QUOTE | “It doesn’t matter what it will cost. If it costs too much this week it will cost the right amount a year from now.” – Oculus head of worldwide studios Jason Rubin, talking about why he’s a great believer in the future of VR despite the initial costs.
Elsewhere in the business of gaming this week…
QUOTE | “One of the reasons we like the celebrity partnerships is that we get, effectively, a permanent marketing asset.” – Glu Mobile CEO Niccolo De Masi talking about why his company has signed Kim Kardashian and half a dozen other celebrities for mobile games.
QUOTE | “We’re not picking one. We’re going with all of them.” – VR developer nDreams CEO Patrick O’Luanaigh, talking about their strategy for success in VR when nobody has an exact release date or price point for VR hardware.
QUOTE | “The real question everyone is looking to answer is… whether a legacy publisher like Activision can truly fully adapt to the new reality of digital gaming.” – Joost van Dreunen, CEO of analyst firm SuperData, talking about whether Heroes of the Storm can continue to grow after a good start.
STAT | $US32.9 million — Amount that Star Citizen raised on 2014 through crowdfunding (the game’s total raised is now over $US92 million), more than the $US20 million raised by all the video games on Kickstarter in 2014.
QUOTE | “Analytics are very good at measuring aspects relating to churn and average number of sessions per day, but they will tell you little about the player experience.” – Consultant Graham McAllister, talking about how you can measure everything about a game and yet understand nothing.
QUOTE | “If you develop for more than a year and a half in isolation it’s very dangerous.” – Henrique Olifiers, Bossa co-founder, talking about why they are opening up their new game Worlds Adrift as soon as possible so they can get feedback.
QUOTE | “You are not in competition with other developers, especially other small independent ones.” – Indie developer Scott Brodie, talking about some of the important lessons he’s learned in his years as an indie.
STAT | #1 — Rank of China among nations in terms of overall game revenue for 2015, estimated at $US22.2 billion, according to analyst firm Newzoo; the US is second with $US21.96 billion, and Japan is a more distant third at $US12.33 billion.
STAT | 34% — Percentage of the fighting game playing population who are female; this compares to the 30 per cent female audiences for Call of Duty or League of Legends, and less than 25% female audiences of games like Dota 2, Counter-Strike GO, and Smite.
QUOTE | “CS:GO is the epitome of a successful game as a service (GaaS) – the product has evolved over time to meet the needs of a diverse community.” – Analyst firm EEDAR’s Patrick Walker, talking about how Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has more than tripled its number of concurrent players in the last year.
STAT | 82% — Percentage of Brazilians ages 13-59 that play games, according to research firm NPD Group; the average Brazilian gamer spends 15 hours a week playing games.
Comments
16 responses to “This Week In The Business: Virtual Reality Won’t Be Expensive Forever”
It won’t be expensive forever, but if it tanks badly, no one will be making it at all, so it won’t be affordable or have AAA-list titles either.
Thats why i am on Pc. Because your games are only as good as how much you pay for it. Got no money? You can play on consoles, you are stuck at 900p30 medium details or some sort of sacrifice to run the game on consoles. But if you pay up you can play at amazing 4k60 or eye wateringly smooth 1440p144 on Pc. Same for the Vr. Thats exactly why i will go for the Htc Vive because its meant for the enhusiasts without the drawbacks of a cheaper lower res lower hz machines thats meant for everyone.
What, you mean like 3D Head? 😛
The HTC is the same resolution as the Rift, and both are too low a resolution, the screen door effect is still clear as day, and the FOV is still too narrow.
I am aware. I have owned dk1,2. Tried some others. Htc is prototype at the moment but aiming for a dual higher res screens (better res, wider fov) than oculus rift.
No, the release specs on the Hive are the same as the release specs on the Rift, I develop for both.
That doesnt make sense charging heaps more for the same spec machine as the rift man. They have confirmed it will be expensive and i am sure as hell its not because of the sensors and controllers. Htc may have another version. We will have to wait and see.
They won’t. The screens simply do not exist, what they’re using now is literally the best you can get.
For one thing, the Vive is going to be more expensive because HTC needs to make money off the hardware, whereas the Rift is going to be sold at or around cost price with Oculus aiming to make their money from selling content on their store. They may have another version coming later down the track, but the only differences between what’s been seen and what’s going to come out around the end of the year will basically just be ergonomics.
If thats the case i will go for neither until there are better ones. Those specs nowhere near enough for immersion.
Plenty of people seem to think otherwise, so I can’t wait.
But then I am a filthy console peasant so matters like resolution barely register as significant to me 😛
I thought like you too, once upon a time…
That was when I found StarVR, 210° field of view and 2560×1440 per eye. It’ll take a bit longer to come than the vive or the oculus, sure, but THAT is a real enthusiast machine 😉
To be absolutely honest, no one can afford a machine that is capable of running 2560×1440 per eye. Probably will sell maybe 0.1% of the people that will buy oculus.
I hate it when people speak on behalf of everyone. Speak for yourself mate. I sure as hell would love to get the best in gaming.
I would but if I can’t run it I won’t. Seriously I can’t even get 60fps on witcher 3 with everything max on 1440p with my 980ti. What do you think is needed to run double 1440p screen? You need at least sli 980ti for games 60fps on 4k.
Not many people I know have dual 980tis on their desktop ready to go.
It all depeneds on the game though.
VR sucks at the moment and requires a 4k-8k screen. Stop kidding yourselves with the current rubbish phone screens being used.