Oculus Unfriendly to Families - Oculus Please Fix This

[Tugennov]

I just got an Oculus Quest for my family of 5.  I was very disappointed to discover that you can only have one account on each device.  Moreover, in the (limited) number of games that I've tried so far, there are not multiple save files for the games.  So, effectively, this means that only one person can play a game at a time and not until that person has completed the game can the next person start playing the game or else the original player's game file will get copied over.  This is very unfriendly for families.  Maybe Oculus is trying to get us to buy multiple Quests, one for each family member, but we don't have that sort of money and most families don't.  This approach has already resulted in a negative vibe towards the system among a couple of my kids.  Oculus, I hope you change your approach and allow multiple accounts on a single quest (with game sharing) or at least require game developers to put several save game slots on their games.  This also is a problem on the Oculus Go that needs to be fixed.

[Anonymous]

Someone posted a workaround on Reddit. It seems the Gear VR store is installed by default, and can be accessed through SideQuest on the headset itself. You open the store, log out, then the app reboots itself and prompts you to log in with your facebook or whatever email you set up your account to begin with. Whoever logs in that session gets to play their games, with game data saved...or so it seems. The thread suggested the original games get moved to Unknown Sources, then go back to the regular library once you log back in yourself.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/cg6wiv/quickly_switch_oculus_accounts_on_your_quest/

[victor_delmastr]

Having more than 1 user on a Quest can get tricky given the memory limits of the Quest. I've heard of new updates that address the issue of multiple accounts on one Quest.

[WaywardAutarch]

Zenbane said:

Excellent sensationalist headline.

This has been how the platform has worked since the Rift CV1 was released back in 2016. One account per user. Even Netflix makes you pay more to allow multiple people to use your Account.

As for the "number of save game" slots, that is controlled by the Developer of the game, not Oculus. So contact them directly.

Lastly, you don't really have to buy multiple headsets... you just need to learn how to Take Turns. Which is what good families do!

😉

Difference is Netflix didn't cost $500 dollars. Neflix also doesn't make you buy every video you want to watch. Last time I checked we have to buy every game.

[DaftnDirect]

Well that's not entirely true, Netflix makes you buy every video, it's just in a subscription form and in that sense you don't have a choice of what to buy, I mean you can't just opt in to the TV shows for a cheaper sub (I watch most movies on bluray).

Even so, I'm not knocking Netflix at £108 a year for my subscription (ignoring the cost of the TV of course). it's ok value. Just wish it didn't take the best part of 2 years for each season of the shows I like to land, especially as there are usually only 8 or 10 episodes per season.

[Anonymous]

I just wish Netflix actually finished the series they started...lol. Too many times I start a show, only to have them pull the plug and leave you hanging. At least Amazon actually runs a series to the finale.

[DaftnDirect]

I enjoyed Luke Cage and surprised to see that go. Wonder if that has anything to do with Disney owning Marvel and setting up their own service. That's the other problem now, you're going to have to subscribe to a lot of services to see the good shows what with Amazon getting Picard.

Anyway, we digress!

[R0land]

Tuggenov raises reasonable requests with a sensationalist headline. Zenbane comes in with the heavy gate keeping and pendantic arguments.  However, there are good points with both of them.

Having the ability to have multiple saves and multiple accounts per a device seems like a good thing for us consumers to have.  Not sure why anyone would argue against the concept.

Oculus COULD insist any software that is sold in their store has multiple save slots.  There might be reasons why they don't want to or can't but it would be nice to know what those are.

They also could have multiple accounts per device.  It seems like a no brainer to be honest.  There might be limits due to memory constraints etc.  Again it would be nice to know.

Perhaps it's just a matter of getting to it.  Perhaps there are other things that they have to do but they haven't got there yet.  

However, I'd want to know a lot more about their situation before thinking that either of those ideas is bad or not able to be done.  

[SkScotchegg]

Unfriendly to families! LOL That's hilarious!  😄

I can just imagine what happened...opened the front door...delivery driver drops off parcel for Oculus Quest...and then out of nowhere a couple of guys with Oculus badges get out of a van and storm his house and start beating up his entirely family!! lol

I bet they even kicked his dog too and threw his gold fish on the floor! hahahahaha  😛

[JaimieVandenber]

What a trainwreck of a thread. Zenbane, do you have to be pointlessly argumentative? Having multiple users for the purpose of save slots alone would be sufficient and REALLY USEFUL. Even Nintendo manage get this one mostly right!

[garrun]

Yes, this thread is cancer, but OP's core point is important.

A - The Quest is so obviously a console that I'm not even sure how to discuss it with someone that thinks it isn't, but let's give up on that and just agree that it is a device created and marketed to play games and consume media.

B - As a device created and marketed to play games and consume media, it is far less friendly to multiple users, family or not, than other devices and software systems created and marketed to play games and consume media including XBox, Playstation, Nintendo, AND Steam.  It is also less friendly than IOS or Google Play/Android which also also very widely used to play games and consume media.  All of those platforms allow either multiple users or family sharing of purchased titles across separate user accounts or both.  If you are a single user, none of this matters, but if you are a family or even a couple that games, it very likely does.  For example, if I buy a copy of Beat Saber on Steam, all five of my family members can play it on their own accounts, on either their computers/headsets or mine, have separate scores and progress, etc.  If I buy it on Playstation VR, different family members can log in on the same console and store progress separately.  If I buy it on Oculus (Rift or Quest), there is no way to share it to other accounts so they can play on their own account while I am not on or so they can have their own progress.  The Oculus platform, desperately needs some form of family sharing and multiple accounts to compete with ALL of its competitive platforms, whatever you decide to call them.  And YES, that disadvantage makes Oculus "family unfriendly" vs. all of its meaningful competition.  Family unfriendly doesn't mean it is going to beat up your kids, it just means the experience of buying and sharing games on it as a family vs. any other alternative a family that games might be used to rather sucks.

Whether you call it a console or not, Quest is the only modern gaming platform that does not support family shared purchases (Steam, IOS, Android) and/or multiple device accounts (all of the consoles).  This feature is very useful and expected to anyone that has a family, and as long as Oculus does not have it they are lacking a key feature that their competitors do.  This isn't just about money (I have plenty and will buy multiple copies if they are good enough), and it isn't just about shared hardware (I have enough headsets across Oculus, Steam, and Windows MR systems for everyone to have their own) - it is about making a competitive and easy to use product that meets its users' needs.  I'm a big VR fan in general and Oculus fan in particular and have all the Oculus systems DKI - present, but this area is clearly one that needs work and it was irritating reading someone arguing that it didn't so I wasted 10 minutes writing/ranting this.