Forget 4K Or Switch For A Second: VR Is the Real Revolution

[SvennoJ]

Johnw1104 said:

Even as a person who owns the Vive, I feel VR (as we understand it) is akin to those digital novels such as kindle and such. While it's awesome, I suspect people will often just feel like sitting down and holding a controller without a headset on (especially when friends are over) much like the predicted demise of books did not come to pass. It's a cool new tech that will carve out it's own place, but it won't completely replace what came before.

The issue for me is that for VR to work it has to be completely immersive, which is to say it needs to cut you off from the outside world, and even those who like VR (such as myself) don't always feel like doing that. It's much more of an "event" than just plopping on the couch and grabbing a controller.

It's only going to get more comfortable going forward, but given the whole point is to be completely immersive (I.e. Forgetting the world you're in and adopting the new one), I can't see it becoming the standard.

I don't really get the issue, not much has changed for me switching to VR regarding plopping on the couch and grabing a controller. Except instead of turning on the projector I now put on the headset. It's not a big deal and way more fun. I don't bother with headphones in VR, 5.1 surround still sounds better, plus I remain aware of what's going on outside the game. No different than gaming on my projector with the lights off.

Plus playing together still works fine. I watch my kids play on the social screen and give them directions. It's not black and white, it's simply a much better way to visualize and experience games. No need to be completely shut off with headphones.