I would love to see the successful two billion dollar documentary. That's the part that is going to be an issue. Facebook is a public company, not a private company. It matters if they spend two billion dollars on something that doesn't return a huge investment.
Gaming is a huge industry, and games have reached the point that their budgets exceed major motion pictures, and they can often make more money. None of that or anything you said addresses the basic usability issues that headsets in general have.
1) Headsets are not replacing any existing technology. A person who buys a headset isn't going to throw out their television, computer monitor, tablet or phone. It's an additional thing. This is a tough thing to do in any industry.
2) There is no clearly defined niche for the new device to fill that doesn't come with both competition from existing tech and from competitors in the same space. This is not a Tesla or iPhone situation. When the Rift finally releases, Sony is going to have their headset and I'm sure someone else will have one too. Probably Microsoft.
3) It comes with usability issues by design. A wireless version would be cool, but unless it also comes with cameras that let the user see what's in front of them, they'll have to take it off to move around, whether or not it's wireless. Just being able to take a drink of a tasty beverage will require removing or lifting the headset too. Never mind trying to play games with other people in the room who you might want to talk to.
None of this means "failure". Headsets are probably a great idea. It just doesn't look like a two billion dollar idea to me. Not right now. I could absolutely be wrong. Of course I don't think I'm wrong. That would just be weird. Why would I be going on about this if I thought I was wrong? :-)
The winners in all this will be gamers. VR headsets are coming to market, and they are going to be well developed. The people who want VR headsets are not going to get chincy little cr@p devices. That's a good thing.
sorry I am in another conversation at the moment so I didn't read everything but I did see that word 'Microsoft'
you mean the company that can not get its console about 1080p?
as it has been stated many times 1080p is a MINUMIUM requirement for VR.
I am sure the VR headset is greatly improved and all the articles on the matter are at least some what accurate rather than as false as an Enron finical report.
As far as it being Nitch product. I personally don't give a fuck how nitch is it is.
This is an amazing example of taking one word out of context and turning it into something it isn't.
However, it does highlight something that I had not thought of. Running the calculations and pixels for two separate camera angles is going to be more taxing than running the calculations for one camera because the calculations have to be done separately, but in parallel. I would be willing to bet there are a bunch of machines that aren't going to be able to do it at their current level of image quality.
On "Microsoft". If it makes you feel better, replace "Microsoft" with "Razer" or "Valve". Microsoft was just the first thing that came to mind since I just mentioned Sony, who are developing their own VR headset. The point is that the Rift is not going to have the market space to themselves. They'll have competition. They certainly have the marketing budget to cover it, but I would wonder if it will give them the return on the investment they need.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Comments
This is an amazing example of taking one word out of context and turning it into something it isn't.
However, it does highlight something that I had not thought of. Running the calculations and pixels for two separate camera angles is going to be more taxing than running the calculations for one camera because the calculations have to be done separately, but in parallel. I would be willing to bet there are a bunch of machines that aren't going to be able to do it at their current level of image quality.
On "Microsoft". If it makes you feel better, replace "Microsoft" with "Razer" or "Valve". Microsoft was just the first thing that came to mind since I just mentioned Sony, who are developing their own VR headset. The point is that the Rift is not going to have the market space to themselves. They'll have competition. They certainly have the marketing budget to cover it, but I would wonder if it will give them the return on the investment they need.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.