VR at E3
“Virtual reality is the future of gaming.” Surely, you’ve heard this statement before from some game or hardware company’s press conference or seen it on an ad. But, with E3 2016‘s major reveals out of the way, I have to break it to you:
It is the truth.
And, before you get up in arms over whether I’ve drank a big fat gulp of the Kool-Aid, I’m not speaking in hyperbole and this isn’t simply “IMO”, like the cool kids say. I’m just looking at the surprisingly long catalog of key, iconic entertainment franchises that have revealed their deep dives into VR gaming this week. I’ll just list a few here:
- Resident Evil 7
- Star Wars Battlefront: X-Wing VR Mission
- Batman Arkham VR
- Final Fantasy XV VR Experience
- Fallout 4
- Star Trek: Bridge Crew
- Doom VR
Not only are these some of the most storied franchises in gaming history, but entertainment history to boot. Save for RE7, Doom and Fallout 4, you can only experience the next entries in these series with a headset on.
That’s rather compelling, if you ask me, and I haven’t even dug into the seminal games and film franchises that already have VR experiences, like Alien: Isolation, Minecraft and Temple Run.
VR is the future of gaming because the game makers have said so.
Say it with me one more time: ‘content is king’
Somehow, various game development studios have convinced their publishers (or vise versa) to go whole hog on expensive VR technology, throwing their biggest properties into the mix. This point is key.
There are countless original VR games out there already since the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive landed earlier this spring, and they look incredible. But none of them yet have allowed you to become goddam Batman.
That’s the magical difference that’s going to seal the deal for VR; gamers will go where the coolest, biggest new games are, no matter the cost – eventually. (They hope.)
VR hardware manufacturers and big-time game developers alike have gotten into the ears of the publishers (or the other way around probably in some cases) with the idea that VR is the next technological leap that gaming customers will expect. And, it looks like – likely after putting a headset or two on – the publishers were convinced.
Don’t believe me? Allow me to remind you that the video game industry was in the midst of a watershed moment just like this almost 20 years ago exactly.
Déjà vu with double vision
Those old enough can remember a time when almost every video game was flat – literally two-dimensional, but nevertheless fun. Then, as the ’80s turned into the ’90s, 3D graphics emerged as a reality, first with games like Alone in the Dark and Doom.
The latter of which supposedly forced companies, like Intel and Lotus, to ban employees from playing the game during work hours. Doom is widely regarded among the most important games of all time.
Early 3D games like these spurred a seachange in which about every major gaming franchise of the time – Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, etc – committed to 3D graphics unwaveringly. Coincidentally, many of those games are too considered among the most important ever.
There isn’t necessarily a date that can be drawn on a timeline to demonstrate when 3D took over the industry, but one glance at the annals of gaming history will tell you it’s there. In fact, we’re at a time now when just two dimensions in games is seen as “a rare novelty” or a “brave artistic choice.”
This then-new technology – and the gamers wowed by it – increasingly demanded new and more powerful (and more expensive) hardware, demand for which has been met in earnest by Nintendo, Sega and Sony among other PC component firms ever since. And, the industry has yet to slow down.
If you could say that 1996 was the year of 3D’s “arrival”, then 2016 certainly feels like the arrival of VR.
Today, we’re met with an incredibly immersive – and incredibly expensive – new technology that seems to have similarly captured the imaginations of gamers. Well, it seems more of a mixed reaction, honestly.
But, this isn’t 1996 anymore
Why? Because the gamer of 1996 is very different from the gamer of 2016. In 1996, kids (myself included) voraciously read and implicitly trusted every word that was printed in Nintendo Power – a marketing tool masked as a magazine. (Beautifully written, though.)
In 2016, gamers are reading forums like NeoGAF and 4chan, or getting their news and commentary from YouTube stars or simply relying on their social networks. The internet and social media have turned gamers into arguably the most discerning – or downright cynical – audience in entertainment.
Unchecked cynicism doesn’t sell games or consoles nearly as well as unchecked marketing missives. While not exactly a statistical study, just look at what my closest friends think of VR having seen this year’s E3 announcements:
Yeah, they’re not exactly thrilled about the whole thing.
The expectations of VR couldn’t be higher already – and rightfully so when you’re strapping a $600 piece of plastic and silicon to your face.
It’s safe to say that these reactions are neither unique nor unwarranted. But, with some of geeky entertainment’s biggest names requiring us to strap on headsets to experience the next chapters in (or angles of) their stories, it looks like our fandom will be put to the test.
Contrary to popular belief, game developers and publishers are smart. They’re only going to put more major franchises behind the visor in hopes of drumming up demand and sales.
Whether gamers come busting down the doors or get dragged in kicking and screaming, VR is the future of gaming, and a Change.org petition isn’t likely to change that.
Source: techradar.com
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I've used them, too (Rift and Morpheus. No time with Vive. Or Google Cardboard.). I wouldn't make my statements without firsthand accounts of how they play. I'm not that stupid. That's also how I know the lack of replay value. Everyone loves it when they first try it out, as you showed. That is without any doubt. The problem is that most of those same people, an hour later have it back on the shelf. That is how it was for me. 1 hour with Rift, I was in awe. After that, I was done. And I'm not alone. Messageboards are already littered with others saying the same story.
If I am wrong, that's fine. The industry can always use innovation. It won't affect me one bit for it to be an option for people. I have nothing invested in it. I'm just saying that I don't see that happening, and that's the case for the average person so far.
Yeah… that's beyond drinking the Flavor Aid (Jones served Grape Flavor Aid. Not sure how people latched onto Kool-Aid). That's just plain ignorant.
You say the surprisingly long list of titles and it's 7 names long. And you seem to forget how many of those franchises have horrible entries in them. Remember Final Fantasy VII G-Bike? Final Fantasy Agito? Chochobo games?
I don't recall the name of it, but I had a Batman game for my PC growing up that was absolutely horrid.
I could go on, but I'm bored of typing. The common theme is that no title is immune to being attached to crap, so until they prove otherwise, you cannot just say that their involvement with VR is a positive for the tech.
"There are countless original VR games out there already since the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive landed earlier this spring, and they look incredible."
They do not look incredible. They look really good at best (This is still a positive sign, but well below "incredible"), and every title is lacking from any lengthy amount of content to keep you coming back. VR is already littered with titles that have a total of 1 hour of gameplay in it.
The comparison between this and the 3D revolution of 20 years ago is not bad, but it leaves out the inherent problem with the tech: You have to buy more equipment to use it. And what you really seem to neglect is that with that revolution (too cheesy to say "Aurora Revolution" in honor of Battle Arena Toshinden, an early 3D game?), it came standard. There was no purchasing of special hardware as an addition to pre-existing hardware. This is a HUGE factor. You were "3D ready" just by having the console.
1995 was the year that 3D broke, by the way.
But, you are right about not playing the games at work. I was at Intel at the time, and a guy made an amazing mod for Doom that was of our fab. Was so much fun. We were finally able to get our revenge on diffusion tubes and Litho tools.
It just cannot get by on big names along. The value of the content needs to be seen as worth the cost. Look at 3DO, and the names behind it: Panasonic, Infogrames, Interplay, Crystal Dynamics, EA, DMA/Psygnosis (they made Lemmings. Remember Lemmings? HUGE game.), Sierra. Major names. 3DO? Major flop.
Listen, the fact of the matter is that it makes no difference what names are behind it. While it sold a metric shitload at the time, look at what a joke the Revolution is now, along with all of motion gaming. The Revolution was so hated, it brought down the Cafe due to just having part of the same name.
And look at sales for the latest Guitar Hero game. To say it flopped would be an understatement. This is a franchise that, for a time, was bulletproof, with people waiting for every new release of songs to buy. Now? No one wants it.
VR will have it's good moments, and maybe even some unforgettable ones. But in the end, it has no shot to succeed.
Vive is the only VR system. The gap between Oculus' sit-down experience and Vive is breathtaking.
Has no shot to succeed….well, your brand of kool aid is definitely just a different flavor.
Neighbor has an oculus now, and I've spent a retarded amount of time the last week doing Eve:Valkyrie. You may be staking your hipster "Told you it would fail" cred on VR failing, but news flash: It's the real deal.
Sooner or later, you're going to have to absorb that truth. My guess is 2018, after it's already eaten into 30% of the gaming world, and other media experiments both good and bad, that you will forget you even wrote this post or had this prognostication.