Xbox One When will Microsoft go Virtual?

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Dom0411

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I have seen a lot of companies trying to go Virtual. The question is, when will Microsoft do it? I mean they have more resources than other companies since they have started the business way back.

The Oculus Rift is still in development kit form, but for a dev kit that aims to offer virtual reality in the living room for a relatively affordable $300 price tag, the device actually delivers. Your less tech savvy friends may not have heard of the Rift yet — and it doesn’t exactly have an impressive catalog of officially supported software — but the buzz surrounding the device is strong and loud. In fact, that buzz is so strong and loud that Sony has taken to developing a Rift competitor of its own.

Sony’s headset, the HMZ-T3Q, is actually the newest iteration in a line of theater virtualization headsets. Last year, Sony offered the HMZ-T3W headset at $1,000 per unit. Both units have similar specs and capabilities — personal headsets that simulate watching a screen that measures 700 to 750 inches in size from around 65 feet away. With the previous model, Sony aimed for the market of customers that would like a theater-sized experience when watching media, but didn’t have theater-sized space to set up the appropriate hardware. The headset allows you to have that giant screen and crisp 7.1 surround sound sitting on your face, so you can conceivably live in a tiny New York City-style shoe box of a room, but not miss out on an extravagant in-home media experience. The new model shown at CES 2014 this week takes somewhat of an aim at the Oculus Rift, as Sony touted the head-tracking capabilities of the HMZ-T3Q, and noted that it’s not only compatible with movies and TV, but video games as well.

A Sony VR headset that may or may not be the T3Q (or T3W)

Being “compatible” with video games, though, doesn’t mean you can just plug it in and suddenly have a seamless experience. The Oculus Rift — a similar VR headset, but made specifically for video games — works, but barely. Games need to be made compatible with VR headsets just as much as the VR hardware needs to be made compatible with games. Team Fortress 2 has “full” Oculus Rift support, and while you can use your head and the Rift to look around in-game, you’re still stuck facing forward — limited by the maneuverability of your head and neck — because that’s where the keyboard and mouse are located. Try spinning 180 degrees quickly enough to neutralize a would-be in-game assassin while your hands are firmly planted on the keyboard and mouse in front of you — even years of yoga won’t help.

Oculus Rift
The Oculus Rift
So far, the best bet for a VR headset like the Rift to work well with gaming would be to pair it with something like an omnidirectional treadmill. The less immersive setup would be sitting in a chair that can spin 360 degrees, having enough space around the chair so you won’t bump into anything, and using a wireless gamepad. If Sony’s HMZ-T3Q truly was as compatible with games as the Rift, then it would still suffer from the same immersion factor. However, hardware like this is very promising. Even though playing a twitch-based game with the current Rift will greatly reduce your chance of success, the device works. A slow, exploratory game like Dear Esther or Gone Home would do the device justice.

The price of Sony’s headset is currently undisclosed, but the last model was a thousand bucks, significantly more expensive than the $300 Rift. Despite Sony’s claims, it remains to be seen if the headset is truly as compatible with games as the Rift — and even if so, if the price of the new model is anything like the last model, it’s a tough sell. If there’s anything the HMZ-T3W does have on the Rift, though, is that it looks like a virtual reality headset, unlike the Rift’s box-on-your-face aesthetic.
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Hard to say, as far as I know none of those products have released yet. We don't know if they'll be any good, although they are definitely very sophisticated technology. I'm sure Microsoft has something in the works that could rival them.
 
Hard to say, as far as I know none of those products have released yet. We don't know if they'll be any good, although they are definitely very sophisticated technology. I'm sure Microsoft has something in the works that could rival them.
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Well, it's still a working progress for the companies but I'm hoping to see good things when they get released. Having a virtual reality game sure is a lot better since you will feel that you are really part of the game.
 
I'm sure Microsoft has something in the works that could rival them.
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Yeah, I guess so. They haven't revealed anything to the public so I think they want to keep things secret until the other show their new gizmos. I guess they're planning on keeping it as a trump card just in case the sales goes down for the current consoles.
 
Hmm, I guess they're up to something. After all, there are other companies who have the same idea. (PrioVR, Oculus Rift and Sony). Other gaming companies might be thinking of the same thing. Who knows, they might surprise us with something similar to the Nerve Gear that Sword Art Online has in the anime.
 
Hmmm... we'll see it when Microsoft is ready to do it. For now, Kinect is their thing. We'll have to wait for Microsoft to do it 'cuz you know, they just put out a new console with a new Kinect so can't say for sure when they'll go Virtual.
 
Microsoft is probably in a wait and see state on VR: how many units are pre-ordered, what problems occur after launch, and so on. Because there can be no problems during a few demos and a few VR headsets sent to various publications, but then 50,000 or 100,000 are out and people are getting shock, there are eye problems, they smell smoke, tests showing an alarming amount of radiation dry humping people's heads, and the list goes on. Some extreme cases there, but if there are just too many Microsoft might throw their hands up and go "Yeah, so about Kinect."
 
They probably have something planned to make Kinect more of an all embodying thing: VR Kinect, Kinect Rumble Gloves where you can feel a gun's kickback, the impact of a weapon striking your shield, and the follow through of a sword or axe strike hitting bone and armor.

...think about that sh**.
 
Virtual technology is stll very primitive and infant in my opinion. I believe virtual will not pick up in at least a few years. Microsoft will get into the virtual business, when it's highly in demand and when the trend for virtual gaming sets in. For now, the trend is motion gaming and Microsoft is probably focusing on that.
 
They have invested a lot of money in the Kinect technology. They will try to first master it.

On an unrelated note, does anyone remember the Xbox 360 VR Helmet? (An April fools prank)
 
Oh yeah, it's a ways off and the demand would have to be significant for Microsoft to really go into it.
 
They have invested a lot of money in the Kinect technology. They will try to first master it.

On an unrelated note, does anyone remember the Xbox 360 VR Helmet? (An April fools prank)
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I remember that. Well, I hope they can make it real with all the money they got from selling Xbox One and their other products.
 
They literally have everything they need to start the project. All they need is focus and a group of people dedicated and talented enough to get the job done. I think they're still working on it just to rival what Sony has been working on. I hope to see something similar to the nerve gear that they had in Sword Art Online.
 
In time, it will happen. It's probably not yet in their priority to make a virtual headset. If it's time, it's time. But if they do make a virtual headset specific to their console, I might go for it. Been watching a lot of Sword Art Online these last few days. Hahaha. Would love to experience a virtual world through my eyes.
 
knives0302 said:
They literally have everything they need to start the project. All they need is focus and a group of people dedicated and talented enough to get the job done. I think they're still working on it just to rival what Sony has been working on. I hope to see something similar to the nerve gear that they had in Sword Art Online.
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Aww man! Who wouldn't right? The NerveGear for the X1... man, that'd be awesome. But way too advanced for our time. But yes, that'd be great. We'll see if it can be done in our time. Hopefully.
 
Yeah, VR is still a "work-in-progress" technology. Don't think any companies (MS or Sony) are eager to jump on that bandwagon until it is perfected. Oculus Rift is definitely a move in the right direction.

J
 
Yeah, VR is still a "work-in-progress" technology. Don't think any companies (MS or Sony) are eager to jump on that bandwagon until it is perfected. Oculus Rift is definitely a move in the right direction.
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True enough. If oculus rift perfects the technology, microsoft and the rest of the companies will definitely follow the trend.
 
With Oculus Rift doing their job on making the myth possible I guess other companies will start doing their own research to rival what they have. We might see a good competition in a few years. I hope they can make the technology sooner.
 
With Oculus Rift doing their job on making the myth possible I guess other companies will start doing their own research to rival what they have. We might see a good competition in a few years. I hope they can make the technology sooner.
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The tech will probably be available in 5 to 10 years from now.
 
The tech will probably be available in 5 to 10 years from now.
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Yeah, hope so bro. The thing is with the current tech and money involved in making it possible, the possibilities of getting it sooner should be higher. They just have to work well on the research.
 
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