the-pi-guy said:
Because it's a low cost option that doesn't require a phone.
Because that processing solution capable of playing and rendering entire games is already available in smart phones. The tracking in the Oculus Go is not that sophisticated. Offloading to the PC requires reliably sending to the headset a huge amount of video data at somewhere around 90 Hz. We're talking about reliably sending more data than many $300 routers are even capable of sending. And doing it with very little latency. There is only 1 wireless pack on the market, and it's $300 and it still doesn't keep up with the demands of the Vive. Let alone the Vive Pro. The Oculus Go is a cheap device that manages to have a higher resolution than the Vive.
Because the trend thus far is reducing prices, and higher quality headsets.
Two very different markets. Sony sells controllers at a hefty profit. There are no tiers for controllers, everyone gets the same controller. VR has low end and high end tiers which sell at different prices. There is also a lot more competition in the VR space. |
So a low cost option that doesn't require a phone is a replacement for a free option that requires a device that you had to buy to get the device for free? That does not compute.The smartphone ownership requirement isn't exactly a barrier for a prospective VR user.
I can't even comprehend how you think the biggest challenge of having a PC as your VR processor is data transfer. Perhaps you should checkout what something like a Displayport protocol is capable of handling. Remember the headset only needs to send location/tracking data to the PC and the PC only needs to send a video signal back to the headset. Bandwidth isn't an issue. Who said anything about it needing to be wireless? That's just needless expense.
What? How are they different markets? Stop acting like Sony has no competition. Microsoft and Nintendo would like a word. In fact there's just as many major competitors in the home console space (3) as there is in the VR space (3). Furthermore. No competition for controllers? Everyone gets the same controller? Is that why $200 SCUF PS4 controllers exist? Is that why $30 licensed wired third party controllers exist? Is that why there's about a dozen different third party controller manufacturers exist that make PS4 controllers? Is that why you can buy arcade sticks, and wired controllers, and controllers without touchpads? Because "everyone gets the same controller"? That's actually not the case at all. Sony offers a "standard controller" and other companies offer everything else above and below that, kinda like how Sony offers PSVR and others companies offer everything else above and below that. It's a lot more similar than you're giving it credit for.
Let's try a different example then.
http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Launch_price
How come the prices of these video game consoles are going up instead of down? How come the cheapest video game console I could purchase on release in 1985 was $199 but the cheapest video game console I could purchase on release in 2017 was $299? I mean sure, 10 years after Nintendo released the NES, Sony did release the PS1 which was more than capable of everything the NES was capable of, but it didn't cost $50, did it? What makes you think that in 10 years VR Headset manufacturers are going to be content with releasing units that are competitive with 10 year old VR headsets for as little as possible? What makes you think there's going to be a market for that any more than there's a market for those cheap @games handhelds that play old built in genesis games?
