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spemanig said:
No, people won't pay for quality. People will pay for accessibility. $400 is way to high. That's obvious from how PSVR has done. Like I said, the software is a problem, too. Most of VR's software is experimental demo-tier stuff. Nintendo would tackle both issues. $400 is too much for an accessory like this to reach the mass market, but $50-$100 wouldn't be. Nintendo would bring compelling and complete software meant to sell the experience and keep them coming indefinitely, which is something VR needs desperately. No one's buying a $400 device on a $300 console with $100 accessories to play a small handful of neat VR demos with a few good random IP no one's ever heard of here and there. They absolutely would pay $99 on a $250 console to play a steady line up of compelling VR exclusives from recognizable IP. Niche vs. the mass market. It doesn't matter if it's inferior and it doesn't matter if it's "gimmicky." It matters if people will buy it, and for only $99 and a promise that recognizable franchises like Star Fox, Metroid Prime, Mario Kart, F-Zero, Pilot Wings, Excitebike, Waverace, and Punch Out would appear with VR support, as well as something new in the vein of Wii Sports to bundle in with the hardware, they absolutely would. The mass market doesn't care about having the highest quality product, and they never will. They only care about "good enough." For only $99 with all the software I just mentioned on top of all the third party support they'd garner from being the first to make VR an actually lucrative mass market buisness venture, Switch VR would be more than good enough. The cheaper something is, the less it has to do to impress you. |
And they need to find a way to make you look less ridiculous while playing. You have a lot of faith in Nintendo, yet I'm skeptical about what the hardware can deliver beyond quick pass it around experiences. Longer game sessions rely on a comfortable light weight fit and rock steady tracking. Tbh, psvr doesn't meet those requirements. I don't have a problem with it but I do see the problems.
Rotational gyro drift is real and you need to reset the device every so often. Most of the time it behaves or stays within 10-15 degrees deviation, sometimes it goes really wrong, like when my wife was trying Tethered and ended up having to face backwards on the couch. I've also had races in DC VR ending up sitting sideways to look out the front window. Positional drift depends on the setup, yet in DC VR it only takes a few laps to not be centered behind the wheel anymore or sunk into the seat. A dedicated reset viewpoint button is a must. (hold down options on psvr) So how is Switch going to do that without any external anchoring?
In non cockpit games where you move your head around a lot, the headset will slip, in some game I have to push it back up every few minutes. A heavier device hanging in front of you will make that worse. Text is uncomfortable to read on 1080p headsets, on 720p it will be worse. Yet maybe Nintendo will break tradition and switch to fully voiced games.
Don't get me wrong, I love it, I play it every day and have had 3 hour sessions with the headset on. (Leaving the headband pattern imprinted on my head lol) I'm used to turning the headset off and back on to reset the tracking and have found the sweet spot for the camera and correct ambient light level to get the best results.
Initial impressions are easy, putting the headset on the first time is amazing. Keeping people interested is a much harder challenge. For that it must be easy and comfortable to use long term. I don't see how Switch can provide that. But I love to be proved wrong!
