Virtual Reality

[MartyG]

Yes, hence saying above: Probably makes more sense to wait for Quest 3, which given what I've been playing with today I think is going to be worthwhile

[huxley]

HL Episode one VR mod out today

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2177750/HalfLife_2_VR_Mod__Episode_One/

[Asura]

Played my first game of Population One today great fun honestly.

[MartyG]

Quest Pro got its price drop to £999 in the UK. I had another look and I'm almost tempted, with the controllers still at £300, this makes the headset £700 essentially. However, unless you're actually going to use this in a B2B way, there really isn't much reason in not going with a Quest 2 (or waiting for Quest 3).

I have been enjoying using the Pico 4 for PCVR, it's been excellent for flight sims clarity wise. Those pancake lenses make a big difference over the Fresnel lenses, just a much bigger sweet spot. I've played a bit more Beat Saber with the headset, and I'm now of the opinion that it can't quite keep up with the tracking on Quest 2 for the really fast songs (and Quest 2 can't compete with Index), it loses tracking easier when there's occlusion.

Definitely still worth considering if you want a cheap PCVR headset (not sure I'd get one as a standalone over the Quest 2).

[huxley]

I`m going to the Dali exhibition in London next month, apparently the headsets are Quest pros. Interested to try one out.

https://immersive-dali.com/london/

[MENTION=42]MartyG[/MENTION] I`m weighing up my options as I want to get rid of my Index, it just feels bulky and cumbersome, but I love the controllers and the speed and accuracy of the lighthouse units. I`m swaying towards the Bigscreen HMD but I`m concerned about quality........ what to do?

[MartyG]

Wait for the Quest 3 I think, or see if Value surprises us with Index 2 - it all depends on how much you value the tracking. The new Quest controllers with their own tracking are probably on par with lighthouse tracking now.

[huxley]

Wait for the Quest 3 I think, or see if Value surprises us with Index 2 - it all depends on how much you value the tracking. The new Quest controllers with their own tracking are probably on par with lighthouse tracking now.

mmmm food for thought. but its Facebook, sorry Meta. f they come out with something mind blowing and cheap i could be swayed. But it has to be game changing for me to let Zuck get any data from me.

[MartyG]

Some new glasses coming from Rokid, this time the Air Max, now running on micro OLED screens at 120 FPS: https://global.rokid.com/en-gb/products/rokid-max

These are not full VR headsets, it's more for media consumption, they support 3DOF (so really like a much smaller and lighter Oculus Go). If your main use of this tech is media consumption, they might be worth looking at. These replace the Air and will be shipping in May.

Tyriel Wood has a video on them here:

[Neon Ignition]

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Apple seems to be getting cold feet

[huxley]

Half Life 2 Episode 2 VR mod is out now on steam.

[Asura]

https://uploadvr.com/breachers-available-now/

Excited about this; I tried the Alpha and enjoyed it.

[huxley]

Not gaming as such. But a VR experience is a part of the current Dali exhibition on in London (Brick Lane)

https://immersive-dali.com/london/

Went today, if you are in town its worth a look

[Asura]

Two data-points this week.

Firstly, it's been revealed that Beat Saber has made $255million since release.

Now, of course, Beat Saber is one of those freakish successes, similar in manner to Dr Kawashima's or Halo, in that it's a one-off big success that you can't really repeat. Just because World of Warcraft made money doesn't mean MMORPGs make money. Still, it's a ceiling; it gives an idea of, if things go really, really well, this is the current apex of what a VR game can make. If a publisher wants to make a billion-dollar product in the space, then they simply can't.

Secondly, Meta have revealed that the Quest 2 has an MAU (month-average-users) of 6.86million.

A bit of janky maths suggests this to be around 18% of Steam's MAU; but Steam's MAU is really high and obviously, you don't need to put on a VR headset to use Steam.

These two figures are probably in reaction to recent discussions online (some of them in news articles) that the VR industry is a bit opaque; it's hard to see how much things are making, so investors are hesitant. It'll be interesting to see whether this affects things.

[MartyG]

A bit of janky maths suggests this to be around 18% of Steam's MAU; but Steam's MAU is really high and obviously, you don't need to put on a VR headset to use Steam..

So, there are more installed Quest users using Quest monthly (~30%) than Steam users. That seems pretty good given as you say, you have to go to the bother of putting on a headset.

[Asura]

So, there are more installed Quest users using Quest monthly ~30%) than Steam users. That seems pretty good given as you say, you have to go to the bother of putting on a headset.

Just to check, are you saying - approximately 1/3rd of Quest users used it at least once a month? As yes, that seems to be the case, as the estimates for the Quest sales vary but hover around 25-30 million.

Again, I think this was to combat the suggestion the console's retention rate was bad; naturally this means 2/3rds of people who own Quests have since put them on a shelf or in a drawer and rarely use them, but I think Meta's point is that the 1/3rd who are still using it still amounts to around 7 million active users, playing stuff and potentially buying stuff.