If Zuck was smart, he could have a partnership with Sony and push out a launch title for this.

If that were true, the work features would have shipped already, but they were busy with gaming which is why they bought several game studios. Games were a major focus for meta because it’s one of the traditional vectors for new technology adoption. Well, that and pornography.

Let’s hope that you’re right now assuming meta is changing course, and I’m wrong because I’ve been waiting to use the work features. So far, the 3rd party options and the resolution for reading text still isn’t good enough

agreed. it's unfortunate that FB decided to just coin "Metaverse" since it's all encompassing. to your later point, it's as if Yahoo decided to launch a product called "Internet" and have it be an awful piece of software turning off everyone from the concept of the internet and pushing it back another decade simply due to terrible branding

I'll bet that once someone puts out a super polished platform with a handful of killer apps, it'll take off anyway. Right now even if you gave away preconfigured VR headsets to everyone for free they wouldn't use them

> Not enough people are even willing to give it a try due to a combination of FB’s broken brand and the intimidating giant box that you have to put on your face

I'm not willing to give it a try because it doesn't interest me, it has nothing to do with FB or being 'intimidated' buy a box. I just don't want to play things in VR, especially games that I've already played and the only new feature is '3 inches from face'

You should quit repeating "3 inches from face" though since it's misleading and pointless. There's this thing called a "lens" which can make something appear farther away than it really is, and they use this bold technology to make stuff in VR appear far enough away that it actually tricks your brain into thinking it's really there in 3D space

The hype is real, and mirthless smart people are just looking to cash in on Meta's billion dollar branding moves.

I don't see much of a difference between the two. I can understand the non-techie masses doing this, but not what seems like the majority of HN users.

It’s been almost 3 years since Half Life Alyx and nothing in the Vr space has come even remotely close.

It’s the killer app problem. There are a few very cool experiences in VR, but overall it a sad environment.

I have no doubt it’ll be big. Just curious on HOW SLOWLY it’s going.

Every single person with whom I have shared my Quest 2 has said something to the effect of “is it supposed to be so blurry?” and “this thing is uncomfortable”.

The tech is really cool - and the experiences are not totally there (as you say) - but it’s not developed enough as a product.

We can hand wave away the poor resolution because the whole package is kind of amazing, but it undercuts the argument that ‘this is the future!’ when first impressions are that it looks like the past.

Graphics and visual fidelity can be solved easily. PCVR works well with the Quest 2

I got it on VR and it was awesome. It was so much more intense and fucking cool and extra flexible (I can hold a knife and a shotgun at the same time???? fucking amazing).

The main thing is that I don't want to just play video games. I like to jump around a bit and do other things. Switching apps is just really annoying in VR, usually it's not even possible.

Probably a better example is Netflix. I usually have TV shows on throughout the day, pausing them constantly for seconds, minutes, or hours, as I do something else, or often letting them play in the background. Can't do that on my Quest 2, it's either "sit in front of a TV and do nothing else" or don't.

To me, these issues are really more OS level/ platform level. The VR UX is out of whack with how I want to use it. Individually though, I can say that my experience is that a VR version of something can be way cooler.

Also, I'd like to have a keyboard interface. If I could wear something like fingerless gloves + have a keyboard hooked up and I just sit at my desk with N virtual monitors that would be amazing. But again, that's not really an "app" problem, it's the OS/platform/UX.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamVR/comments/manbp4/how_do_i_ge...

It’s not really possible on Quest 2 for the hardware intensive apps because it doesn’t have enough RAM and the XR2 is still weak processor

It'll happen eventually, that projects like HL-A won't seem sooo risky and not require an entity like Valve that seems to have done it mostly for bragging rights - or something.

I think given the size and cost of games like this, it's going to be a very slow crawl... and not an explosion like iPhone was.

See: Zune.

My eyesight is _just_ able to play without glasses inserts, so I marginally feel your pain. I wish I could use my glasses. Maybe it's time I pulled out contacts again.

I really want a serious FPS with spaceships .

Facebook may be 'toxic' but the Meta is cheap, amazing, supports Air Link for PC, even has cross-play (buy a Quest game, play it on PC at better graphics). Privacy options, they -removed- Facebook login, you can sideload apps. Tacit support for modding games like Beat Saber.

Apple would turn their headset into a walled garden with no ability to run custom apps and definitely no Air Link. Try to mod a game and get banned.

They called it something else, they make you use different credentials, but it’s all Facebook on the backend.

Are we talking about the same Meta company that owns Facebook?

> they -removed- Facebook login

Which they added in the first place, much to the dismay of literally everyone.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateoflahertyuk/2020/01/21/appl...

Like meta, I also agree that Apple will be a double edged sword for XR. On the positive side, Apple will help the masses understand the potential of XR beyond gaming, and the M chips blow everything away. On the negative side, only we’ll be able to afford a $3000 XR Apple headset which will save meta’s XR related effort since they’re the affordable option. They’re scared of if, but whether or not Meta realizes it, meta needs that Apple headset to release

Like they were for MP3 players, Smartphones, expensive headphones and Smartwatches?

Yes, I use Android.

Google is one-off $25 to publish on their store, but running your own code via sideload is free.

I'm sick of people criticizing Apple's walled garden. It's the primary feature of Apple products. It's what makes them what they are. If you don't like it, just buy something else. No one is forcing you to buy Apple if you don't like the walled garden. Many people like it and I'm amazed that there are so many people that don't understand that.

Apple will lock down the hardware and increase prices, and that doesn't benefit consumers if other companies follow suit.

It's not their brand per se that's the issue, but the fact that their headsets were bricks unless you had signed up for a Facebook account with all the issues that come with that, from privacy concerns to getting locked out seemingly on a whim: https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/j22lmx/im_out_...

The response from Meta still leaves a lot to be desired: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/07/quest-vr-has-traded-f...

Less important than Meta rehabbing their brand image would be them actually putting a stop to their user hostile behavior.

Source: never had Facebook, but have had Quests

To answer some of the siblings. Yes a Meta account is not a Facebook account. Facebook = A product. Just like an Instagram account isn't a Facebook account either. But they are both 'meta'.

Meta essentially end-of-lifed oculus accounts but transitioned them to Meta. I think (myself included) people would not have liked being forced into another product.

signed, 1 of 2,000,000,000 monthly active users across Messenger, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram

Their users are trending older now, and the brunt of ad revenue will be destroyed eventually. Why do you think Mark pivoted the company?

I don't disagree. HackerNews comments + Reddit insist the Meta is the worst thing ever.

Why? I don't know? Because HackerNews comments + Reddit sentiment said so? I'd love to learn why the company is so hated.

It can't be ignored that tons of people still "trust them enough" (begrudginly?) to use their products. Sure, a very vocal minority will say "I'm Meta free/use none of their products!" but that's not what their earnings shows trend wise.

> Meta's standard user metrics also show continuing stability and growth during Q3. Both Daily Active People ("DAP") and Monthly Active People ("MAP"), users of Meta's Family of Apps, grew sequentially by just over 1.5% in Q3, while Monthly Active Users ("MAU") and Daily Active Users ("DAU"), users of Facebook only, both grew 0.8%: