Oculus and Game Devs screwing over Quest-1 users

[DominatorVIP]

I'd just like to firstly clarify that I thoroughly enjoy my Oculus Quest-1 (I refuse to call it "Meta Quest", that's just gross) but due to recent events I don't know if I really like Oculus as a company anymore. Let me explain.

1). - Oculus, inexplicably somewhere in the last few months gouged the price on the Oculus Quest-2 from $299 and $399 respectively for the OG 64 & 128GB models respectively. Now, it's $399 & $499 USD for the 128GB and 256GB models. Absolutely zero reasoning or announcement from Facebook about it. I realize that yes, you get more storage, and yes you do get Beat Saber for """"free"""", but firstly most people don't even need that much storage. Most Oculus games aren't even a gigabyte, the biggest games are only a few gigabytes maximum. So, no point in really adding more storage. And secondly, the Beat Saber deal is still a limited time deal, so after it ends new users get screwed, and also is it really "free" if you're paying $100 more for the headset?

2.) - All the new game releases are becoming Quest-2 exclusive. This in its own right isn't an issue, I understand it's not cost-effective or realistic to make games on the older hardware of the Quest-1. It's just that the Quest-1 is quite literally barely 2 years old dangit, not long after the release date Oculus released the Quest-2 which sealed the Quest-1's fate. Most modern game consoles are expected to have game releases for years to come, even after they become "last generation's" console. 

The worst offender of all is Population-1. It released as a dual quest release (I.E on both Quest and Quest 2). But recently they just pulled the rug on support for the Quest-1, which because it's an online only game, means it's just not playable, full stop. Worst part? They are offering refunds, which is nice, but only to users who bought it in the past 6 months. Bought it earlier? Have fun with a useless game you cannot play. This is one of the reasons people hate digital only titles, at least with physical versions you can usually still play them even after servers go down or support gets pulled.

3.) - Both of the above points combine into the main point. You see new games being Quest-2 only (Into the Radius, Green Hell VR, Resident Evil, etc.), which again point #2, but you decide to give into getting a Quest 2. But because of the price hike, you now have to pay $100 more over users who bought theirs only a year or so prior. 

So basically, you get screwed because you can't play new titles on your barely 2-year-old $400 VR Headset, you get double screwed because current game devs keep pulling support from the Quest-1, so you lose all your money unless you pay up for the newer model headset. You get triple screwed because Oculus gauged the price of the Quest 2, so now you just get milked for all your money. And you get Quadruple screwed because you now have a $400 headset which will now sit in a corner being unused.

Sorry if this was too big of a rant, but frankly this all just feels bad from a regular consumer point of view. For the companies it's great, but personally I will be voting with my wallet and returning to PCVR, where support for devices is based on how good your PC is, not whenever the Game Devs decide to just stop supporting stuff.

(P.S: @MetaQuestSupport , if you read this, please start offering Quest-2's as replacements for Quest-1's when people open warranty claims. Loads of companies already do this, such as Logitech. I'd be much more inclined to keep paying for your products if I just get sent back a headset which is newer versus the older Quest 1 which has virtually no new games available for purchase.

[Pixie40]

So, your actual complaint is that the 128 and 256 gig headsets cost more then you're willing to pay? Or is it that they didn't make the 128 gig headset $299 now that the 64 gig model had been discontinued? Help me out here, because I'm failing to see the logic in this complaint.

Complaining that games are coming out that are Quest 2 exclusive is... kind of silly. The game library has very few such titles right now, with few announced. The vast majority of software on the Quest store works for both Quest and Quest 2. But sure, exclusives are bad. Got it. So, does this mean you think my Xbox 360 should be able to play all of my Xbox One titles? I know, how about putting a PS4 disk in my PS3 and having that work? Or maybe a closer comparison... Not all Nintendo 3DS systems can play every 3DS game. If you want to play Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past you'd better have a "New 3DS rather then a regular one.

Game exclusives for the Quest 2 aren't a bad thing.  Don't want to upgrade to a Quest 2? You don't have to. There's plenty of software available for you, with more coming out periodically. Eventually developers may all stop supporting the Quest 1, but that's just the nature of the beast. Nor are they some sort of attack on people who bought a 64 gig Quest 2. The Call of Duty VR game could be considered such attack, apparently. I understand it takes 45 gigs just to install that game.

[isee505]

It’s not the fact that we aren’t willing to pay more , it’s the fact that the quest 1 was so rare and expensive to find when it originally came out. After buying it it I was fun but then only a year later they come out with a quest 2 , cheaper and more storage. Then they completely forget about the quest 1, all the games now are being made for the quest 2 , like it was said earlier, yes it’s normal for that to happen , but it happened only in the span of a year or so compared to other companies such as Xbox and PlayStation waiting almost a decade to release new consoles. It’s unfair that the quest 1 recently came out and now it’s useless because you can’t play any games, and it’s being forgotten because the companies just make games for the quest 2 without worrying about having to code it to fit the quest 1

[Pixie40]

Funny, the only Quest 2 exclusives right now that I'm aware of is Resident Evil 4, Moss 2, and maybe the upcoming Ghostbusters game from nDream. Other recent releases have been available on the Quest 1 as well, to my knowledge. What other recent games have come out that you're unable to play on a Quest 1?

[Pulseczar]

It makes me mad how quickly companies obsolete devices and cause people to trash older devices. It was only a little more than a year after Quest 1 came out that they came out with Quest 2, which was $100 cheaper and better in many ways. What is everyone supposed to do? Get a Quest 2, and then get rid of their Quest 1 -- sell it or send it to the land fill or let it collect dust and space in their house? Look at how long Quest 2 owners have gotten to enjoy their devices being the best of their kind. And now games are being made that only support the Quest 2 and it's not easy on the Quest store to tell which is which, because they almost act like the Quest 1 doesn't even exist on the store website. Is there a way to even display only apps that work on the Quest 1? I feel like as a Quest 1 owner, I was screwed over. People create too much e-waste, and care too little about how much they are producing and then dumping on the planet. I think that's what bothers me the most about this. What do we do with all the "stuff" that we make, that isn't biodegradable, or easily recyclable? Why don't we at least try to get as much use out of these things as we can, rather than what companies want us to do: get as little use as possible, so that we can buy a new product from them? When you throw away plastics, they just sit in a land fill somewhere, for hundreds or thousands of years, unless someone is able to recycle them. You can burn them, but you have do it cleanly and deal with the bi-products of burning plastic.

https://archive.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/smm/wastewise/web/html/factoid.html

[Pixie40]

@Pulseczarcorrect me if I'm wrong, but under Supported Devices does the store page not tell you what headsets are supported? As in it will tell you outright if it supports Quest, Quest 2, and/or Quest Pro.

And isn't the vast majority of software releasing available for any Quest headset instead of being a Quest 2/Pro exclusive? I've only been able to find 3, maybe 4 things in the store so far that wont work on a Quest headset.

This suggests to me that hyperbole aside, the Quest 1 is not being abandoned by developers. Yes, some developers are aiming for the Quest 2's higher specs. But the majority of them are not. It would be a far more valid complaint to say that features aren't available on the Quest 1, since as far as I can tell 98% of software on the Quest store will run on a Quest 1. They just released the Quest Pro, btw. And you know what? This hasn't immediately stopped production of titles that will run on the Quest and Quest 2. But even if it is a case of every piece of software you're eying is a Quest 2 exclusive, you are wrong if you claim this is Meta's fault.

Remember, the vast majority of the time a game developer is the one who decides which platforms their software will support. And this is a decision made right at the start of development. They aren't creating the software, then deciding what hardware it'll run on after the software is completed. That's just not how it works. While I might trying to use Unity to develop a game, I had to decide things like if it'll be a VR game or not, and what platforms it'll support before creating any assets for the game or any other work.

[isee505]

Quest 2 exclusives: bonelab, the walking dead retribution, blade and sorcery , green hell, red matter 2, ultra wings 2, resident evil 4, among us , nfl pro era , into the radius, and a lot more , they are all very popular games and you rarely ever find a new game that’s made for the quest 1

[Pulseczar]

"@Pulseczar correct me if I'm wrong, but under Supported Devices does the store page not tell you what headsets are supported? As in it will tell you outright if it supports Quest, Quest 2, and/or Quest Pro."

It does seem to tell you what devices are supported on the pages for each individual app. But why not give me the ability to just see supported apps, rather than have to click on every app, first, wait for the page to load, scroll down, to see whether it's supported?

"And isn't the vast majority of software releasing available for any Quest headset instead of being a Quest 2/Pro exclusive? I've only been able to find 3, maybe 4 things in the store so far that wont work on a Quest headset."

isee505 answered this one. That's the current count. I expect the number of apps that stop supporting the Quest 1 will greatly increase soon, especially in new apps.

"This suggests to me that hyperbole aside, the Quest 1 is not being abandoned by developers."

When you go to the Meta Quest device page and app store, and there is no mention hardly anywhere of the Quest 1, it makes it seem like they have abandoned it, which is sad, when the device is only 3 years old, and still just as enjoyable as when it was released. I despise the idea that a mobile device is only good for two years; then it's time to let it go sit in a landfill for 500 years.

"They just released the Quest Pro, btw. And you know what? This hasn't immediately stopped production of titles that will run on the Quest and Quest 2."

I would not expect the Quest Pro, at $1500, to cause much loss in support of the Quest 1 and 2, especially the 2. The Quest 2 and the Quest Pro are two very different devices, in very different tiers, aimed at very different markets. They aren't going to step on each other's toes, because most Quest 2 players are likely not going to be willing to fork out $1500 for a Quest Pro. However, if we learn from history, we can see what will likely happen to the Quest 2 when the Quest 3 comes out, assuming the Quest 3 will be in the same category of product as the Quest 2. "Okay. It's been 2 or 3 years. Time to throw the Quest 2 in the trash and upgrade to the next iteration." And Meta will continue trying to push Quest 2 sales until the Quest 3 comes out, despite soon dumping the Quest 2.

[Pulseczar]

I just noticed this in a review of the Quest 2 on Amazon. ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1Y1FBCERC4XL4/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B099VM... )

"Was there a Quest or a Quest 1? I don't think so. Why did FB/Meta start at 2? I have no idea. Maybe there was a Quest 1 and it ended up on the scrapheap for some reason and we never saw it."

Wow. And this review had 683 people say that they found the review helpful. I guess you can't blame the person for not being aware that the Quest 1 ever existed, when Meta acts like it never did on its Quest-related websites. It's sad that such a good product gets treated like its creator is embarrassed of it or something, when it was majorly successful and was the first really good tetherless VR headset. Maybe Meta feels like its not 'theirs' because it was created by Oculus and has that 'awful' "Oculus" name. (Thanks for selling out, lucky Palmer. I hope you're not bored to death with your $2 billion (to put it nicely), like Notch.)

The Quest 1s pretty much are on the scrapheap. That's how this world works. We are a throwaway society. Make something that doesn't rot and is harmful to ourselves and our fellow inhabitants of this world. Make it hard to repair (or even change its battery) and discourage repair. Intentionally make it so that it fails after a short while. Don't make it easy to recycle. The producer is rarely in charge of also recycling the "trash", ultimately, that they are producing. As a result, consumers use the products for just a little while. People recycle hardly any of it. They just toss them out onto the Earth, to sit (or float in the oceans) for hundreds or thousands of years, out of sight, out of mind. Maybe if people regularly saw what happens to the things they throw away, they would behave differently. The same is probably true about the production of meat and animal products and the development of products that were tested on animals, if people regularly saw how those products are made.

[6tocorral]

At the time you posted this I’m pretty sure Rec Room discontinued or was close to discontinuing support entirely for Quest 1 and was already not letting Quest 1 users have access to new RROs that were brought to everyone else. VRChat just recently stopped Quest 1 support too and some games like Among Us don’t support Quest 1 at all.