The VR headset I will buy...

[Noddie]

Will be the one that comes with a Graphics card... In the box...

I think that's the way it has to be done, to be honest, as there is just too much uncertainty over results otherwise. It's all well-and-good saying that you "recommend" a GTX970 as a minimum, but to be honest most people will ignore that, try to use it on an R7 260 and conclude that "VR is rubbish" because their experience was. OR they'll look at the cost of the headset (£300) and the graphics card (£300) and conclude it's not worth it (when they'd probably have bought a bundle for £500). Factor in the number of people who DO have a powerful enough computer, but that has some weird incompatibility with their headset and it's going to lead to a lot of disappointment.

I don't think the people who win the VR battle will be the people who make the best VR. I think it will be the people who get their business model and strategy right. And I'm not sure that selling people a "VR KIT" that they have to attach to their own PC of unknown provenance and specification is the right strategy.

which is where the Playstation VR comes in, I guess. At least it's dependable.

 

[catanonia]

Oculus are doing exactly this with partnerships with hardware companies such as AlienWare with OR ready badges on computers.

Check out the Oculus website.

Not a rift and card, but options to get an OR ready machine. They would have to do this with computers and not just graphics cards as the people your are aiming it at are not going to want to install these cards and set them up or know how to.

Also we have been at it for 2 or more years with the DK1 and DK2 (mainly consumers lets be honest) and it hasn't caused much problem.

 

[Noddie]

Yes, but a 1000 dollar pc. With a 400 dollar headset?

Nah. Something needs to be done to make it generally affordable, and that ain't it.

 

[Bartizan]

Yes, but a 1000 dollar pc. With a 400 dollar headset?

Nah. Something needs to be done to make it generally affordable, and that ain't it.

1000 dollar pc for gaming is not affordable? Show me where to buy this unicorn

 

[Bakkster]

Putting a GPU in the headset won't make it generally affordable either. It's going to cost around $1,500 for the system this go around, like it or not (unless you get a PS4). Things will go down after that, but $1,500 is certainly more affordable than previous attempts, well within the realm for simmers who can spend $1,500 on individual peripherals.

At some point you'll have foveated rendering to only render what your eyes are looking at so you can get away with a weaker GPU, but that's still additional hardware and nobody has something fast enough... yet.

I think of it like Tesla cars. Their first car cost $110,000, was a high performance sports car, and had a load of problems. But, it got the ball rolling for the Model S which costs $70,000 but is good enough that depending where you live you can see multiple on the road every day. We're at a place with VR that electric cars are. They're not good enough for everyone, they're not affordable for everyone, but they're realistic options for enough people to be sustainable.

 

[Erogenous Zones]

also different games put different stresses on your system. Having the flexibility to spend more for better performance were required is actually a good thing.
If you want a one size fits all cheaper approach, playstation vr is maybe more suitable. But when we are still hungry for better performance, the option to scale your system is a benefit.

 

[Slopey]

Putting a gfx card in the box isn't the answer, largely because many PCs will have an underpowered PSU/processor if they need that card in the first place. It has to be done as a "Rift Ready" PC build really so there's no ambiguity. Otherwise your upset consumer won't even get to try the headset, they'll either blow their PSU, or not be able to plug the card in (to the mobo or the power) before they even get that far.

 

[Alric]

The current pricing and requirements make it an enthusiast product. The sort of people who already have high end graphics or are comfortable with going out and getting what they need themselves. Putting a card in the box - and raising the price by a couple of hundred more - would not broaden its appeal.

TBH I think it's daft putting an xbox controller and a platform game in the box. If you were pricing it at mass market prices, ok. But for the audience who will buy it right now, those are pointless fluff.

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

For me it's the one coming as a headset and no frippery like controllers, headphones, a cash shop or a graphics card.

The only pro of having it ship with a graphics card would be that apple support would be DDOS'd by the amount of requests on how to fit a Geforce into an Iphone.

 

[Beavis Tingleball]

If I bought an HMD/GFX card bundle and put it in a pc with an AMD athlon x32 cpu with 2 gigs of ram I'm still gonna be off. If you wan a VR ready machine, build one..mine is 5 years old. saying that oculus should sell VR as a package is as absurd as saying that a parachute purchase should include a cessna.

 

[ranix]

That's like demanding your 4k tv comes with a computer in it to stream HD neflix videos. I mean it's not unreasonable, there are actually televisions that will stream Netflix, but not everybody wants their TV to have a computer that can stream Netflix in it. Especially if they already have a set top box from their cable provider or a computer.

 

[Dread Lord]

why would they put a Card in the box?? I bought a pc with two 980s almost a year back to be ready... I Need no Card!

 

[grammatonfeather]

Will be the one that comes with a Graphics card... In the box...

I think that's the way it has to be done, to be honest, as there is just too much uncertainty over results otherwise. It's all well-and-good saying that you "recommend" a GTX970 as a minimum, but to be honest most people will ignore that, try to use it on an R7 260 and conclude that "VR is rubbish" because their experience was. OR they'll look at the cost of the headset (£300) and the graphics card (£300) and conclude it's not worth it (when they'd probably have bought a bundle for £500). Factor in the number of people who DO have a powerful enough computer, but that has some weird incompatibility with their headset and it's going to lead to a lot of disappointment.

I don't think the people who win the VR battle will be the people who make the best VR. I think it will be the people who get their business model and strategy right. And I'm not sure that selling people a "VR KIT" that they have to attach to their own PC of unknown provenance and specification is the right strategy.

which is where the Playstation VR comes in, I guess. At least it's dependable.

I have no idea what you are talking about. It might as well have been Swedish or Turkish although I do know some Swedish.

PS4?

I have never liked custard... It's like this yellow stuff that looks disgusting. However... there is a chocolate custard that seems to be a lot nicer.

 

[Noddie]

My point is that most people are going to need upgraded graphics hardware to use VR, and that's going to be very pricey. And lead to variable results, of course.

If they could bundle the two together so you got a discounted card guaranteed to work well with the headset it would be an excellent proposition for many purchasers.

 

[jabokai]

which is where the Playstation VR comes in, I guess. At least it's dependable.

I look forward to PS VR, even though I won't buy it I don't think. It will help drive VR forward and it will provide a really good (I hope) introduction to VR for people. If you want the best VR experience though, it's going to come down to fancy PC with a Rift/Vive and whatever comes after. PS5 will definitely be being developed with VR firmly in mind.

 

[Soda Popinski]

The current pricing and requirements make it an enthusiast product. The sort of people who already have high end graphics or are comfortable with going out and getting what they need themselves. Putting a card in the box - and raising the price by a couple of hundred more - would not broaden its appeal.

TBH I think it's daft putting an xbox controller and a platform game in the box. If you were pricing it at mass market prices, ok. But for the audience who will buy it right now, those are pointless fluff.

I suspect a lot of people getting these are early adopter types wanting the latest experience. Not necessarily gamers, but folks into the other stuff Carmack thinks VR is going to. Virtual cinema, exploring virtual worlds, etc. Those people won't have a HOTAS, and may very well pick up something simple like an XBox One controller to try out the free game it came with. Facebook probably hopes that leads to some casual game sales.

As far as the controller goes, it's been stated to be a minimal controller for developers to aim for. A way to standardize things for the Oculus Store. Besides, not all games work well with a HOTAS.

 

[grammatonfeather]

My point is that most people are going to need upgraded graphics hardware to use VR, and that's going to be very pricey. And lead to variable results, of course.

If they could bundle the two together so you got a discounted card guaranteed to work well with the headset it would be an excellent proposition for many purchasers.

OK. I am dumb. I get it now.

Yes, that would be a nice idea actually. I never thought of that. I'm in the situation where I need a GPU upgrade for VR.

 

[Full_Ninja]

That's like demanding your 4k tv comes with a computer in it to stream HD neflix videos. I mean it's not unreasonable, there are actually televisions that will stream Netflix, but not everybody wants their TV to have a computer that can stream Netflix in it. Especially if they already have a set top box from their cable provider or a computer.

What sucks is you can't stream netflix in 4k on a PC. You can only stream netflix in 4k with a 4k smart tv.

 

[Mazhurg]

I look forward to PS VR, even though I won't buy it I don't think. It will help drive VR forward and it will provide a really good (I hope) introduction to VR for people. If you want the best VR experience though, it's going to come down to fancy PC with a Rift/Vive and whatever comes after. PS5 will definitely be being developed with VR firmly in mind.

Well, in addition to either the Vive or the OR - Jury is out on which I take or if I wait till next iteration (DK2 owner), I will probably get a PS VR set, if only to use it with NMS or even as a theatre for streaming - nothing like a Cinema screen size in your living room.