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Is Microsoft's attitude toward VR dictated by a lack of technical foresight or financial reward - or both?

Deleted member 30005

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In the New Year, Microsoft's Mike Ybarra offered this response to Cliff Bleszinski regarding the current prosperity of Virtual Reality: "Google Earth is cool but not even close to what is needed to make the tech worthwhile. Sigh."



While some gamers cheered, lots of others expressed disappointed with his attitude. It feels what Ybarra is truly saying is, the enterprise is not financially rewarding enough to motivate us into further action, so we'll continue to sit on our hands and pooh-pooh from the sidelines until the benefits are more obvious.

A far cry from what Phil Spencer said last year about pushing the boundaries of creative gaming even when the reward is not immediate:

Spencer: "If we stay in the safe zone where you're 70-80% sure that's gonna work, I don't think we're actually doing our job to kind of push the state of the art forward."
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Or maybe Mike Ybarra's stance is partly dictated by a lack of foresight and the technical limitation of the base Xbox One - or both?
 
DarthBuzzard

DarthBuzzard

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Jul 17, 2018
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Both. You can tell that Mike Ybarra doesn't know about games like Astro Bot, Lone Echo / Echo VR, Beat Saber. I mean we still don't have a killer app, but those are close. His attitude would suggest there is nothing even close, which would make him uninformed.
 
Premium

Premium

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if you're pursuing a new method to engage gamers, would you invest more into a streaming platform or a VR suite? Which would seem more lucrative and future-proof based on current market trends?
 
Elven_Star

Elven_Star

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Oct 27, 2017
3,987
They have to support two platforms as it is (Windows and Xbox). Why get into a 3rd when it's not still proven to work?
 
Saint-14

Saint-14

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Even if it wasn't technical, MS currently can't really afford to to support a VR platform on top of a home console (which everyone knows how it's supoort have been).

Also what is considered a killer game? There have been a lot of critically acclaimed games on VR, dismissing them just because they don't make people in millions rush to buy the hardware is silly.
 
SuikerBrood

SuikerBrood

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Jan 21, 2018
15,492
Microsoft's VR marketshare has been rising every month tho.

sqdLDC8.png


They are still testing the waters with it, unsure what to with it.
 

Deleted member 1413

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Oct 25, 2017
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There isn't a market for VR yet, imagine VR on Xbox One S wouldn't work too well and making it VR and Xbox One X exclusive would be unwise.
Waiting for the market to get it footing and launching on Xbox Two would probably be wiser.
 
Zvonimir Boban

Zvonimir Boban

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Oct 25, 2017
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Xbox =/= Microsoft

Microsoft have partnered with a bunch of companies on Vr headsets, just because they haven't released console vr yet doesn't mean they are ignoring it totally.
 

KratosEnergyDrink

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Oct 27, 2017
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VR is just not worthwile the effort, perhaps in a few years when the technology is better.

No one will invest in VR right now.
 
ghostcrew

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Saint-14 said:
Also what is considered a killer game? There have been a lot of critically acclaimed games on VR, dismissing them just because they don't make people in millions rush to buy the hardware is silly.
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'Killer app' doesn't mean critically acclaimed. It means something that makes the product a must-have. Something that makes people go out in droves to pick up the product. Spider-man is a killer app for PS4, Halo was the killer app for the OG Xbox, Super Mario 64 was the killer app for the N64 and Tetris was the killer app for the Gameboy. Astro Bot is probably the closest thing to a killer app that the PSVR has had but I would say that it still hasn't broken the mainstream and that the uptake in sales over the holiday period is more down to aggressive price cuts than having that 'killer app'. Lone Echo/Google Earth/Beat Saber/Moss etc are all critically acclaimed/high quality games on PCVR but none of them are what you'd call 'killer apps'.
 

Deleted member 47843

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Probably mostly finanaces. MS doesn't seem like a company interested in niche markets. Failures like Zune and Windows phones probably make them skittish about trying hardware without clear mass appeal yet as well.
 

itchi

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Oct 27, 2017
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DarthBuzzard said:
Both. You can tell that Mike Ybarra doesn't know about games like Astro Bot, Lone Echo / Echo VR, Beat Saber. I mean we still don't have a killer app, but those are close. His attitude would suggest there is nothing even close, which would make him uninformed.
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I'd put a killer app as something like Halo, Gears, TLOU and really I don't think any of them are even remotely close in comparison.
 
ghostcrew

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mooshie78 said:
Probably mostly finanaces. MS doesn't seem like a company interested in niche markets. Failures like Zune and Windows phones probably make them skittish about trying hardware without clear mass appeal yet as well.
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Also, while they haven't jumped in making some huge effort themselves, they totally sell VR headsets for Windows on their store and sell they sell VR games on the Microsoft Store. It's not like they're ignoring some huge new thing. They sell them and the support them. They're just not making a big push for it on console.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/collections/vrandmixedrealityheadsets
 
Ardiloso

Ardiloso

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MS learned their lesson about gimmicks in a hard way.
They won't commit to another anytime soon and I'm glad.
 
big_z

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Microsoft is investing more into AR which will be the dominate and more lucrative venture going forward. They still fool around with vr, they have partners making headsets afterall, but the market is tiny and there isn't really the killer app for mass appeal yet.... plus consumer cost etc.

Next gen both consoles will be able to support vr but it will be a case of wether or not the market is interested enough to make it worth while.

The industry as a whole has kind of shied away from the tech. There is still interest there but it's still least 5-6+ years before being viable at best.
 
Rodjer

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MS is investing in AR, why waste time and money on VR if you are working on AR?
 
Betty

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They know they have other areas they need to improve first before worrying about VR.
 
SuikerBrood

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Don't really understand why Ybarra is constantly looking for a discussion/fight on Twitter. First about PC gaming, now VR.
 
ghostcrew

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For what it's worth, I've been VR gaming since the DK1, have three VR headsets in my gaming room and Google Earth VR is still totally the best thing I've ever done in VR. It's amazing.
 
Jawmuncher

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Considering MS is in the VR space. It's definitely a financial thing. A lot of talk about MS is how they need to "get more games" and the like. I don't see them jumping into VR until they fix the first big complaint on Xbox.

Currently, it doesn't seem like Xbox jumping into VR would exactly help the current criticisms around the Xbox.
 
Kalor

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VR is a weird market to try to get into right now. Especially since Microsoft has been investing more in AR. Maybe they'll continue with their initial idea for the One X and partner with someone to bring VR to their next console, or release a more affordable AR device.
 
Prine

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MS have great R&D departments, of course they have the insight to make those claims.

Xbox base doesnt care for VR, and MS want to focus on traditional gaming, and I support that decision. Sony/Others should continue to push that medium forward, Id be dissapointed if MS wasted money and effort on it. Traditional gaming is growing and there's no sign of it slowing down, so they're focused on making a great product for most popular way to game, that to me is a wise strategy.
 
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B.C.

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Because fuck VR tbh. Not a worthwhile venture to invest in just yet. Until the technology is truly ready and it's "unplugged" VR is more a curiosity at this point.

Also, LOL at people taking the Tweet seriously.
 
SuikerBrood

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ghostcrew said:
'Killer app' doesn't mean critically acclaimed. It means something that makes the product a must-have. Something that makes people go out in droves to pick up the product. Spider-man is a killer app for PS4, Halo was the killer app for the OG Xbox, Super Mario 64 was the killer app for the N64 and Tetris was the killer app for the Gameboy. Astro Bot is probably the closest thing to a killer app that the PSVR has had but I would say that it still hasn't broken the mainstream and that the uptake in sales over the holiday period is more down to aggressive price cuts than having that 'killer app'. Lone Echo/Google Earth/Beat Saber/Moss etc are all critically acclaimed/high quality games on PCVR but none of them are what you'd call 'killer apps'.
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This is a great post.

There are some very good VR games and applications on the market, but nothing that has gained mass market attention. That moment will come tho. And I'm not sure if Microsoft will be part of that moment, with how they are handling VR right now.
 
NCLI

NCLI

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Premium said:
That's actually pretty funny. Good on him for having a sense of humor.
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It just sounds a bit pathetic to me. How old is he, 15?

His comments about VR are in the same vein, he just comes off like an edgy teen whose parents couldn't afford him to buy whatever he's criticizing. He clearly has no idea what's happening in the VR scene.
 
In Amber Clad

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I have to admit to being a little bit disappointed in retrospect that there's no VR solution on Xbox, having just picked up a PSVR a few days ago and having my mind blown by Wipeout.

Xbox is, by quite some distance, my main platform, and I'd love to see what the One X could manage if I've been this impressed by VR on a base PS4. But as others have said, the base Xbox One/S likely wouldn't be a good VR bet, and I think the investment would be too high to just limit it to the smaller pool of One X players.

Next gen should be interesting, especially as they seem to be testing the waters a bit with WMR.
 
TheRaidenPT

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It's a combination of things in my view.

They do not have enough studios to split flat screen & VR games... Mix that in with the much needed investement to kick start hardware + people owning an Xbox + lack of power on the base console due to weaker GPU and esRAM.

At the end of the day the Xbox community never seemed interested in VR as a whole while in my opinion since the PS community has a mix of SP, MP and unique experience games like Little Big and Dreams makes it a much better platform for things like VR
 

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Adam_Roman

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The Xbox One shipped with last generation's gimmick packed into the box and they had to backtrack on it to save their bottom line. I don't blame them at all for being skeptical of VR and its staying power in the industry.

That said, I believe it has staying power and this upcoming generation Microsoft will probably have more VR support, and compatibility with all Windows Mixed Reality headsets. Just not on their streaming box, it would be a PC/higher powered Xbox only feature due to latency and clarity issues that could create nausea.
 
ConHaki66

ConHaki66

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Oct 27, 2017
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Nitro said:
He's also acting a bit funny toward PlayStation recently.



Although this was my favourite reply.
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thats hilarious, he was sharing a funny story that happened to him on twitter, people got salty like some folks are on here and then he clapped back. He has gone after xbox fans who whine about him talking about his gaming on pc, and other consoles, so i am not sure why you are saying he is acting funny towards PlayStation in any particular way. You should not have posted this, you bascially derailed your own thread with console warz bs or maybe it was your original intention.
 
THEVOID

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Haven't Phil said they are waiting for it to be wireless like AR?
 

Chakoo

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Oct 27, 2017
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Zvonimir Boban said:
Xbox =/= Microsoft

Microsoft have partnered with a bunch of companies on Vr headsets, just because they haven't released console vr yet doesn't mean they are ignoring it totally.
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I came to post this. Microsoft is heavily invested in Mixed Reality (AR+VR) and is doing a lot internally on enterprise solutions. It's the Xbox division that isn't very interested atm.
 
NCLI

NCLI

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Dec 5, 2017
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ghostcrew said:
'Killer app' doesn't mean critically acclaimed. It means something that makes the product a must-have. Something that makes people go out in droves to pick up the product. Spider-man is a killer app for PS4, Halo was the killer app for the OG Xbox, Super Mario 64 was the killer app for the N64 and Tetris was the killer app for the Gameboy. Astro Bot is probably the closest thing to a killer app that the PSVR has had but I would say that it still hasn't broken the mainstream and that the uptake in sales over the holiday period is more down to aggressive price cuts than having that 'killer app'. Lone Echo/Google Earth/Beat Saber/Moss etc are all critically acclaimed/high quality games on PCVR but none of them are what you'd call 'killer apps'.
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I think the idea of a killer app is pretty ridiculous. I mean, MGS4 didn't do much to change the sales of the PS3 on its own.. Nor did Super Mario 64 save the N64 from being trounced by the PSX.

Killer apps don't exist, just good ones. The more a platform has, the more attractive it appears. VR currently has too few, sure. But that doesn't mean stuff like Beat Saber and Astro Bot isn't just as attractive to people who try them out as Mario 64 was back in the day. I pretty much sold three PSVR headsets to family this christmas by showing them that combo.
 
melodiousmowl

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Jan 14, 2018
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i would wager he knows all about psvr.

he is also very public about being anti console war, and his comments are just playing off that.

if you don't find it funny, you might be too hung up on a certain piece of plastic
 
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