Best Buy is bringing Oculus Rift demos to 500 stores this holiday season

SEANMCAD · August 2016

http://bgr.com/2016/08/24/best-buy-oculus-rift-demos/

Vrika · August 2016

Now if only they had headsets to sell.

Where I live (Finland), there's only one local store selling Rift headsets in whole country, and the last time they received Rifts from manufacturer was 21 days ago, a total of whopping one unit. The queue is insane.

Compared to HTC Vive, which is immediately available on shelves at 24 locations around the country.

SpottyGekko · August 2016

I hope many of our forum members who are unsure about VR will take this opportunity to actually experience gaming in VR !

It's something that you really have to experience yourself. Reading about it is like reading someone's description of a live music concert...

Phaserlight · August 2016

I won't be needing one. I have "just" a '16 GearVR / S6 and it only took 5 minutes to make me a true believer. I can't compare it to any other computing experience because it's not like any other computing experience.

There are very few things about the mobile world I would call "awe inspiring", but virtual reality is one of them.

Draco18s · August 2016

Preface:
I want VR to be a Thing and I want it to be good, immersive, and visceral. I want to be able to tune out the world and go on a fantasy trip and feel like it's real.

Post:
Current VR technology is a huge gimmick. I've used it, I've developed for it, it's a huge empty farce. Creating functional controls for a VR game is incredibly difficult, yes even with a motion controller (if anything, that makes it harder to make the control scheme functional! If done well it's smooth as butter, but doing it well....)

SEANMCAD · August 2016

Draco18s said:

Preface:
I want VR to be a Thing and I want it to be good, immersive, and visceral. I want to be able to tune out the world and go on a fantasy trip and feel like it's real.

Post:
Current VR technology is a huge gimmick. I've used it, I've developed for it, it's a huge empty farce. Creating functional controls for a VR game is incredibly difficult, yes even with a motion controller (if anything, that makes it harder to make the control scheme functional! If done well it's smooth as butter, but doing it well....)

I have a VR headset and I use it fairly regularly and I have played about 10 'experiences' total and it is what you 'want'

to bad your bias is missing out

maskedweasel · August 2016

Phaserlight said:

I won't be needing one. I have "just" a '16 GearVR / S6 and it only took 5 minutes to make me a true believer. I can't compare it to any other computing experience because it's not like any other computing experience.

There are very few things about the mobile world I would call "awe inspiring", but virtual reality is one of them.

A recent review detailing the new gear VR that launched with the Note 7 basically stated that with using the note 7 and the lighter set, it is by far not just the best phone VR but their current preferred VR method of all systems simply due to the ease of use and how much cross play it has between PC systems and mobile systems.

I just bought the note7 and was given a free one along with the gear s2 watch that I have to wait to be shipped.. now I have 2 gear VR sets. I setup Minecraft on my note and let my girlfriends kids play with it. As long as they are sitting they can play for a good 20 or 30 minutes before they have to take it off.

Phaserlight · August 2016

Draco18s said:

Preface:
I want VR to be a Thing and I want it to be good, immersive, and visceral. I want to be able to tune out the world and go on a fantasy trip and feel like it's real.

Post:
Current VR technology is a huge gimmick. I've used it, I've developed for it, it's a huge empty farce. Creating functional controls for a VR game is incredibly difficult, yes even with a motion controller (if anything, that makes it harder to make the control scheme functional! If done well it's smooth as butter, but doing it well....)

Really? What hardware did you develop for / on? Have you used any of the consumer products, or did you give up because developing for it was "incredibly difficult"?

For me, even just the glimpse of the tech I've had through the GearVR was a transformative experience. I can hardly wait to explore it deeper. This is speaking as a consumer, not a developer.

It's real. It's here to stay.

SEANMCAD · August 2016

maskedweasel said:

Phaserlight said:

I won't be needing one. I have "just" a '16 GearVR / S6 and it only took 5 minutes to make me a true believer. I can't compare it to any other computing experience because it's not like any other computing experience.

There are very few things about the mobile world I would call "awe inspiring", but virtual reality is one of them.

A recent review detailing the new gear VR that launched with the Note 7 basically stated that with using the note 7 and the lighter set, it is by far not just the best phone VR but their current preferred VR method of all systems simply due to the ease of use and how much cross play it has between PC systems and mobile systems.

I just bought the note7 and was given a free one along with the gear s2 watch that I have to wait to be shipped.. now I have 2 gear VR sets. I setup Minecraft on my note and let my girlfriends kids play with it. As long as they are sitting they can play for a good 20 or 30 minutes before they have to take it off.

The importance of mobile HDR can not be understated, to bad you didnt even mention it

maskedweasel · August 2016

Phaserlight said:

Draco18s said:

Preface:
I want VR to be a Thing and I want it to be good, immersive, and visceral. I want to be able to tune out the world and go on a fantasy trip and feel like it's real.

Post:
Current VR technology is a huge gimmick. I've used it, I've developed for it, it's a huge empty farce. Creating functional controls for a VR game is incredibly difficult, yes even with a motion controller (if anything, that makes it harder to make the control scheme functional! If done well it's smooth as butter, but doing it well....)

Really? What hardware did you develop for / on? Have you used any of the consumer products, or did you give up because developing for it was "incredibly difficult"?

For me, even just the glimpse of the tech I've had through the GearVR was a transformative experience. I can hardly wait to explore it deeper. This is speaking as a consumer, not a developer.

It's real. It's here to stay.

"real" and "here to stay" doesn't mean it's not a gimmick and it's not a fad. People say "you can't compare it to 3D TV" (3D TV technology is here to stay too. Look at movie theaters, do you remember 3D before with the red and blue glasses? Now it's clear as the technology went towards the consumer market. Just because its not doing well for consumers doesn't mean it's not still here)

SO instead I read a recent article that placed VR akin to more of the rise of wearables, which does seem closer to what VR will actually be, especially since it will be required to be a wearable. (So will Hololens, etc.)

With that in mind.. the wearable market was meant to be a skyrocket business in the billions, everyone would have one, company after company put millions into it - Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, HTC, Garmin, way more companies tossed as much if not more money into wearable development. We're seeing the same companies do the same thing for VR.

Now thats not to say wearables have declined, I think they've reached saturation in a relatively short time. I own a Fitbit and I just got a gear s2 for free that will be shipped to me, so sure the wearable market is still around and will never go anywhere. It's a business.

That being said though, its meteoric rise has hit a few snags, this was the first year the industry declined, whereas it had projections initially to steadily climb through 2020.

SEANMCAD · August 2016

maskedweasel said:

Phaserlight said:

Draco18s said:

Preface:
I want VR to be a Thing and I want it to be good, immersive, and visceral. I want to be able to tune out the world and go on a fantasy trip and feel like it's real.

Post:
Current VR technology is a huge gimmick. I've used it, I've developed for it, it's a huge empty farce. Creating functional controls for a VR game is incredibly difficult, yes even with a motion controller (if anything, that makes it harder to make the control scheme functional! If done well it's smooth as butter, but doing it well....)

Really? What hardware did you develop for / on? Have you used any of the consumer products, or did you give up because developing for it was "incredibly difficult"?

For me, even just the glimpse of the tech I've had through the GearVR was a transformative experience. I can hardly wait to explore it deeper. This is speaking as a consumer, not a developer.

It's real. It's here to stay.

"real" and "here to stay" doesn't mean it's not a gimmick and it's not a fad.

so basically its a word without any meaning in the context of a VR discussion and is fairly random.

maskedweasel · August 2016

SEANMCAD said:

maskedweasel said:

Phaserlight said:

I won't be needing one. I have "just" a '16 GearVR / S6 and it only took 5 minutes to make me a true believer. I can't compare it to any other computing experience because it's not like any other computing experience.

There are very few things about the mobile world I would call "awe inspiring", but virtual reality is one of them.

A recent review detailing the new gear VR that launched with the Note 7 basically stated that with using the note 7 and the lighter set, it is by far not just the best phone VR but their current preferred VR method of all systems simply due to the ease of use and how much cross play it has between PC systems and mobile systems.

I just bought the note7 and was given a free one along with the gear s2 watch that I have to wait to be shipped.. now I have 2 gear VR sets. I setup Minecraft on my note and let my girlfriends kids play with it. As long as they are sitting they can play for a good 20 or 30 minutes before they have to take it off.

The importance of mobile HDR can not be understated, to bad you didnt even mention it

...why does that matter? thats pointless for the purpose of my post.

SEANMCAD · August 2016

maskedweasel said:

SEANMCAD said:

maskedweasel said:

Phaserlight said:

I won't be needing one. I have "just" a '16 GearVR / S6 and it only took 5 minutes to make me a true believer. I can't compare it to any other computing experience because it's not like any other computing experience.

There are very few things about the mobile world I would call "awe inspiring", but virtual reality is one of them.

A recent review detailing the new gear VR that launched with the Note 7 basically stated that with using the note 7 and the lighter set, it is by far not just the best phone VR but their current preferred VR method of all systems simply due to the ease of use and how much cross play it has between PC systems and mobile systems.

I just bought the note7 and was given a free one along with the gear s2 watch that I have to wait to be shipped.. now I have 2 gear VR sets. I setup Minecraft on my note and let my girlfriends kids play with it. As long as they are sitting they can play for a good 20 or 30 minutes before they have to take it off.

The importance of mobile HDR can not be understated, to bad you didnt even mention it

...why does that matter? thats pointless for the purpose of my post.

we will need to know what 'gimmick' means to you in order to have a discussion on this.

maskedweasel · August 2016

SEANMCAD said:

maskedweasel said:

SEANMCAD said:

maskedweasel said:

Phaserlight said:

I won't be needing one. I have "just" a '16 GearVR / S6 and it only took 5 minutes to make me a true believer. I can't compare it to any other computing experience because it's not like any other computing experience.

There are very few things about the mobile world I would call "awe inspiring", but virtual reality is one of them.

A recent review detailing the new gear VR that launched with the Note 7 basically stated that with using the note 7 and the lighter set, it is by far not just the best phone VR but their current preferred VR method of all systems simply due to the ease of use and how much cross play it has between PC systems and mobile systems.

I just bought the note7 and was given a free one along with the gear s2 watch that I have to wait to be shipped.. now I have 2 gear VR sets. I setup Minecraft on my note and let my girlfriends kids play with it. As long as they are sitting they can play for a good 20 or 30 minutes before they have to take it off.

The importance of mobile HDR can not be understated, to bad you didnt even mention it

...why does that matter? thats pointless for the purpose of my post.

we will need to know what 'gimmick' means to you in order to have a discussion on this.

Use a dictionary.

SEANMCAD · August 2016

maskedweasel said:

SEANMCAD said:

maskedweasel said:

SEANMCAD said:

maskedweasel said:

Phaserlight said:

I won't be needing one. I have "just" a '16 GearVR / S6 and it only took 5 minutes to make me a true believer. I can't compare it to any other computing experience because it's not like any other computing experience.

There are very few things about the mobile world I would call "awe inspiring", but virtual reality is one of them.

A recent review detailing the new gear VR that launched with the Note 7 basically stated that with using the note 7 and the lighter set, it is by far not just the best phone VR but their current preferred VR method of all systems simply due to the ease of use and how much cross play it has between PC systems and mobile systems.

I just bought the note7 and was given a free one along with the gear s2 watch that I have to wait to be shipped.. now I have 2 gear VR sets. I setup Minecraft on my note and let my girlfriends kids play with it. As long as they are sitting they can play for a good 20 or 30 minutes before they have to take it off.

The importance of mobile HDR can not be understated, to bad you didnt even mention it

...why does that matter? thats pointless for the purpose of my post.

we will need to know what 'gimmick' means to you in order to have a discussion on this.

Use a dictionary.

do you agree with the dictionary version? I care what YOU define it as because the intent of communication is more important. thus if you are in agreement with the dictionary then I will use that and we can move forward

SEANMCAD · August 2016

Torval said:

I don't think this is going to do a lot to boost the sales. I can already tell the VR experience, in its present iteration, is mostly a gimmick, at least with gaming. It's also non-immersive and doesn't look that great compared to 4k gaming.

I dont know what you guys mean when you say 'gimmick' (and more than one person chooses to use this exact word) however I have a Rift and I have played about 10 experiences total, 1 of which is a long term game that I have played long term and I have tried porn and I can tell you in all cases its mind blowing amazing and I am looking forward to buying more VR games that have deeper content. No question at all in my mind on this. Now does that still make it a 'gimmick'? I have no fucking idea. But there is no way in hell 4K is better in my mind, not even close

Phaserlight · August 2016

maskedweasel said:

Phaserlight said:

Draco18s said:

Preface:
I want VR to be a Thing and I want it to be good, immersive, and visceral. I want to be able to tune out the world and go on a fantasy trip and feel like it's real.

Post:
Current VR technology is a huge gimmick. I've used it, I've developed for it, it's a huge empty farce. Creating functional controls for a VR game is incredibly difficult, yes even with a motion controller (if anything, that makes it harder to make the control scheme functional! If done well it's smooth as butter, but doing it well....)

Really? What hardware did you develop for / on? Have you used any of the consumer products, or did you give up because developing for it was "incredibly difficult"?

For me, even just the glimpse of the tech I've had through the GearVR was a transformative experience. I can hardly wait to explore it deeper. This is speaking as a consumer, not a developer.

It's real. It's here to stay.

"real" and "here to stay" doesn't mean it's not a gimmick and it's not a fad. People say "you can't compare it to 3D TV" (3D TV technology is here to stay too. Look at movie theaters, do you remember 3D before with the red and blue glasses? Now it's clear as the technology went towards the consumer market. Just because its not doing well for consumers doesn't mean it's not still here)

SO instead I read a recent article that placed VR akin to more of the rise of wearables, which does seem closer to what VR will actually be, especially since it will be required to be a wearable. (So will Hololens, etc.)

With that in mind.. the wearable market was meant to be a skyrocket business in the billions, everyone would have one, company after company put millions into it - Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, HTC, Garmin, way more companies tossed as much if not more money into wearable development. We're seeing the same companies do the same thing for VR.

Now thats not to say wearables have declined, I think they've reached saturation in a relatively short time. I own a Fitbit and I just got a gear s2 for free that will be shipped to me, so sure the wearable market is still around and will never go anywhere. It's a business.

That being said though, its meteoric rise has hit a few snags, this was the first year the industry declined, whereas it had projections initially to steadily climb through 2020.

""real" and "here to stay" doesn't mean it's not a gimmick and it's not a fad. "

You're right; I can't see the future. I don't have precognitive talent. However, I do know that those simple five minutes in virtual reality were the most important moment in computing for me since early childhood. It is something that will be getting my money and support.

Comparing it to any other technology is pointless, in my opinion. It's not like other tech.

I doubt I would have the same emotional reaction to a FitBit that I had to the opening scene of my first VR experience. Wearables don't have the ability to 'take me to another place' like Annie Amber.

As @SpottyGekko said, describing it is kind of like talking about a concert experience. However, concerts have been around for a while; this is new.

immodium · August 2016

Torval said:

I don't think this is going to do a lot to boost the sales. I can already tell the VR experience, in its present iteration, is mostly a gimmick, at least with gaming. It's also non-immersive and doesn't look that great compared to 4k gaming.

I tend to agree. I will only get interested in VR when I don't have to be active to use it. I don't want to be moving my head or other body parts to move things in game.

I want the device to read my brain signals.

SEANMCAD · August 2016

Phaserlight said:

maskedweasel said:

Phaserlight said:

Draco18s said:

Preface:
I want VR to be a Thing and I want it to be good, immersive, and visceral. I want to be able to tune out the world and go on a fantasy trip and feel like it's real.

Post:
Current VR technology is a huge gimmick. I've used it, I've developed for it, it's a huge empty farce. Creating functional controls for a VR game is incredibly difficult, yes even with a motion controller (if anything, that makes it harder to make the control scheme functional! If done well it's smooth as butter, but doing it well....)

Really? What hardware did you develop for / on? Have you used any of the consumer products, or did you give up because developing for it was "incredibly difficult"?

For me, even just the glimpse of the tech I've had through the GearVR was a transformative experience. I can hardly wait to explore it deeper. This is speaking as a consumer, not a developer.

It's real. It's here to stay.

"real" and "here to stay" doesn't mean it's not a gimmick and it's not a fad. People say "you can't compare it to 3D TV" (3D TV technology is here to stay too. Look at movie theaters, do you remember 3D before with the red and blue glasses? Now it's clear as the technology went towards the consumer market. Just because its not doing well for consumers doesn't mean it's not still here)

SO instead I read a recent article that placed VR akin to more of the rise of wearables, which does seem closer to what VR will actually be, especially since it will be required to be a wearable. (So will Hololens, etc.)

With that in mind.. the wearable market was meant to be a skyrocket business in the billions, everyone would have one, company after company put millions into it - Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, HTC, Garmin, way more companies tossed as much if not more money into wearable development. We're seeing the same companies do the same thing for VR.

Now thats not to say wearables have declined, I think they've reached saturation in a relatively short time. I own a Fitbit and I just got a gear s2 for free that will be shipped to me, so sure the wearable market is still around and will never go anywhere. It's a business.

That being said though, its meteoric rise has hit a few snags, this was the first year the industry declined, whereas it had projections initially to steadily climb through 2020.

""real" and "here to stay" doesn't mean it's not a gimmick and it's not a fad. "

You're right; I can't see the future. I don't have precognitive talent. However, I do know that those simple five minutes in virtual reality were the most important moment in computing for me since early childhood. It is something that will be getting my money and support.

Comparing it to any other technology is pointless, in my opinion. It's not like other tech.

I doubt I would have the same emotional reaction to a FitBit that I had to the opening scene of my first VR experience. Wearables don't have the ability to 'take me to another place' like Annie Amber.

As @SpottyGekko said, describing it is kind of like talking about a concert experience. However, concerts have been around for a while; this is new.

I have a Rift at home and reading some of these posts are mind blowing, they are basically saying the experiences I have when I go home are actually not happening.

Phaserlight · August 2016

immodium said:

Torval said:

I don't think this is going to do a lot to boost the sales. I can already tell the VR experience, in its present iteration, is mostly a gimmick, at least with gaming. It's also non-immersive and doesn't look that great compared to 4k gaming.

I tend to agree. I will only get interested in VR when I don't have to be active to use it. I don't want to be moving my head or other body parts to move things in game.

I want the device to read my brain signals.

I totally get that; I've had similar thoughts myself. Just wait until you try it... that's all I can say (regarding the GearVR, of course. I haven't had the pleasure of demoing Vive or Rift as of yet).

laserit · August 2016

I enjoy the current iteration of VR in racing simulations using my G27. Being able to do shoulder checks and things, I find it very immersive.

Other games I've tried, I find meh...

@SEANMCAD of course this is subjective

SEANMCAD · August 2016

laserit said:

I enjoy the current iteration of VR in racing simulations using my G27. Being able to do shoulder checks and things, I find it very immersive.

Other games I've tried, I find meh...

@SEANMCAD of course this is subjective

I would say a VR experience compared to sitting in a pile of deadcats and manue is not subjective

observer · August 2016

I see the usual skeptics and pessimists have already arrived in this thread.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see Best Buy's preorders/sales after these demos are finally tested by their customers. It's too bad there won't be any Vive demos though, because i've read great things about it. Oculus Rift might give a terrible impression on people, especially with it's price tag and requirements.

Draco18s · August 2016

Phaserlight said:
Really? What hardware did you develop for / on? Have you used any of the consumer products, or did you give up because developing for it was "incredibly difficult"?

For me, even just the glimpse of the tech I've had through the GearVR was a transformative experience. I can hardly wait to explore it deeper. This is speaking as a consumer, not a developer.

I've developed for the Rift DK1, DK2, and the consumer version.

Mind, the developing I did on the consumer version was about 8 hours worth (company brought me in for a trial period to see how I worked, then hired nobody).

Most of my experience was with DK1, when my company at the time purchased a DK2, there were compatibility problems with Unity3D (which have since been fixed), but the difference in terms of developing was minor compared to DK1 (it just had better resolution).

The most amazing thing I've done with the Rift was actually pairing it with the Leap Motion, and aside from the blind spots (due to "shadows" cast by your own hands) it was a dream to play with (that is, as a user, not as a developer).

But see, here's the thing:

Motion Sickness. If you get it, there is almost nothing you can do to alleviate it and still get the same game experience. The primary way to avoid causing motion sickness in your players is for the camera to never move. That is, it must either be in a fixed position for ever, or teleport.

I don't know about you, but that's not how I want to experience my games.

SEANMCAD said:
I have a VR headset and I use it fairly regularly and I have played about 10 'experiences' total and it is what you 'want'

Wow! TEN whole experiences!
Man, that must be totally worth the $700 for the hardware.

SEANMCAD · August 2016

observer said:

I see the usual skeptics and pessimists have already arrived in this thread.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see Best Buy's preorders/sales after these demos are finally tested by their customers. It's too bad there won't be any Vive demos though, because i've read great things about it. Oculus Rift might give a terrible impression on people, especially with it's price tag and requirements.

not to get into a console war however I do agree that HTC is a better option I dont think the differences are nearly far apart enough to create negative views. They just need to be sure to have the Touch controllers in place.

and just for the recorded the visual quality is better on the Rift, and is a lighter headset. The motion cameras also capture a larger area then people originally thought, the difference between the two headsets will not be apparent to someone who has never even tried VR yet

Phaserlight · August 2016

Draco18s said:

Phaserlight said:
Really? What hardware did you develop for / on? Have you used any of the consumer products, or did you give up because developing for it was "incredibly difficult"?

For me, even just the glimpse of the tech I've had through the GearVR was a transformative experience. I can hardly wait to explore it deeper. This is speaking as a consumer, not a developer.
I've developed for the Rift DK1, DK2, and the consumer version.

Mind, the developing I did on the consumer version was about 8 hours worth (company brought me in for a trial period to see how I worked, then hired nobody).

Most of my experience was with DK1, when my company at the time purchased a DK2, there were compatibility problems with Unity3D (which have since been fixed), but the difference in terms of developing was minor compared to DK1 (it just had better resolution).

The most amazing thing I've done with the Rift was actually pairing it with the Leap Motion, and aside from the blind spots (due to "shadows" cast by your own hands) it was a dream to play with (that is, as a user, not as a developer).

But see, here's the thing:

Motion Sickness. If you get it, there is almost nothing you can do to alleviate it and still get the same game experience. The primary way to avoid causing motion sickness in your players is for the camera to never move. That is, it must either be in a fixed position for ever, or teleport.

I don't know about you, but that's not how I want to experience my games.

SEANMCAD said:
I have a VR headset and I use it fairly regularly and I have played about 10 'experiences' total and it is what you 'want'

Wow! TEN whole experiences!
Man, that must be totally worth the $700 for the hardware.

Reading posts like these remind me why I'm sometimes glad I'm not a developer :-)

No, really... it's a career path I've considered, but it seems a bit like the Hollywood industry from what I can gather. Sometimes it's nice to just sit back and enjoy a game without worrying about the nuts and bolts of it, or to understand that someone probably spent a lot of hard work going over something again and again to the point where any initial luster it had for the designer has long since worn out, but to 35-year-old-me seeing it for the first time it still shines.

Like, I had a film class in college, and since then I can never again look at a movie quite the same way. Video games are not so academically deconstructed, for me.

anyway

Motion sickness... I read an interesting post this morning saying maybe we're just not culturally adapted to it yet (comparing Michael Bay to Lumiere)?

I can now say that I very much understand why people get it. I doubt I'm that type (somehow I've always 'known' this?), but in the VR example I gave earlier my POV did get pulled across the floor when I would look at these luminescent circles, and my inner ears freaked right the (*#& out. It was about 4x as strong as any other vertigo-inducing effect I've experienced from any kind of personal video tech, maybe 1.5-2x as strong as IMAX.

At the same time, it was rather exciting to have this tactile sensation produced by a video game. The "game" was literally making me feel something, if only a buzz in my inner ear. It's hard to describe. I didn't expect the feeling to be so strong. This doesn't mean it was at all negative, and I would probably have a great time in rollercoaster / fighter jet sims and whatnot.

...I know I'm strange.

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Best Buy is bringing Oculus Rift demos to 500 stores this holiday season

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Best Buy is bringing Oculus Rift demos to 500 stores this holiday season

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