At which price point would you surrender to VR?

[Globusdiablo]

I'm one of I think many who want to fly Elite: Dangerous in VR. The Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are the two viable options at the moment.

I now have the machine to pull it off, but I simply just can not bring myself to spending the amount requested.

I now find myself waiting more on a price drop than a next generation, knowing full well that gen 2 will be far better and probably no more than a year away at most.

If you were to buy a Vive or an Oculus (delivery/taxes and what not included), what would you be willing to spend?

After much pondering, my wishes for phantom prices, that would make me go out and splash, drops amounts to:

• 500 GBP for the Vive
  [*]350 GBP for the Oculus

Here's hoping.

Fly safe commanders.

 

[[VR] Frank_G]

In its current state of being technology on the edge, its not about pricing at all. Its about taking the road to VR or not. Its far from being a reasonable priced home entertainment system and its not only the HMD. You need a high end gaming rig with a decent processor, lots of fast RAM and the best graphics card you can afford... Naming prices is something for when the market is full of good HMDs and the high end rigs of today are better mid class hardware. In 5 years might be a good time to think about that approach again.

 

[Draxxen]

I would pay the current price if VR were working smoothly and the gear was a bit more user friendly in size, shape and function.
When they are more like glasses/goggles where you can switch between screen and desktop is when I will invest. Presuming they also work with my hardware and software.

 

[Cliché]

I'm not so sure about that year estimate for generation 2. I'd love to see that, but I wouldn't expect more than minor upgrades for 2-3 years. Probably more than 5 years for super light weight, wireless, super high definition screens, and real hand interfaces. I probably won't live to see a direct optical interface.

The Razer HDK2 is only about 310 GPB (at least in the States). [money]

 

[avow555]

I don't think the current price is anywhere near what I would pay, maybe something around the £250 price may hit the price point.
The tech still needs a very high spec rig as well so total investment is considerable.
Personally I opted for a 4k 40 inch monitor instead of any current VR solutions.

 

[TorTorden_VR]

We are still at least 3 hardware gpu/cpu and software generations from being able to make full use of the current first gen HMD's.

And at least that much from being able to consider any major upgrades in resolution and fov which is what is most needed for a next step.

It is simply early. And i honestly consider Zuckerberg's estimate of at least 10 years for VR to be mainstream is on the optimistic side.

 

[Cliché]

If everybody keeps waiting, it probably will take 10 years.
But it can come sooner if enough people buy into it.
And then there's Moore's Law and etc.

 

[rootsrat]

I'm one of I think many who want to fly Elite: Dangerous in VR. The Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are the two viable options at the moment.

I now have the machine to pull it off, but I simply just can not bring myself to spending the amount requested.

I now find myself waiting more on a price drop than a next generation, knowing full well that gen 2 will be far better and probably no more than a year away at most.

If you were to buy a Vive or an Oculus (delivery/taxes and what not included), what would you be willing to spend?

After much pondering, my wishes for phantom prices, that would make me go out and splash, drops amounts to:

• 500 GBP for the Vive
• 350 GBP for the Oculus

Here's hoping.

Fly safe commanders.

100 less what you've put and I'm sold.

 

[BigDuke6ixx]

You need a high end gaming rig with a decent processor, lots of fast RAM and the best graphics card you can afford...

The same as it was back in 1991 when I got my first PC for £1,400. Thy latest VR machine cost £1,500. In 1993 I bought a soundblaster sound card for £200. Skip forward to 2000 and I blow £502 on a 22" CRT monitor. PC gaming has never been cheaper or more exciting than it is today. Now I'm only intered in VR when it comes to sims.

 

[[VR] Frank_G]

The same as it was back in 1991 when I got my first PC for £1,400. Thy latest VR machine cost £1,500. In 1993 I bought a soundblaster sound card for £200. Skip forward to 2000 and I blow £502 on a 22" CRT monitor. PC gaming has never been cheaper or more exciting than it is today.k Now I'm only intered in VR when it comes to sims.

The same goes for me... Project CARS, Elite, Warthunder... Unthinkable without VR, if you have tried it once. The big screen totally lost its charm, when it comes to Sim gaming...

 

[pippo]

Never.

The PC with only a screen and a keyboard, along with my TV and mobile phone are keeping me way to far from reality at times, VR is just the step too far for me.

I will pass and leave it for the new generations.

 

[[VR] Frank_G]

Never.

The PC with only a screen and a keyboard, along with my TV and mobile phone are keeping me way to far from reality at times, VR is just the step too far for me.

I will pass and leave it for the new generations.

Actually, i play less, since i own VR. The experience however, is far mor intense. I played Elite for 2 hours and more a day before VR. Its now down to 3 sessions a week, but everytime i put the HMD on, i am on instant vacation and everytime i take it off, i do it with a big smile. Honestly, my life is better with VR.

 

[TorTorden_VR]

Well I have bought into both the Vive and Rift at the current prices so I guess that says that.

 

[Jypson]

For me, the price is reasonable, but then again, I tend to splurge on my toys. The Vive and Rift are both priced below a high-end monitor after all.

Whether or not you should spend that kind of money on VR right now is a different question all together. In my opinion, the potential is huge, but I don't think we're in the consumer comfort zone yet, just enthusiast and developer. I understand why we have "consumer" versions out in the wild now, I just hope they don't 'poison the well' so to speak.

 

[Captain N]

Whether or not you should spend that kind of money on VR right now is a different question all together. In my opinion, the potential is huge, but I don't think we're in the consumer comfort zone yet, just enthusiast and developer. I understand why we have "consumer" versions out in the wild now, I just hope they don't 'poison the well' so to speak.

I don't think the Vive or Rift are going to poison the well. Far from it. Both are awesome enough that anyone who actually puts them on can clearly see this is the future even if the current iteration has its limitations. The only really negative thing about them that prevents them from going mainstream is the price tag.

I'd be more worried about something like Google Cardboard being sold as "VR" and regular joes trying it out to watch 360° videos on youtube and thinking "that's it".

 

[Jypson]

I don't think the Vive or Rift are going to poison the well. Far from it. Both are awesome enough that anyone who actually puts them on can clearly see this is the future even if the current iteration has its limitations. The only really negative thing about them that prevents them from going mainstream is the price tag.

I'd be more worried about something like Google Cardboard being sold as "VR" and regular joes trying it out to watch 360° videos on youtube and thinking "that's it".

I'll agree that the current iterations give a certain 'wow factor', however, I wonder how long that will last. I only got my Rift last week and the 'wow factor' has pretty much worn off for me; possibly the shortest honeymoon period with a new toy I've had yet.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad device. Like I said above, the potential is huge, but I don't think the current iterations are ready for the main-stream yet, and the current flaws (and associated cost) may put people off from VR completely.

I hope I'm wrong, I think VR/AR is the future, but I don't think I'll be recommending the current consumer variants to many.

 

[JerryLove]

If you were to buy a Vive or an Oculus (delivery/taxes and what not included), what would you be willing to spend?

I own one: so clearly $599 was not too much for me.

You need a high end gaming rig with a decent processor, lots of fast RAM and the best graphics card you can afford...

Elite ran well on my '11 midrange (i5 2500k) CPU and GTP 960 (midrange, one generation old). It does let me do more on my 1080, and if they ever support the 10xx series properly, there should be a signifigant speed boost throughout that series; but even the 1060 (cheapest current-gen) runs it.

Considering that a good HOTAS will put you out $300-$900, and a good set of pedals $400-$700, the computer was not really the hard part.

I would pay the current price if VR were working smoothly and the gear was a bit more user friendly in size, shape and function.
When they are more like glasses/goggles where you can switch between screen and desktop is when I will invest. Presuming they also work with my hardware and software.

There's a control for that. Put one hand on each side of the HMD and push up until you see the screen again.

But yes, task-switching between programs within VR will be welcome when that gets sorted out.

I'm not so sure about that year estimate for generation 2. I'd love to see that, but I wouldn't expect more than minor upgrades for 2-3 years. Probably more than 5 years for super light weight, wireless, super high definition screens, and real hand interfaces. I probably won't live to see a direct optical interface.

They are light now. Wireless and higher definition are at odds with one-another; so its basically always "chose one but not both". Hand interfaces already exist (Motion Leap) and, if there is a market, I would expect rapid development there.

I don't think the current price is anywhere near what I would pay, maybe something around the £250 price may hit the price point.
The tech still needs a very high spec rig as well so total investment is considerable.
Personally I opted for a 4k 40 inch monitor instead of any current VR solutions.

As I pointed out earlier: the spec requirements are not terribly high. You could also consider Playstation VR.

We are still at least 3 hardware gpu/cpu and software generations from being able to make full use of the current first gen HMD's.

I think software support for the current GPUs is actually the biggest issue.

And three generations of CPU from now they will be 10% faster if we are lucky (going from my 2500k to 6700k, 4 generations and an increase in level (from mid to high) was something like 35%)

 

[Lowievisser]

bought my dk2 second hands 1,5 months ago for 230 euros, havnt played normal since then , hell even the old games like skyrim or even older like doom works on it

 

[verminstar]

I'm in two minds about VR, and it's really not the money that bothers me. It's the mobility needed and I have good days and bad days...last time I tried a demo, it really did hurt to have to move at times. In saying that, I absolutely loved it and really seriously wanna get it. Current price would be ok so long as I know I can use it to full effect and not just an expensive door stop after a month because I physically cant use it.

Currently have a 55 inch LED which is a bit overkill perhaps, but the sound is amazing through the surround sound system. I'm not a huge fan of earphones and headphones were very awkward with the old model I tested. Has this been rectified with either a better design of integrated sound?

 

[Noogillim]

£100 - no higher

Guess I'll wait - if they went along with the latest TV prices and the way they drop they should be around that next year.

But being aimed at a market that has the "Must Have" factor they'll sell them as long as they like for as much as they can get away with - until they are totally ripped off by the various Chinese clone manufacturers - legal things don't seem to worry them.....