I think that the reason for this is that the devices aren't (yet) suitable for the mass consumer market.
Re:Who is still inside the metaverse?
by cheeselip420 on Monday March 20, 2023 @12:09PM
(#35233699)
Yeah I'd love to press my face into a greasy demo headset at the local Walmart.
The hygiene aspect of VR is under-appreciated.
I refer you to this delightful paper: "Bacterial Load of Virtual Reality Headsets"
> The results of these tests indicated that the Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from the headsets possessed high levels of antibiotic resistance.
I'm sure the shared controllers on demo units back in the day were just as bad.
Having that thing on/in your face is still different than holding it with hands.
Your eyes and nose are much closer and sweat might go down your face.
I remember being a 12 year old running to the video game section of walmart to try the latest N64 game while my mom did the weekly shopping.
Germs/bacteria were not even 1% of what was running through my brain.
You're not the target audience for this, nor am I anymore.
I definitely was the opposite kid then ;P
Re:Who is still inside the metaverse?
by smallerfish on Monday March 20, 2023 @05:52PM
(#35239301)
I suddenly realize how I got sick after visiting Legoland in San Jose with my niece - there's a virtual reality "ride" there.
Re:Who is still inside the metaverse?
by charcircuit on Monday March 20, 2023 @12:17PM
(#35233842)
>it is surprising that no money was spent on demo kiosks.
For the Quest Pro they had demo units in Best Buy. You can search YouTube to find videos of people checking it out.
They did. That was what lead to me buying my first headset; I tried a demo of the Oculus Rift at Best Buy. I'm pretty sure they did demos for the Rift S and Quest 1/2 as well once those came out. I agree it wasn't nearly as visible as it should have been though, and I don't think they were offered for very long.
Re:Who is still inside the metaverse?
by the_snooze on Monday March 20, 2023 @01:50PM
(#35235619)
Fundamentally, VR just isn't very social unless all participants have the proper hardware already. Sure, you can have a TV output to see what the headset user is seeing, but the TV-viewing experience is still very different from the headset experience. Not to mention, it looks really jerky and jarring as a non-interactive user.
I feel like VR is a technology that has no idea where it fits into the world. It's cool, but why should anyone care about it before they've put up the money to buy into the ecosystem? It's not like a TV which is an easily shared experience.
People don't want to blindly buy an unproven expensive gaming system without trying it out first. You can't go into a local Best Buy, Walmart, or Target and try the units out. You have to wait till someone you know gets it an is kind enough to let you give it a go.
With all the money Zuck has spent on developing these devices, it is surprising that no money was spent on demo kiosks.