Soundwave said:
I don't think it will take that long. In 10 years I think it will be fairly mainstream and common place, much like how many people were playing online games in 1998 versus 2008? Basically no one had the internet in 1993, everyone and their grandma (literally) had it by 2003. Very few people had a VHS or home video player in 1980, by 1990 everyone had it. Very few people had an HDTV in 2003, almost everyone had it by 2013. 10 years is a long time, in 10 years VR will be ready if not sooner. 5 years from now the type of VR is going to put what's available today to shame. PS5 VR is going to destroy what's available right now, but other companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Occulus, Samsung, and sure, Nintendo will all start upping the ante as well. It's inevitable, PS4 VR as clunky as it is is just the first real step towards virtual immersion in convincing 3D worlds at. The sex/porn industry will also be a game changer for this tech as the tech improves and becomes far less cumbersome. Smartphones too, as they get more and more powerful, "cheapo VR" is going to become better and better. |
The difference is, in all of those examples, the internet, HDTV, whatever, there was a clear and obvious improvement to people's lives/entertainment experience. Are you so sure that an entirely new way to communicate with people online, or HDTVs becoming so common and so cheap that you couldn't easily buy a CRT TV in 2013 is the same as people being willing and content to wear a virtual reality headset to have an enhanced, more immersive experience in some games, or even view porn? Are you sure that average person will see the value in that and will be willing to pay for that?
I know 10 years is a long time. I still don't see why it's "inevitable that VR will become mainstream". Even with all of those companies making much more advanced VR headsets, I really, really don't think the average gamer is going to want to own one. There are tens of millions of gamers on this planet right now that can add a PSVR to their PS4 for $200-$300 and have chosen and will continue to choose not to. Why do you think most of them, or even half of them would be lining up to buy them if they were suddenly sold at $100? I know I've brought up racing wheels before. A $100-$200 racing wheel of today kicks the shit out of a $800 wheel of 10 years ago in every way imaginable. Almost every gamer I know owns a few racing games, yet almost none of them own racing wheels, and they haven't gotten significantly more popular over the years, despite all of the improvements and lower costs, mostly because at the end of the day, your average console gamer doesn't want to store a racing wheel, and spend all of the time and effort bringing it out, and setting it up just to use a few times a month or whatever. The game pad is "good enough". What makes you think VR is going to cross that threshold where it's worth the pain in the ass and the cost of ownership to the average gamer?
P.S. You can already get VR porn. In signifcant quanities. Probably with the uhh...add-ons you speak of. It doesn't seem to have made a dent in VR sales. Porn pushed internet sales because it was far easier, cheaper and more convenient than driving down to the local video store, going into the porno section, and getting judged by the cashier as you rented it. VR might offer a better experience, but how many people are going to be arsed to break out a VR headset just to get their rocks off when regular porn is "good enough"?
