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Bad for VR Business

Anonymous
Not applicable
So I was sitting in bed this morning thinking of my personal frustrations with not being able to play long after my month has come and gone for the initial estimated delivery of my Rift as well as some of my arguments back and forth with fellow forum members either in defense of Oculus/Vive or whatever or against them and it got me to thinking.  This is all bad for VR business and they AND us need to get out sh@3 together.  Let me explain. 

Chances are that if you're here reading this post, then you are a VR enthusiast.  Yes, that;s right, you are.  The vast majority (probably 95% or higher) that are here right now are here because you're a VR enthusiast.  The added 5% would likely account for someone with just a simple question, brought here by someone else out of obligation, or simply be on the cusp of being curious, but everyone else is likely a enthusiast.  To us, we know whats been going on, agree with it, don't care one way of the other, or rebel against it leading to all of our internal rifts and arguments due to the different opinions over the launch fiascos (and yes I used that as plural for not only Rift but Vive as well). To outsiders though, they either don't know anything, know only what we (the real enthusiasts) tell them, or media.  A few weeks ago media was ablaze with positive articles nonstop.  Oculus this, Oculus that, Vive this... etc,  Now nearly every article I see randomly show up on Google or Yahoo paints a horribly bleak picture of VR because it nearly always is focused on the drama of the launch fiasco (mainly for Oculus but also of course Vive as well) and the fighting it is causing within the VR community.  To add to that, several of us (who let's be honest is the strongest marketing took that things like Vive or Oculus have ultimately from our own experiences and word of mouth leading others to the light) have taken to heart the recent issues and either go on record using all of our time/energy simply fighting with those speaking against our company or sharing our internal frustrations now with the company we once loved.  What we're not doing as much (as a whole community as we once did) is shouting to the heavens how amazing everything is and why everyone we know needs one.  Heck I was big into this and now tohose same people ask me nonstop "So where is yours, I thought you should have had it long ago and we were all going to try it?"  This led to me personally stopping to hype their image up and won;t lie that to my closest friends and family let my guard down sometimes and share my anger/frustrations over Oculus.  Ultimately this is all bad for VR as we, the ENTHUSIASTS are what will help elevate VR to something everyone will want to try. 

The battles back and forth over Oculus vs Vive, the battles back and forth over Oculus did right, no they did wrong, this all is putting the nails in the coffin of VR if we're not careful as outsides only know what we let out.  Oculus/Vive, you NEED to get your SH@# together and fix these shipping and QA/QI issues solved so that the outside world stops seeing all of our dirty laundry and goes back to seeing the light.  And that goes same for this community in general if we want to see VR truly succeed.  I'm upset with what Oculus has done following the "component shortage" and the retail full shipment fiasco but I respect your opinion if you agree with it.  We need to start simply accepting and respecting each others opinions and stop letting it divide us as a community.  Hopefully both Oculus and Vive will finally do their job and get the devices to all of us (no matter which side of the coin your on) so that we can go back as a community to raising the flag of VR and shouting from the rooftops to all who will listen the amazingness of VR and why they need to try it.  Ok, I';m getting out of my soapbox now.
15 REPLIES 15

Choronzon
Adventurer
You're blowing it out of all proportion. 'My closest friends and family.. letting it divide us as a community... etc.' You make it sound like some incestuous relationship that will destroy every vestige of civilisation.

The current delay issue is a baby's burp, not a quadruple amputation - merely teething troubles that will have absolutely no effect on the rapid development of VR or peoples' enthusiasm for it.

Anonymous
Not applicable
Well, I disagree adamantly but I do hope you're right. I personally feel that until PSVR comes out, ALL of this is bad for VR business and honestly is just giving playstation what they need to take a huge lead in the end since while I don't believe they will be near the quality of VIVE or Oculus won't have the significant launch issues either company has had to date. I believe 1-2 years down the line all of this will have little impact on VR in the long run bit over the next 6 months this drama has severely impacted the VR outlook. My personal opinion and bad for business.

Cmndr-Hill
Expert Protege







I'm in the. "all VR is good" camp and welcome the comparisons between the two sets as it will only help improve them both in the long term.
   I believe it will only be a few more months until oculus reduce the backorders to a reasonable amount and very soon after it will be forgotten as more people try VR for the first time and new experiences come out, along with the oculus controllers.
   At this time as you say "The vast majority (probably 95% or higher) that are here right now are here because you're a VR enthusiast." I agree so only a very small percentage of future customers even know that VR is a thing! and that it is having a bit of a rocky birth.





StreetPreacher
Adventurer
I just feel bad for all the developers who released small games for launch.  I have a feeling that a second wave of more elaborate titles will be out soon, and most of the launch games are going to be overlooked by the time many people end up getting their headsets...

CharlieHobbes
Rising Star


I just feel bad for all the developers who released small games for launch.  I have a feeling that a second wave of more elaborate titles will be out soon, and most of the launch games are going to be overlooked by the time many people end up getting their headsets...


You could be right there, but considering the software landscape for VR is still quite sparse I'm sure if the games have any merit or appeal this will still sell. 

People that spend upwards of $600 on a headset will not think twice to spend on software either. Especially if they're "enthusiasts" as previously mentioned. 

In the end you have to ask yourself, what is a better environment for an indie dev right now. 
Traditional Steam with 48573985098 titles on or SteamVR/Oculus Home where maybe 100K people are scanning for new content every day because they want to see what else their HMD throw at them and will generally spend a couple of bucks even for novelty factor. 

I like the odds for VR devs right now. 

edmg
Trustee
I spent over $100 on Steam VR games yesterday, ready for when my Vive arrives next week. That's the most I've spent on Steam in a single day since... well, a long time ago. I usually wait for the big sales, and rarely spend more than $5 on a single game.

So I don't think the developers of VR games are suffering right now. My biggest regret is that I didn't get into VR two years ago and start developing games back then.

That said, I suspect many of them will disappear or be swallowed up by larger gaming companies, just as happened to my friends making Commodore 64 games in their bedroom decades ago.

Percy1983
Superstar
Surely this is all good for VR business, demand is that high there is delays, better than warehouse full of products nobody wants.
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Synthetic
Rising Star
If Vive and Rift dont stop bickering and get along.... googles about to come to crash the party, its been sending out flyers (cardboard) for ages now

Anonymous
Not applicable
Synthetic, don't forget when Sony joins the party too, things should get busy quickly, lol. On a serious note I think Oct/Nov should be a wonderful time for VR as by then they'll be tons of competition and VIVE/Oculus should finally have all their s@#t together with a steady supply to meet demand and touch should be out. That's when this year will have earned the coined term of Year of the VR