PS4 VR headset!
Ok it didn't work with Virtual Boy and it won't work with PS4. Yes, I know, Virtual Boy was awful and Tron-style red lines aren't exactly the same as a photorealistic headset. But even 3D TV's aren't used all that much as an actual 3D TV, even when the 3D content is available. And the reason is simple. 3D glasses. And 3D glasses are arguably a bazillion times better than a giant headset.
I realize that we need to go through these awkward and terrible designs to ultimately reach one that works. But we're just not close enough to something natural and useable today to even bother trying. So the rumour that Xbox may also be coming out with one makes this doubly idiotic.
Things like these, and the Oculus Rift really aren't terrible ideas. They have a place. It just isn't yet in our homes. These are great for simulators and long distance interactions where remote control is necessary. I'm sure they can serve some military purposes as well. But the tech is too bulky and too costly for the average person to even bother with them. If it were cheap enough, people might buy it regardless to give it a try. And if the design and implementation were right, these sorts of things might sell units simply because they fit into a gamers lifestyle.
In other words, where I stand is, 3D immersion technology is an awesome concept. Gaming is an awesome application of that technology. Wearing a giant expensive head set to play games blows chunks. Even wearing lightweight special glasses to play a game blows chunks.
It doesn't really matter how good the games or the implementation is. I highly doubt this will take off, on either platform. Amusingly, I suspect that the only reason why things like Kinect got off the ground was because the original Wii was so successful, in part because the Wii-motes were just similar enough to previous gen controllers to make them approachable and included as the primary input mechanism for the console, which meant huge exposure. Wii-U took things too far, too soon with their game pad.
Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 did things which people had already come to accept thanks to the Wii. Kinect arguably did it better by not requiring people to hold a solid chunk of easily air born plastic in their hands like the Wii and PS3 did, but that is just splitting hairs. Essentially, if the Wii hadn't launched the way it had, then I think both the original Kinect and the PS Eye would have tanked massively and the whole dance genre would have imploded.
With 3D graphics headsets, in addition to the widespread rejection of headsets for such purposes, there is no console to champion this product. It is an optional accessory and not the intended primary input or even viewing device on any console. If the PS4 had launched without the need for a TV and instead came with a headset in the box, well people probably would have cried, and Sony overall probably would have moved fewer PS4's, but it probably would have resulted in better sales for this headset overall.
I realize that we need to go through these awkward and terrible designs to ultimately reach one that works. But we're just not close enough to something natural and useable today to even bother trying. So the rumour that Xbox may also be coming out with one makes this doubly idiotic.
Things like these, and the Oculus Rift really aren't terrible ideas. They have a place. It just isn't yet in our homes. These are great for simulators and long distance interactions where remote control is necessary. I'm sure they can serve some military purposes as well. But the tech is too bulky and too costly for the average person to even bother with them. If it were cheap enough, people might buy it regardless to give it a try. And if the design and implementation were right, these sorts of things might sell units simply because they fit into a gamers lifestyle.
In other words, where I stand is, 3D immersion technology is an awesome concept. Gaming is an awesome application of that technology. Wearing a giant expensive head set to play games blows chunks. Even wearing lightweight special glasses to play a game blows chunks.
It doesn't really matter how good the games or the implementation is. I highly doubt this will take off, on either platform. Amusingly, I suspect that the only reason why things like Kinect got off the ground was because the original Wii was so successful, in part because the Wii-motes were just similar enough to previous gen controllers to make them approachable and included as the primary input mechanism for the console, which meant huge exposure. Wii-U took things too far, too soon with their game pad.
Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 did things which people had already come to accept thanks to the Wii. Kinect arguably did it better by not requiring people to hold a solid chunk of easily air born plastic in their hands like the Wii and PS3 did, but that is just splitting hairs. Essentially, if the Wii hadn't launched the way it had, then I think both the original Kinect and the PS Eye would have tanked massively and the whole dance genre would have imploded.
With 3D graphics headsets, in addition to the widespread rejection of headsets for such purposes, there is no console to champion this product. It is an optional accessory and not the intended primary input or even viewing device on any console. If the PS4 had launched without the need for a TV and instead came with a headset in the box, well people probably would have cried, and Sony overall probably would have moved fewer PS4's, but it probably would have resulted in better sales for this headset overall.
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