VR Had A Great Year, But It Feels Like A Swansong

It's not very hard to see why VR isn't doing too well even when it does do well.

One, it's a headset that costs as much as a whole console just to play video games.

Two, its game library is STILL TO THIS DAY mostly filled up with experimental-type video games. There are more dumb fun games where you pick up and throw a bunch of stuff and that's it.

Three, it gives you very bad motion sickness to the point where you just cannot play the game at all. Making the overall investment completely not worth it.

Four, and how the industry has been going they're not really bringing any video games that people want. Which is epic AAA quality games but VR. But sadly, the industry is so cooked right now with all these dumb live service games, microtransactions, season passes, force multiplayer/online, and utterly bland open worlds. That it makes you sit there and think, “Do we even want AAA quality in our VR games”.

I mean it's rough man. VR needs 7th Gen and 6th Gen Type games to really pick it up. But everything that's been put on it so far just seems like those Garry's mod-esque Steam games that you buy for $10 to play on early access.

VR isn’t going anywhere. Every year, the death of it is greatly exaggerated. There is a lot of interest. Everyone doing VR is just doing a poor job at getting interested people to buy in. The biggest barrier to its success is price. After that, it’s the games. More AAA games need to be made for it. Next, those games need to be marketed to a bigger audience. They can’t just be advertised on gaming websites, or shadow dropped without much, or any, build-up. They need commercials on network television. They need ads on Netflix. Eventually, I fully believe that Sony, Meta and devs will start doing a better job at all of those things, and VR will really take off. They’re already working on getting bigger and better games made. Now those games need to really be shown off, and the price of hardware needs to come down.

I'm still having fun with it. Maybe it isn't a mainstream thing yet but that's ok, there is still a dedicated community enjoying it and producing content.

I think VR is going the way of 3D televisions. Incredibly popular for about 2/3years and then just phased out.

December 28, 2024 - (I always date my comments, so that they well be taken in the proper context). In the early days of contact lenses, new wearers were told that initially you would see a "halo" around the lenses. However, the brain can adopt to that kind of thing, and eventually the "halo" did disappear. I would like to think that as time goes on, the VR producers, perhaps with the assistance of game developers. Will find a way to teach the brain to adjust to VR usage. On the other hand, as pointed out by commenters here, it may remain the interest of a small percentage of the population.

I loved VR gaming at the start, being an older gamer (66) it was fun to find something new. But then games started coming out that went back to the 'kill someone in as realistic or gory way as possible" and I lost interest.

I've not used my headset for about a year now and I'm not sure if I will again, which is a shame as there were some interesting non-killing games around in the VR world

I agree the technology for VR is more advanced now, but it still has work to do. I was excited the first time i used VR machine but it did not last long as I looked at the hoops I had to go through with Steam as I have plenty of VR games there and the VR store in Meta not so much first-class VR games, but it appears that is changing. I also wondering the effects on one eye as I did not stay on it for long period of time because of that issue. But for the first time it was breathtaking as it was like a whole new world.

2024 was such a great year for VR that it convinced me to buy my first VR headset (Meta Quest 3). There were just so many great games out for VR (Batman: Arkham Shadow was the killer app for me) that I *had* to get one. I don't regret it one bit! VR is amazing. As for motion sickness, you can get over motion sickness by getting your "VR legs." What I mean by that is when you first start out VR, don't start with the intense games first (where you have to run and gun). Start out with social media hubs like Meta Horizon Worlds where you can walk around and do things at your leisure (and maybe make some new friends along the way). After a while your mind will get used to VR and you won't feel motion sickness. You have to train your mind for VR.

"The Meta Quest 3 256 GB model costs $499"

There is no 256GB version of the Quest 3. The 512GB model costs $500.

It's going to continue to be a niche product until someone develops a wireless, light, affordable standalone headset, with at least the abilities of a high end PC and the power of an RTX 4090 behind it. We're just not there yet. For me, an enthusiast, I'm totally happy. Being able to play games like the classic 90's FPS's from the past has been a blast and a dream come true! That along with the likes of Saints and Sinners, Ghosts of Tabor, and Contractors ExfilZone are the types of gaming experiences I've been waiting for since the first time I've ever even heard of virtual reality. I'm not the target audience though, and they'll need to hook the mainstream, casual gamer.

VR is a mixed bag. Mostly, it is motion sickness and comfort that are the limitations. I play a lot of VR. I am either loving it for hours or feeling sick after only a few minutes. I play iRacing and MS Flight Simulator without issues. Ever. I would never go back to 2D for those games. I never, ever feel sick or tired. However, the minute I play a game where I walk or run I wanna throw up and have a headache to boot. You would think the flying or driving game would be worse, but that is not the case. They are 100% fine and are friggin awesome experiences. I believe it is mostly because we are conditioned to the movement of cars and planes and generally don't feel the speed inside the cockpit. I also have no issue with the headset's comfort because wearing a helmet in a real race car is natural.

I don't think VR will ever solve the motion sickness issue with walking and running until an omnidirectional treadmill is included.. but who the heck wants to walk when playing a game? That sounds like a lot of work ;). VR will always be a niche for certain types of games.

VR is the biggest leap in player interface since adding the Y axis in 3d games.

A VR is dying article, must be end of the year again.

I think this is about the... seventh time around for VR? But it never will be anything but a tiny niche till the hardware's there (high fps high res in each eye, wirelessly, comfortable, not bound to f*&!ing Facebook), which is probably another 5 years. We've said this every time the fad comes around and every time 'No, You Poopyheads, This Time For Sure!' But it never is. There is eventual hope on the hardware side though.

"Looking ahead, some studios continue to show active investment in the space. In an interview withGame Informerabout the VR rendition of the Resident Evil 4 remake, producer Masato Kumazawa said that one of the reasons for releasing VR versions of Village and RE4R for free is to help expand the VR market."

The problem with that take, is, like Meta, they are solely focused on limiting it to their own headsets only. Their own fiefdoms essentially carved up on an already limited selection at a high price uptake with high requirements for the user end.

This imo, has hurt VR profoundly. Valve had the correct attitude with Alyx, using their big hitter to put it on as many headsets as possible.

The others have had a short term, cut your own nose off, attitude where it's about trying to force early adaptors through enforced limitation.

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If had a criticism about the article it seems to have completely ignored the modding scene. Stuff like Halflife 2 VR (edit my dumb didn't read to the end)

Think modding will keep it going and will have a community regardless of what happens.

I swear that HL Alex single-handedly killed the VR games market. It set the bar too high.

With the new release of the Omni one and it's popularity, I don't see a "swan song". It is a very narrow market, but if they keep moving towards Ready Player One style it will be a big hit. We will see sooner or later one way or the other.

VR is an incredible experience, still my favorite way to play games. It was transcendent.

Unfortunately, there are too many exclusives out there and it is cannibalizing the market. Almost every game should be multiplatform, as VR is still in its infancy. No one wants to spend 600 dollars on a headset and only get 1/4 of the available games on the market. It would be a different story VR was accessible to the masses like consoles are, but it isn't there yet, and never will be if it isnt given the opportunity to bloom.

VR reminds me of Star Citizen. It's still there, plugging along, maintaining its niche, and maybe someday it'll be a big deal, but right now it's still pretty far removed from the mainstream and the cost of getting a good setup is way too high.

vr is going to get better if i could turn and walking/run in that virtual world, not standing there and point where i want to go.