The Apple Vision Pro is an expensive flop. I haven’t heard anyone mention the Meta Quest in months, despite it getting a new model just last year. I can’t even remember the name of Samsung’s incoming Android-based headset. While virtual reality gamers remain passionate, the excitement around the format seems to be slowly dying… again.
And then along came Zeus Valve. Easily the least mainstream of its three — THREE! — hardware announcements yesterday, the Steam Frame is everything I was hoping for. It’s a standalone, self-powered headset with its own software and apps, a la the Quest. With an internal battery, it’s ready to go on the road or just roam around your home without being tethered.
But it can also connect to a gaming PC or a Steam Deck or a Steam Machine (what’s the difference?) to access more powerful virtual reality games and non-VR media. And Valve is setting this up as a central feature, with a low-latency wireless dongle included in the box.
It’s packing the latest VR tech such as eye tracking, pancake lenses, and expansion options for MicroSD and USB-C. It’ll be running on a powerful Snapdragon ARM64 processor, and the software is at least some flavor of SteamOS, giving it immediate access to a huge amount of both VR and standard games.
No.
Because the biggest problem with VR isn’t the god damn hardware. It’s the lack of games. The Frame looks pretty great; but what would save VR gaming is a truly killer app. Or ten.
The VR market is splintered into several smaller ones with each maker offering exclusives. So there probably is ten truly great games but they are split across each store.
I feel like if these companies really wanted VR to take off they should work to be sure any game is available on any headset to start building the critical mass they need to actually have a functional player base. Only the enthusiasts are going to spend time researching what set offers what.
There are so many fewer great experiences with VR than with flat gaming so it’s much, much more important. I am pretty sure Valve understands this but you still have Meta and Sony hoarding exclusives and limiting the overall experience.
And the fragmentation certainly doesn’t help The market is already small, and yet locked to single store exclusives still come out all the god damn time
Given how it probably undercuts growth of vr, I can only guess why would companies do that. Facebook in particular probably thinks it could be a monopoly, and doesn’t want to settle for just a slice of the pie even if the pie could be bigger.
Valve is going the route of not just selling this for VR, but selling it to play non VR games on as well. If there’s no eyestrain or latency issues it will be a good purchase for a lot of people…if the price is right.
No one wants apple products to game on, or their huge pricetag. No one wants quest because the hardware is locked down. This could be a great product to pick up if it works as well as is being reported so far
There is actually quite a backlog on VR games by now. Admittedly mostly by b-grade studios, so not reaching the quality of HL:Alyx or so, but not bad either. Stuff like
BoneworksBonelab or the Alien and Metro games are genuinely quite good and came out recently.Boneworks will be 6 years old next month
I meant the successor Bonelab 🤦
Bonelab is almost 4.
No.
Because the biggest problem with VR isn’t the library. It’s the price. The Frame looks pretty great; but what would save VR gaming is if people could afford a headset. Or two.
There are already at least 5 VR sets that are under $500 right now. But all but one (PSVR) is sold by Meta and ByteDance. It definitely is not just about the cost of entry.
Not for people of your economical status.
Gaming devices, be they console, PC, or even mobile, are going to cost more than a few bucks if you want to do anything more than text based adventures. A few hundred dollars for a gaming device is baseline.
And for a peripheral device?
Standalone sets like the Frame and the other affordable VR options on the market (again, except the PSVR) aren’t just peripherial devices; they’re an entire console/PC strapped to your face. They don’t need to connect to another machine, but they still have the option to do so.
If someone were to make a headset that was nothing more than the display and some sensors for motion and wireless connectivity to make it way cheaper, that would be cool… But there’d still be little to play on it if you’re looking for real solid gaming experiences and not just virtual interactive art pieces and gimmick apps.
You mean “broke motherfuckers?” Cuz I’m a broke motherfucker.
Sorry to hear you’re broke - Try not to get as broke as me.