to the handful of in-depth VR coverage sites that were doing in-depth coverage of the technology and games in the area from the beginning of the leadup to these 3 main headsets. Especially since a lot of the early VR coverage was from current and new youtubers establishing themselves on the content early.
Yeah, I sure wouldn't mind a Move2 that's more in line with the other two sets newer controllers but they're fine and I really enjoy my PSVR (that use either of the controllers or Farpoint with the aim) and keep picking up games for it (including in the recent sale that just ended a couple of days ago).
Yup. I just finally got around to picking up SuperHot (along with Moss) two days ago since I ended up with Raw Data first.
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As a consumer who is unable to use any of the current VR hardware, and is unlikely to ever be able to use any even near-future equivalents, I have an active interest in VR failing quickly and conclusively so developers and publishers who could be making good games on platforms I like stop wasting money and time on VR.
VR is an inherently exclusionary platform, so there is no big mystery to why some people are so vocally opposed to it.
Why would you have interest in VR? The title of the article basically states it's a waste of money, except for maybe this one game.
But if you read the article, you'd find that assessment is based on not even trying any of the games released over the past year.
How come you're unable to play vr games? Is it motion sickness? Because that sucks and is a real issue for a lot of players. There are games that would work anyway, though. Moss, for example, features a non moving camera, and will absolutely not cause motion sickness.
I'm also curious if you actively wish that printed media, movies or normal video games should stop being made, as blind consumers are unable to enjoy them. Or that music should not exist as it is excluding the deaf? It seems a weird opinion that something should not exist because you yourself are unable to enjoy it.
It's easy to understand.
VG journalists, enthousiast, some business moguls, even mainstream journalists have tried to pass VR as the next big leap in gaming for two years or so. Billions have been thrown at it... We all know the results. You have a nice exemple of a speculative bubble and all that big money could have helped fund a LOT of great "classical" games. You bet some people are pissed, that's a big waste of money.
I'm not really surprised by this. VR is REALLY tough to explain in words and get excitement for. It is definitely something you have to experience for yourself. As an owner of the Rift, I think VR is absolutely amazing! Robo Recall, Superhot VR, and Rec Room are some of the best times I've had in gaming. There better still be a future for VR, and I definitely think there is, but yeah I can see why ppl don't really wanna read about it. Even I don't read up on VR stuff, lol.
The portion of readers being relatively small is not somehow mutually exclusive with it being a bummer that a non-zero audience has to go find other, more specialty venues for coverage.
I admit I haven't read many articles or reviews regarding VR games but I absolutely enjoy video on the stuff. Things like Giant Bomb's VRodeo is great when you get to see Jeff mess around in VR and you can see how things work/don't work as you have the feedback of Jeff's reactions along with what he's seeing so even if you've not used VR before you can see how something would be fun or unfun or how movement works etc much better than a description.
Also things like highlights of VR chart experiences is great, seeing how people motion and dance and gesture and how well it works.
Also things like highlights of VR chart experiences is great, seeing how people motion and dance and gesture and how well it works.
Yeah, all the major headsets have a way to do this. It's alright for now. The size is neat but the clarity isn't the same due to HMD resolution. It's definitely not my preferred way to watch flat content.
Cool for spherical videos, though, and I guess it works with 3D videos but that never really interested me.
yeah because people aren't hyping up vr to the point of annoyance
Yes (that's what PSVR displays whenever you're not in VR content) but it's not really any good because you are limited to the headset's resolution. You can have an "enormous screen" but you're not going to be able to actually perceive it at its full detail, unless it's very low res content.
Vr is awesome. But its not for everybody.
Every year it happens.