Cheatcodes Editorial: "Is VR dying a slow death?"

It won't be dead. It's more like it's still in an early stage. When the tech becomes cheaper and affordable for everyone, that is when people will embrace VR more.

The immersion and the experience of VR is a whole new level of gaming. So I don't think it will be gone. It might be more of a niche thing, if it didn't pick up as expected. All it needs is more developers making games for it, as most aren't a full game, and just short one's.

I bought the PSVR and saw a lot of possibilities on how we could game in the future. There are those who has motion sickness and such, but maybe there is a way to reduce that as the tech gets better.

LCD TVs were dead because people couldn't buy them the first year.

When I bought PSVR, I was blown away. I said to myself and some friends that this was the future, even if it took a while for it to become really popular. That feeling lasted about a week.

I haven't used it in months now because I can't be bothered to set everything up every time I use it. I got the V1 with no HDR pass through and it is a pain. I can't stand wires all over the place. I also don't think it's great for your eyes.

Moss was great and I still need to finish it, but I highly doubt VR is part of my gaming future. I think it's going to be a niche market forever.

JohnnyMoses said:

When I bought PSVR, I was blown away. I said to myself and some friends that this was the future, even if it took a while for it to become really popular. That feeling lasted about a week.

I haven't used it in months now because I can't be bothered to set everything up every time I use it. I got the V1 with no HDR pass through and it is a pain. I can't stand wires all over the place. I also don't think it's great for your eyes.

Moss was great and I still need to finish it, but I highly doubt VR is part of my gaming future. I think it's going to be a niche market forever.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

A niche market forever? But all you said to support that was a complaint that nobody buying a new PSVR today will have.

Wrote an op-ed on this topic for a class. You can read it here

Despite Zuckerberg's claims, virtual reality remains an incredibly isolating experience. In contrast, modern media consumption is extremely social. Even while watching TV or playing console games, many consumers are still interacting socially; they often text their friends, connect with family, or check social media. At breaks, they're afforded the opportunity to easily grab a quick snack, use the bathroom, or have a brief conversation.

For virtual reality to succeed, it needs to seamlessly integrate with other normal living room activities. As it stands now, virtual reality interferes with all of these patterns. It's hard to interact with a spouse or child while immersed in a different world. Multitasking is near impossible; any small errand or task becomes a cumbersome chore, requiring that you remove an expensive piece of hardware and leave your alternate universe.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Short version:

• VR is very isolating, while modern gaming and the family living room are very social.
• VR is uncomfortable, while the couch is very comfortable.
• Gaming media consumers aren't interested in VR content, which limits viral growth.
• VR content doesn't seem to sustain engagement, while modern gaming is "games as a service" with multiple 1000+ hour games.
• Non-VR content has never been cheaper, which limits willingness to pay for VR content (Twitch, YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, HBO, Fortnite, PUBG, LoL, DotA 2, etc).

I think VR for entertainment is dead (for now), though I think VR has enough applications outside of entertainment to sustain itself. The significant overlap between VR and AR will also keep a lot of the tech moving forward.

Cheatcc was the shit back in the day.

Pretty much agree with their take.. it's stagnating at the moment but it's time will definitely come at some point when the experiences get there and developers start investing more.

Is psvr growing or dying?

Buffum said:

Holy crap cheatcc is still a thing??

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

My exact first thought clicking on this thread. Saw the title and was like "No, it can't be..."

EnlightenedMint said:

I'd rather get a superior opinion from Cheat Planet.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

LOL. They got absorbed into GamesRadar I think?

Diddy Kong said:

I can't believe CheatCC still exists. lmaoooo

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Me and you both

Cyanity said:

Just wait until a game like Skyrim, built from the ground up to support VR, comes out on something accessible like PSVR. Shit's got a few more years before it's gonna hit the fan. Give it time.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

No one would make a game like Skyrim especially for VR at this point in time, it would be a financial disaster for sure. The VR audience is way to small.

I don't think the PS5 or NextBox will even support VR. Until a VR-Headset can be reduced to a pair of glasses, VR has no chance to get to broader audience that can support games for it. Perhaps in 10-15 years the next try can be started.

KratosEnergyDrink said:

I don't think the PS5 or NextBox

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

PS5 more than likely will see a PSVR 2 at some point in its life, Xbox is insistent in growing that base on PC via Windows and jumping into VR in the console space when wireless comes out (which is possible but not for cheap).

Lucifersam597 said:

This gens VR is kinect without all the initial sales of kinect. It can't even be considered a fad since it wasn't popular enough to be one.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Its incredible to me that people think VR is anything but a dead end for the next decade at least.

Pretty much everybody agrees that Wii Fit and Kinect were shortlived fads that have left basically nothing to the future, and they each individialy sold more than all VR headsets combined.


Its a nice technology, but its time is just not now.

Only know one person in real life who has a PSVR and he used it for two weeks and never touched it again. Until it becomes less of a hassle it's going to remain a niche subgenre. I don't expect any big AAA games on it anytime soon.

Is this clickbait?

The problem of sites writing about VR have been known for a while now. The audience is far too small and controversy gathers more attention.

VR isn't dying. It's a step in a long path that involves motion gaming, eyetoy gaming, 3dtv etc. The first generation is not pretty.

Yes.

Playing VR feels more isolated and claustrophobic then playing by yourself in the desert or a coal mine. Its an eerie feeling.

MattEnth said:

Wrote an op-ed on this topic for a class. You can read it here


Short version:

• VR is very isolating, while modern gaming and the family living room are very social.
• VR is uncomfortable, while the couch is very comfortable.
• Gaming media consumers aren't interested in VR content, which limits viral growth.
• VR content doesn't seem to sustain engagement, while modern gaming is "games as a service" with multiple 1000+ hour games.
• Non-VR content has never been cheaper, which limits willingness to pay for VR content (Twitch, YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, HBO, Fortnite, PUBG, LoL, DotA 2, etc).

I think VR for entertainment is dead (for now), though I think VR has enough applications outside of entertainment to sustain itself. The significant overlap between VR and AR will also keep a lot of the tech moving forward.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I guess this means you think reading books is a dead passtime as well? Isolation isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you want to immerse yourself in a story, you don't want other people talking to you or distract you. Or if you need to study for school, you might close the door as to not be distracted by your family/room mates. And switch off your phone so you don't have to react to instant messages. Because sometimes it makes sense to concentrate on one thing, and be alone with it.

Isolation would be a bad thing if you were isolated all the time or a large amount of your time. Just as being social will become a problem if you have to be among others 24/7. Studies show that being constantly connected and being bugged by your phone all the time causes stress and illness. There's time to be social and then there's reason to spend some quality alone time.

With asynchronous gameplay, several people can play VR together in the same room, passing the HMD around. That can be very social. On the other hand, even if you're in the same room with others, if your face is sunk in a screen and you pay more attention to that than the people around you, the social quality of portable gaming can become questionable also. Not to mention online games. If you're not in the same room with the people you spend time with, does it really make much of a difference if you're wearing an HMD or not?

Your view of contemporary human life is very limiting. You look at patterns that are most prevalent, everything that cannot be claimed to be done by everybody is apparently dead. That's anti diversity and dismissive of smaller trends and movements.

VR is a growing industry, despite the high entrance price. It's not exploding like cheaper and more marketable earlier gaming innovations but it gets better software support already (from a core gamer's perspective). It's a sustainable industry that so far sees steady growth. It isn't dying by any objective measure. And it's not dead just because you don't take part in it.

Remo Williams said:

The hopes of VR as mainstream or "the future of gaming" are dead and buried, there's nothing slow or ongoing about that.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

This right here is a fact. These days everyone is pretending like there weren't constant claims of "VR is going the primary focus of gaming" but they existed. And in DROVES back during the rush. Very few people high on VR were claiming it was going to be some small niche all these years later. It was supposed to INSTANTLY convert anyone who used it; and once they went on sale; spread like wildfire.

That narrative has died down CONSIDERABLY now that we have seen that the VR-Revolution isn't going to happen right now. So in that respect? Yes, it 'died off' substantially.

I should really go grab those GAF thread links so people can read the incredibly over the top and extreme opinions of VR back during the height of that mini craze.

extralite said:

I guess this means you think reading books is a dead passtime as well? Isolation isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you want to immerse yourself in a story, you don't want other people talking to you or distract you. Or if you need to study for school, you might close the door as to not be distracted by your family/room mates. And switch off your phone so you don't have to react to instant messages. Because sometimes it makes sense to concentrate on one thing, and be alone with it.

Isolation would be a bad thing if you were isolated all the time or a large amount of your time. Just as being social will become a problem if you have to be among others 24/7. Studies show that being constantly connected and being bugged by your phone all the time causes stress and illness. There's time to be social and then there's reason to spend some quality alone time.

With asynchronous gameplay, several people can play VR together in the same room, passing the HMD around. That can be very social. On the other hand, even if you're in the same room with others, if your face is sunk in a screen and you pay more attention to that than the people around you, the social quality of portable gaming can become questionable also. Not to mention online games. If you're not in the same room with the people you spend time with, does it really make much of a difference if you're wearing an HMD or not?

Your view of contemporary human life is very limiting. You look at patterns that are most prevalent, everything that cannot be claimed to be done by everybody is apparently dead. That's anti diversity and dismissive of smaller trends and movements.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Feels like you're focusing solely on the social point, and none of the others. VR is still uncomfortable, especially for women who are more prone to motion sickness. Content is still very expensive, especially compared to non-VR alternatives. And it doesn't have a solid growth path - it's not viral like smartphones.

The social isolation does matter to large swaths of the consumer base. It's easy to play on the PS4 while watching a 1-year-old. It's not with PSVR.

extralite said:

VR is a growing industry, despite the high entrance price.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Citation needed. All reports I've seen indicate that the industry is shrinking, especially after you remove adult entertainment.

The size of the consumer base is growing, but industries are measured in annual consumer spend, and that's been going down for a while.

Lucifersam597 said:

This gens VR is kinect without all the initial sales of kinect. It can't even be considered a fad since it wasn't popular enough to be one.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Harsh but true.

I don't necessarily think it's dying, I think this is just about where the market is for it. VR is never going to be a mainstream thing I think it will remain a bit more niche and have a much smaller Market. It will always generate interest and be able to do cool things but I think the reality is in my opinion are the best majority of people don't want to be closed out from the rest of the world and the people around them for long periods of time. So people will pick one up here and there invite friends over to check it out and think that was cool but they're not going to go out and buy one themselves.

Damn, CheatCC is still around? They had a nice community back in the early 00s...the webmaster Vaughn was a pretty hands on guy and I remember it being one of my first gaming forums I posted on.

Regarding VR...who knows. I don't own a set, and I don't plan on getting one anytime soon, but I had some decent fun the few times I've tried one. Unfortunately, it really triggers my vertigo, so I can't spend more than 15-20 minutes in a headset.

cakefoo said:

A niche market forever? But all you said to support that was a complaint that nobody buying a new PSVR today will have.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

So, the new PSVR is wireless? Because if there are still wires, that's one of my complaints.

There are more reasons I think it's going to be a niche market for a long time, possibly forever, such as motion sickness, eye strain, headset comfortabililty, required powered for better resolution, costs, etc.

NateSnacks said:

Yes.

Playing VR feels more isolated and claustrophobic then playing by yourself in the desert or a coal mine. Its an eerie feeling.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Unless of course you are playing a co-op game in VR, And let me tell you how much more immersive it is seeing you're co-op buddy up close. Flat TV gaming co-op is shockingly ancient in comparison, In Farpoint you see each others movements up close, Lasers and rockets flying past you're buddy as his plasma shield is blocking what it can as i stand behind.

VR isn't going anywhere at all, It will get more powerful, And way more easy to setup.

Play RE7 in VR, Then try going back to flat TV gaming and play it that way. Impossible.

low-G said:

At least wait until there are signs of failure. If Oculus goes out of business instead of investing more, if Valve drops out of VR support instead of focusing almost entirely on it, if there is no VR support on PS5, then make the thread.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Sony even specifically mentioned VR being one of their problem areas in their last earnings report. It's pretty obvious VR is in trouble.

I feel the people that get excited over VR are the same ones that were head over heels over 3D movies. I see this as nothing but a fad, a horrible one at that. All VR has to offer are cheap thrills without substance , I hope it dies sooner rather than later so companies can alocate their development budget elsewhere . Call me when can ram a hdmi cable into my brain.

Buffum said:

Holy crap cheatcc is still a thing??

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I used to write there. It was as great as you imagine. They have a new EIC, though.

On topic: I think VR will be fine, as lonf as software keeps up. I don't think it will blow up like consoles dod, though. The social barrier of entry is a bit high.

dorjjj said:

I feel the people that get excited over VR are the same ones that were head over heels over 3D movies. I see this as nothing but a fad, a horrible one at that. All VR has to offer are cheap thrills without substance , I hope it dies sooner rather than later so companies can alocate their development budget elsewhere . Call me when can ram a hdmi cable into my brain.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Every anti-VR trope in one post, impressive.

It just needs time and more ways for people to try it. I have an Oculus and I've shown it to a few people and everyone seemed to love it and one friend purchased an Oculus after trying it out.

cmagus said:

It just needs time and more ways for people to try it. I have an Oculus and I've shown it to a few people and everyone seemed to love it and one friend purchased an Oculus after trying it out.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

It's not just about trying it, they have to be able to afford it. Half this thread is VR haters who obviously have never tried it (based on their post content) and can't get it (based on the fact that they want it to die). This is the same thing you see on more mainstream forums from fanboys who can't afford a PS4 or Switch and thus want it to die. They make up nonsense, always without a source of any facts, to reassure themselves.

VR is still priced way, way outside the price range of mainstream gamers. I mean this would be like owning a Neo Geo in the early 90's - same responses from fanboys, and it's completely unrealistic to expect Neo Geo to have taken the world by storm. Time and time again, affordable products succeed. When a console delivers an experience equivalent to high end PC VR gaming today and comes with the headset for $300, the messaging from fanboys on forums will change.

I wanna add, that was one of the most offensive things about Oculus' initial pricing and the hype beforehand. It was insulting to act as if the product would be affordable and it was initially very much not affordable. There was an astronomical backlash and it tainted every part of the launch, the reviews, the public perception. It was the first thing that make Palmer Luckey public enemy #1 before the GG stuff came out. Hell, I was outraged at Oculus! Same thing with Vive Pro, HUGE backlash, even from the absolute MOST hardcore and wealthy gamers.

It's the biggest thing that leaders in the VR market do not understand to this day. They are completely out of touch with the 'everygamer'

It's all about the price, period.

Andri said:

Its incredible to me that people think VR is anything but a dead end for the next decade at least.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

It's not even a dead end right now. It's not effortlessly printing its own money, but it's being carefully nurtured through the chicken-egg period, before the next hardware generation addresses some of the core complaints.

Pretty much everybody agrees that Wii Fit and Kinect were shortlived fads that have left basically nothing to the future, and they each individialy sold more than all VR headsets combined.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Both launched cheap, had one piece to setup, and were marketed towards the mainstream... VR hasn't caved because it's a legitimately promising technology with very broad applications.

Mainstream VR needs inside-out 6DOF tracking and eyetracking for foveated rendering to ease the strain on compact processors, and it needs to come from Apple/Android who can make VR a natural extension of the ecosystem instead of a vulnerable off the grid escapism session. Usage would consist of productivity and creativity-focused apps, social/communication, media consumption, and light, arcade games.

It doesn't need to be super cheap at first- just look at how much people spend on new smartwatches, smartphones, etc, as long as it's a productive extension of a mass-market ecosystem.

Gaming has been the primary focus early on because we're the ones with the most powerful hardware it can be tethered to. But we need ease of use just like the mainstream does, and we also have higher expectations for resolution and scale/scope of games. So for now, the small market of tolerant, patient enthusiasts will feed the maturing developers until more broadly-appealing hardware is available, at which point the VR gaming market will get a much needed boost.

There's no VR only Killer App yet.

It's been almost 2 years for PSVR and even longer for Vive/Occulus... It's dying a slow death.

Something might revive it, but outside of hardcore gaming enthusiasts, it's not even a blip on the radar.

OrangeNova said:

There's no VR only Killer App yet.

It's been almost 2 years for PSVR and even longer for Vive/Occulus... It's dying a slow death.

Something might revive it, but outside of hardcore gaming enthusiasts, it's not even a blip on the radar.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

The hardware itself has been the limiting factor. It needs to be more convenient and higher-res. Developers will invest more in their games once they see that hardware on the horizon.

Damn did Cheatcc just accuse something of dying a slow death?

It's just going into a sweet niche sleep before it gets really better and less expensive.
Next Gen should make things better.

ClarkusDarkus said:

Unless of course you are playing a co-op game in VR, And let me tell you how much more immersive it is seeing you're co-op buddy up close. Flat TV gaming co-op is shockingly ancient in comparison, In Farpoint you see each others movements up close, Lasers and rockets flying past you're buddy as his plasma shield is blocking what it can as i stand behind.

VR isn't going anywhere at all, It will get more powerful, And way more easy to setup.

Play RE7 in VR, Then try going back to flat TV gaming and play it that way. Impossible.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

RE7 in VR is a great experience but Its absolutely hyperbolic to suggest that the game is lesser without VR. That's a joke.

Farpoint isn't that great of an experience and its pricey for what you get.

Nothing warrant a $300 dollar gimmicky extension that only work with a hand full of games. Years from now this will be looked back on as another gaming peripheral gimmick unless ALL games ended up having some type of VR content or features. As it stands right now. It's just there selling to a very niche crowd.

Buffum said:

Holy crap cheatcc is still a thing??

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Diddy Kong said:

I can't believe CheatCC still exists. lmaoooo

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I freelanced for CheatCC for a long time earlier in my career. You'd be surprised how well it's still doing. =P

Until they figure out proper movement that won't get people sick and not the teleporting stuff they're currently using, I don't think VR can be truly huge.

Another week, another one of these threads. Always the same arguments on both sides, too. Why don't you all just play some games instead? Like maybe The Persistence? :D

NateSnacks said:

RE7 in VR is a great experience but Its absolutely hyperbolic to suggest that the game is lesser without VR. That's a joke.

Farpoint isn't that great of an experience and its pricey for what you get.

Nothing warrant a $300 dollar gimmicky extension that only work with a hand full of games. Years from now this will be looked back on as another gaming peripheral gimmick unless ALL games ended up having some type of VR content or features. As it stands right now. It's just there selling to a very niche crowd.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I'd rather a developer not support VR at all than tack something on just to meet your ridiculous criteria for what constitutes not being a peripheral gimmick.

I think it is dying slowly but it will likely be revived as the technology improves.

I just find it weird how people who don't care for VR, feel the need to keep claiming it's dying or will never take off.

Why the all the dislike and hate for VR ? If you don't like VR or VR makes you sick or you can't afford VR, then just ignore it.

It's almost like some people think "if I don't like VR, then nobody should enjoy VR," which is ridiculous. It's crazy that some people want this awesome tech to fail.

VR will never be mainstream.

Surface of Me said:

VR will never be mainstream.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

It could have been mainstream with Google Cardboard. (in a way it is, but it's just a gimmick for a bunch of google apps and silly third party apps)

It just needed a killer application, like Pokémon Go is for AR, cause the installed base is there.

Surface of Me said:

VR will never be mainstream.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Oh. Ok. Good points. Yeah. I see.

Yautja_Warrior said:

I just find it weird how people who don't care for VR, feel the need to keep claiming it's dying or will never take off.

Why the all the dislike and hate for VR ? If you don't like VR or VR makes you sick or you can't afford VR, then just ignore it.

It's almost like some people think "if I don't like VR, then nobody should enjoy VR," which is ridiculous. It's crazy that some people want this awesome tech to fail.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

This is sad, but it's not new.

Like "low-g" said above, it's about fanboys that probably can't afford it and have to hate on a technology they don't have access to.
And I don't want to use this as an excuse for VR, it still has a lot to improve, I bought a PSVR this week and I'm thoroughly enjoying it and still getting the "VR legs" but I'm well aware it has a long road to pursue before it becomes mainstream (which I think it will, specially when the price starts to drop).

cakefoo said:

I'd rather a developer not support VR at all than tack something on just to meet your ridiculous criteria for what constitutes not being a peripheral gimmick.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Developers don't support VR at all anyway. You win.

The people that really dislike vr just want it to be a failure so much

CheatCC wow. I used to print their cheat codes all the time. I still have a folder for games like Twisted Metal Black (all hidden characters and moves) plus FFX sphere things or such.

Man that was an odd time.

Yautja_Warrior said:

I just find it weird how people who don't care for VR, feel the need to keep claiming it's dying or will never take off.

Why the all the dislike and hate for VR ? If you don't like VR or VR makes you sick or you can't afford VR, then just ignore it.

It's almost like some people think "if I don't like VR, then nobody should enjoy VR," which is ridiculous. It's crazy that some people want this awesome tech to fail.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

It's 80% people who either never tried it or can't afford it so they take every opportunity to shit on it, and 20% people who genuinely don't like it and feel the need to shit on it as well.

Yes VR is dying, and it will be as dead as 3D TV and 3D movies.