Making a game with a really solid experience, to my knowledge, usually takes a few years to make. And that's true even when you're not trying to build entirely novel modes of interaction from the ground up.

> Where are the news reports of people breaking their TV with their Vive-mote?

Wii's were way, way cheaper, and not nearly so niche, leading to sales of 600,000 units in the very first week, you probably would have heard this about the Vive if it had that kind of market penetration that fast, because it definitely does happen to people.

> Where are the Wii-game clones? Where are the DDR-clones and, like, retro arcades?

I'd say multiple examples of all three are on Steam.

> Where are the games that have co-op in the same space?

Like local co-op? Probably waiting for the release of hardware that has more robust tracking because with multiple individuals in the same tracking space, the problem of occlusion crops up a lot more. Those improvements are planned, at least for the Vive, but they're not available yet to my knowledge.

> Why can't you invite your friends into your Google Earth, to look at the same scenes?

I'd guess licensing the imagery and data, although there are a handful of things like this for singleplayer (Including Google Earth VR), so it might have to do with the complexity of building a networked experience over a purely singleplayer one.

Fair point, but don't developers usually have significant lead time, so games are released soon after a new console or other hardware? Or is VR simply that much more complicated to develop for?

> Like local co-op? Probably waiting for the release of hardware that has more robust tracking because with multiple individuals in the same tracking space, the problem of occlusion crops up a lot more. Those improvements are planned, at least for the Vive, but they're not available yet to my knowledge.

So essentially, the technology isn't ready yet, and we're all using the Early Access version of the hardware?

> I'd guess licensing the imagery and data, although there are a handful of things like this for singleplayer (Including Google Earth VR), so it might have to do with the complexity of building a networked experience over a purely singleplayer one.

How much more network data is needed to coordinate a VR experience over another type of 3D game - is there usually more collision data, from all of the extra motion tracking? Will VR require gamers have 1 Gbps home internet connections?

I would say this is really close to being a stupid comment. The technology does exactly what it's supposed to do, and does it quite well. Just because it doesn't support features you want doesn't mean the tech isn't "ready".

In the same vein, the low-resolution, headache and nausea inspiring VR headsets of modern day aren't really ready, even though engineers are making the best of what they have.

>> Even though you can't get a decent cup of coffee before a firmware upgrade?

I don't even know what this means.

The only real solution is for the VR hardware manufacturers to invest in development of software until they get something good.

I own a vive and there are some really cool experiences, but in my library of games there is not really anything that i'm itching to come back to. It mostly just sits put away till something new releases, or I want to show it to a friend.

Further complicating the issue is the hardware split. Vive/Oculus can somewhat share things if you are dedicated and willing to accept poor control schemes, but PSVR is out on its own. Then you get into the whole seated/roomscale issue, and things like motion sickness from locomotion and you find that it is really hard to develop something that can apply to a large population right now.

I completely disagree with this. A good desktop replacement is exactly what you'd want from a compelling VR experience.

1. It's a literal virtual reality that users would use to replace actual reality.

2. If you can make a compelling, usable desktop replacement, then you've successfully made a reason for many VR users to be happy with never taking off their headsets. Tired of a game? Go back to the desktop environment. Want to look up some tips? Go back to the desktop environment. Want to look at links from friends? Go back to the desktop environment.

3. A compelling desktop environment is probably far more technically greedy than an actual game since you need to have a high resolution headset to simulate the desktop with at least the fidelity of a real screen... and most people are going to want at least two of those high-resolution virtual screens in their field of vision.

But even my old (in VR-industry terms) Oculus dev unit from a couple years ago works much better. The mobile VR setups only track head orientation but the Rift, Vive, and similar devices also track your position in xyz space. This has a huge impact on how well your movements are mirrored in the virtual environment. Ultimately, getting as close to 1:1 mirroring is how you avoid motion sickness.

The other part of that is overall body position so a lot of the attempts to shoehorn traditional FPS games into VR are iffy because even if your head is tracked, your brain knows you're not running around even if your visual input tells you that you are.

It's a big part of why I don't think games (or at least many styles of games that work on 2D screens) are the end goal for VR. They seem obvious since they're already using complex and realistic environments but the VR applications that really work are the ones where your viewpoint matches your actual physical orientation (including the rest of your body).

I also think the big jump will come when someone sorts out how to get a few cheap depth cameras set up around a room to generate a real-time 3d model with video data used to texture the mesh. Send that data over networks and display in a VR headset and you're on your way to 3d/VR telepresence. The hardware still needs to improve and the software developed, but it reminds me of using early smartphones more than anything else.

When I had a Treo or an old Pocket PC I knew that technically these things could be as fluid and smooth as a desktop or laptop of the time. It just wasn't feasible to cram it into a tiny handset for a price anyone could pay. But now 10-15 years later you can spend a few hundred bucks and get something better than your old Playstation or laptop in your pocket.

It really doesn't. Anyone who has used VR knows how amazing it is. The main issue for games is getting the controls right.

The way I see it, sticking to a controller or keyboard/mouse and using the VR as a kind of stationary surround monitor is the best way to go for gaming.

Dual controllers and physically moving around in a room have too many issues and don't feel natural for games. It's great for tech demos, but I can't imagine playing through an 80-hour game like that. It's like the Nintendo Wii controllers that are only good for party games.

I'm not a gamer - not in the sense of today. But I do like to play games occasionally.

Back in the 90s, I remember playing Dactyl Nightmare - stand up, single controller, crappy (by today's standards - back then, it was different) HMD/res - but I loved it. Five minutes for 5 dollars - expensive, but I always liked that at the end of the game, I had gotten a great bit of exercise that was fun (I wasn't one of those "players" that just "derped" and looked around - I played the game).

Dodging, ducking, aiming and shooting - all of that "action" translated into a pretty good workout!

My future fantasy would be playing and exploring the Cyberpunk 2077 world (assuming its released); today, I would love to do the same with GTAV, but apparently it isn't something supported by default in the game (there are hacks to somewhat allow for it in the "freeform" or "single-player" mode (?) - but even those hacks don't work perfectly, from what I gather).

I'm one of those kinds of people who hates exercise - but has no problem getting it from a game or other "active" activities (I dislike competitive sports as well - but I love hiking).

I'd like a completely immersive experience, but current VR simply can't offer that.

To get there, full body tracking is required so that controllers are not needed anymore, and some kind of treadmill that allows you to walk in VR while physically staying in the same position, to avoid running into walls, having to re-adjust the connectors etc.

And even then, holding an object in VR when your hands are really empty or holding a controller feels weird.

The issues VR faces, especially around the lack of compelling content, aren't really specific to a headset model or brand. I agree with the previous post - VR as a consumer industry is pretty much a year old at this point.

It's increasingly my opinion that Valve/Facebook will need to lead by example to get the content off the ground to solve the 'chicken and egg' problems, and that leading is going to involve throwing good money into projects that simply won't make money, for the greater long term good of VR. Thankfully it looks like this is finally starting to happen, with Facebook stumping up 250 million dollars for original content and Valve's recently announced in house projects. This industry and install base isn't going to grow fast enough without this investment, especially if the past 12 months are anything to go by.

But yes, software support is nowhere near where it needs to be to ensure the future of these platforms.

If you watch the Gabe interview, he points out that cloning experiences is the wrong approach. The problem with VR is that nobody knows what its DOOM would look like. Elite: Dangerous gives a glimpse into what that could be, but it's not conclusive and is on the more expensive platforms.

> Nobody has been so preoccupied with a VR game that that they flung the controller into the TV yet.

With Leap Motion Orion, I've flung my hand into a wall - if that counts. The term is "presence," and Leap takes it to another level. Sadly, Leap consists of tech demos right now.

My retired dad tried the Vive tutorial where you can blow balloons using the controller, then hit them with your hands. He was so excited he tried to kick the balloons... And almost broke a chair. (Kicking doesn't work since there are no trackers on your feet, but the immersion was so strong he didn't realize that.)

C-Pad was used like WASD and the stick to look.