The Paradox of New Technology
So what about the wider picture in terms of market viability: When does VR arrive as a segment of the games industry able to entice developers not just from a creative standpoint but because there’s potential for real growth? How much of an obstacle are issues such as limited accessibility, price point, and the public’s perception of the medium, and what’s on the horizon that looks likely to solve it?
Paul from Coatsink sums up what he calls the “paradox of new tech.”
“You need the user base to attract the developers to make the killer apps, and the killer apps need to be there to attract the user base, right? That’s going to be the same on all kinds of new tech. But the solution to that is time and investment and… faith, really.”
Zoink’s Sebastian Strand also echoes that VR’s progress is hindered by issues with both software and hardware.
“VR as a market is a mixed bag. It’s fairly small, but it has avid fans. You get a lot of coverage for free that way, but then again, you might not end up reaching as many people as you would with a conventional game.
VR does not quite have a killer app yet, so that’s a software issue. Generally people don’t “get” VR until they’ve tried it, but then they’re completely sold once they have. If VR could get a Wii Sports and move hardware that way, I think that could open people’s eyes to it. Once it does it just has to reach critical mass before it becomes mainstream.”
Equally, though, Strand says that hardware is also a big part of the issue:
“Moving towards wireless is a must, and the cost needs to come down. I think PSVR was a really smart move for Sony, making it an affordable option; if you already had a PS4, Move controllers and a camera, all you had to buy was the headset. I do wish there were fewer wires involved, though.”
Oculus Quest to Break the Deadlock?
The cumbersome nature of tethered headsets is a big reason why Oculus Quest has the VR community excited. Launched in May of last year, Quest offers the long-awaited untethered VR experience at a reasonably affordable price (around $499). It’s been a hit among developers and critics, and it’s being tipped to potentially reshape the market landscape moving forward as a result.
Brian Fargo said that while VR “has been an enthusiast market until now [he thinks] we’re going to see that change rapidly as products like the Oculus Quest, which doesn’t have a big PC hardware investment needed, and full freedom of movement without cables, as the real turning point.” He also added that “Oculus has been thrilled with the software units being sold on the Quest.”
Coatsink COO Eddie Beardsmore also believes Quest is “the perfect device for getting the mainstream. It’s cheap, easy to use, and really fast to just get into VR,” while Paul Crabb reasons:
“In the age we live in, we’re so used to having information and entertainment straight away. If you think about devices like a mobile phone, and how the Nintendo Switch has become successful, it is because of this instant access to entertainment. Quest finally offers that functionality for VR users.”
Certainly, a likening of Quest’s accessibility to VR with that of the convenience afforded to players by smartphones and Nintendo Switch is a pertinent one. It’s a reminder that commercial success doesn’t always necessitate pushing the bleeding edge of performance. In the case of VR, contrary to conventional wisdom, it seems that absolute image fidelity may actually matter far less to the immersion of the experience than being wireless.
Quest’s impact also had XRDC respondents optimistic as a device that could “jumpstart the market.” The company’s most recent survey was particularly notable for being the first that recorded more respondents developing for Oculus than HTC headsets, with Quest comprising 28% of all development projects for those that participated in the survey, even after having only been on the market for three months at the time.
It will be fascinating to see the numbers again when XRDC’s 2020 survey releases in four months’ time.
More recently, the Game Developer Conference’s annual survey revealed a growing belief amongst developers in VR as a viable gaming platform, with Oculus Quest leading the way as the headset that most interested the 4,000 survey respondents.
Working Around Nausea
Of course, in VR development, limiting hardware specifications to save on costs carries different implications from conventional games: excellent visual fidelity and a high, stable frame-rate is critical to avoid inducing nausea that even those monsters who can read in a moving car going down a winding road — the sorts with steel stomachs — struggle to grin and bear.
Inxile’s David Rogers explains that “maintaining 90 frames per second is a big deal when doing VR development.” In the case of The Mage’s Tale, there were apparently “a lot of cool, big, and expensive VFX techniques” the team had to shelve because they were “simply too intense to run at 90 FPS.”
Sebastian Strand explained that “one drawback (with PSVR) was the frame rate requirement in relation to the hardware. It’s always important to keep a steady frame rate, but in VR the player will literally throw up if you don’t do that. The base PS4 is a great console, but it’s starting to age.”
In the case of Oculus Quest, the headset is notable for it not making too many compromises in offering the all-important wireless functionality. Featuring the same 6DOF motion tracking, identical controls and actually packing a higher resolution as its Rift sister, it’s capable of running all but the most demanding VR games with relative parity.
Indeed, while Quest certainly isn’t the Rolls Royce VR headset experience, it does pack just enough power to run the platform’s best games, including one, in particular, that might prove key in 2020…
