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The Year of the VR

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Gameface

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I'm pretty sure 2020 is the year when VR (Virtual Reality) is going to become mainstream. Well, maybe not mainstream, but it's going to become a thing this year. This is the beginning.


There are a number of affordable VR options ranging from $200 to $500. But Valve released what is essentially the first 2nd gen VR system in June, the Valve Index. It is an expensive option, coming in at $999, but it is a legit entry into the second generation of home VR. Late November Valve also announced a new Half-Life game, Half-Life: Alyx which will be VR only. Shortly thereafter they sold out of their $1000 VR units. If you don't know what Half-Life is, this is probably a good point to stop reading. If you do, you probably just logged into Steam if you didn't already know about this.

The Valve Index and the new Half-Life game are going to drive VR sales this holiday season and will spur massive PC upgrades in 2020.

New VR content will surely follow. New VR hardware will come after that.

This is the moment. This is when VR will become a thing.

2020 is going to be the year of VR.

 
I'm going to do a little bump and then wait. 2020 is the year of VR. I called it and I'l post again here when it is overwhelmingly confirmed.
 
I have a VR headset, the HTC Vive.

I bought it probably six months and haven't used it in a few months. I enjoyed playing Skyrim on it and a few other games. My favorite thing was looking at Google earth on it. I spent hours just looking at random places in the world.

VR just needs more polished games.
 
Gameface said:
I'm pretty sure 2020 is the year when VR (Virtual Reality) is going to become mainstream. Well, maybe not mainstream, but it's going to become a thing this year. This is the beginning.


There are a number of affordable VR options ranging from $200 to $500. But Valve released what is essentially the first 2nd gen VR system in June, the Valve Index. It is an expensive option, coming in at $999, but it is a legit entry into the second generation of home VR. Late November Valve also announced a new Half-Life game, Half-Life: Alyx which will be VR only. Shortly thereafter they sold out of their $1000 VR units. If you don't know what Half-Life is, this is probably a good point to stop reading. If you do, you probably just logged into Steam if you didn't already know about this.

The Valve Index and the new Half-Life game are going to drive VR sales this holiday season and will spur massive PC upgrades in 2020.

New VR content will surely follow. New VR hardware will come after that.

This is the moment. This is when VR will become a thing.

2020 is going to be the year of VR.

Click to expand...

Gameface said:
I'm going to do a little bump and then wait. 2020 is the year of VR. I called it and I'l post again here when it is overwhelmingly confirmed.
Click to expand...
I respect that you called your shot publicly. I am not a gamer but I do like making money, that being said, do you have any thoughts on public companies that will be involved/benefit from the VR growth (Steam/Valve are private companies)?
 
I don't know much about the gaming world and about virtual reality. But I'm currently reading the book "Warcross" by Marie Lu. In the book, VR and the game Warcross has changed the entire world, and I was thinking last night whether that is a world I would like to see. It is life magnified, I guess, but it seems a little unhealthy to me. But then I'm a dinosaur, so what do I know?
 
Archie Moses said:
I have a VR headset, the HTC Vive.

I bought it probably six months and haven't used it in a few months. I enjoyed playing Skyrim on it and a few other games. My favorite thing was looking at Google earth on it. I spent hours just looking at random places in the world.

VR just needs more polished games.
Click to expand...
I think half life alyx might be that game.

Sent from my SM-G973U using JazzFanz mobile app
 
firegirl said:
Thoughts on the Quest?


Sent from my iPhone using JazzFanz
Click to expand...
I'm not all that knowledgeable about all the different VR units. I'm just noticing what the announcement of the new half life has done for sales of the Valve Index and what a big AAA VR game might do to the industry.

Sent from my SM-G973U using JazzFanz mobile app
 
Virtual reality will be a massive growth sector over the next decade but is just one aspect of immersive technology. AR (augmented reality) and MR (mixed reality) sectors have even more potential. In ten years the combined market size for immersive technologies could easily approach a trillion dollars.
 
My son got the Quest VR a few weeks ago. I played ping pong on it and it's pretty incredible.
 
I have not tried VR yet, is it really all that it's cracked up to be? Is the picture clear? Is it like having a monitor in front of your face?

I jumped on the 3D bandwagon back in 2012 and got a Nvidia 3D vision monitor. Then again in 2013 when I got a Samsung 3Dtv and bluray player. I know 3D ended up being pretty gimmicky and is dead now, but Jurassic Park in 3D is still pretty neat.
 
reignman40 said:
I have not tried VR yet, is it really all that it's cracked up to be? Is the picture clear? Is it like having a monitor in front of your face?

I jumped on the 3D bandwagon back in 2012 and got a Nvidia 3D vision monitor. Then again in 2013 when I got a Samsung 3Dtv and bluray player. I know 3D ended up being pretty gimmicky and is dead now, but Jurassic Park in 3D is still pretty neat.
Click to expand...

I'd say it is now.
 
https://www.engadget.com/2019/12/24..._83YrAOdse7TL-9_rbPcD2Me8fSlBfLjh0CfBH0tRO99n

2020 is VR's make-or-break year
In the nearly four years since the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive hit retail shelves, VR has gone from being the most exciting new computing medium around -- something that could be as transformational as the internet itself -- to a niche accessory for gamers with too much money. New headsets have come and gone, cheap mobile VR was briefly popular (before going extinct) and standalone virtual reality devices have finally arrived. It'd be wrong to say there's been no progress in the world of VR, but it still feels as if we're waiting for it to truly take off as a medium.

Where's the killer app? Where's the affordable hardware that everyone can buy (that doesn't deliver a dumbed down experience)? How, exactly, will developers make money without releasing yet another zombie game? There's still so much left up in the air for a medium that arrived amid a torrent of hype.

Looking ahead to 2020, though, there are signs that things could shape up. Valve's upcoming Half-Life: Alyx is exactly the sort of VR exclusive that could push gamers to pick up a headset. There's already an uproar among Half-Life fans about the game being available only in VR, with no way to play it on a traditional monitor. Clearly, Valve is leaving money on the table by doing that, but it's also a sign that it's dedicated to the new medium. And if it's a success, Half-Life: Alyx will also prove to other developers that it's worth taking a risk on VR.
Click to expand...
 
Here's my problem with VR: I wear glasses. Nothing I've seen has been comfortable or even really workable for me.

EDIT: OK, I just found this. This company makes prescription lens inserts for the major VR headsets. https://vr-lens-lab.com/
 
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gandalfe said:
Here's my problem with VR: I wear glasses. Nothing I've seen has been comfortable or even really workable for me.

EDIT: OK, I just found this. This company makes prescription lens inserts for the major VR headsets. https://vr-lens-lab.com/
Click to expand...
The Valve Index allows you to adjust how close the VR lenses are from your face. By all accounts it's also the most comfortable headset yet.

EDIT:nvm looks like it doesn't work well with glasses.
 
Anyone have any VR porn experience? I need to mix it up. Though I wouldn’t want to blow a load all over the headset or anything.
 
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