Minecraft Is An Example Of The Gear VR’s Biggest Problem

It seems like just about every kid with a passing interest in technology has been touched by Minecraft in some way. I’ve heard some parents complain about how it’s the only thing their children want to play.

So good news! There’s a new way to play Minecraft. Which totally involves them becoming immersed in a way that will happily let you ignore them for hours. Probably. But there’s a problem.

In an email to users, Oculus has announced that Minecraft is now available for Samsung’s VR tech for US$6.99. The VR version has all the functionality that you’d get from Minecraft on a mobile (aka Pocket Edition), but users will be able to use either the first-person view or “the more comfortable default theatre view”.

There’s one catch, though: Oculus warns that you’ll need a separate gamepad “to move through and interact with Minecraft”. The VR manufacturer recommends the SteelSeries Stratus XL wireless gamepad, but that costs around $100 depending on which retailer you go to.

$100. That’s almost as much as the Gear VR itself. The Xbox One and PS4 wireless controllers don’t even cost that much at full price.

You can get the PS4 working over Bluetooth if you’re prepared to download the SixaxisPairTool app. There’s always the corded route, but that requires a on-the-go USB to Micro USB adapter which not everyone has.

It’s a massive pain in the arse that shouldn’t be necessary in 2016. Part of the Gear VR’s value is that it doesn’t cost a lot and that it’s tether-free. It’s liberating not having cords and wires coming out of your head like you’re a creature from The Matrix.

But that’s what more and more Gear VR requires. If you want to enjoy the best of what the store has to offer going forward, you’ll need to shell out for a separate controller. And when you factor in the cost of that with the headset, the shine on mobile VR starts to wear off.


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