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Get ready for a wave of expensive VR headsets:
Call it a summer surprise. Meta suddenly ratcheted up the entry-level price for its 2-year-old Quest 2 VR headset, jumping from $299 to $400 starting Aug. 1. A product getting more expensive two years after its release doesn't normally happen. But these aren't really normal times, and the Quest 2 was never a normal headset.
While Meta's reasoning is that the price increase helps its investment in VR and the metaverse, the Quest 2 headset was always priced artificially lower than a device like that should have cost. It's unfortunate, but it's hardly the end of the price increases for VR tech. Based on what we know about the next wave of the most-anticipated VR headsets, things are going to get a lot more expensive soon.
Meta's next headset, the expected "Quest Pro" also called Project Cambria, should be coming this fall [and] expected to cost over $800.
Apple's long-expected VR headset, now projected for a 2023 release, could vault as high as $3,000, according to reports. [...]
The "most affordable" of the three might be the PlayStation VR 2, a headset expected by the end of this year. Signs are pointing to premium pricing, though. [...]
[...] At the same time, Sag says that he sees a return of VR toward consumer headsets, versus business-focused models. "I think the PSVR will help with that even as the Quest 2 raises in price."
Has a compelling reason for the general public to get one emerged yet, or are we still quite a ways away from that?
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The next Meta Quest headset, planned for launch this year, will be thinner, twice as powerful, and slightly more expensive than the Quest 2. That's according to a leaked internal hardware roadmap presentation obtained by The Verge that also includes plans for high-end, smartband-controlled, ad-supported AR glasses by 2027.
The "Quest 3" will also include a new "Smart Guardian" system that lets users walk around safely in "mixed reality," according to the presentation. That will come ahead of a more "accessible" headset, codenamed Ventura, which is planned for a release in 2024 at "the most attractive price point in the VR consumer market."
That Ventura description brings to mind John Carmack's October Meta Connect keynote, in which he highlighted his push for a "super cheap, super lightweight headset" targeting "$250 and 250 grams." Carmack complained that Meta is "not building that headset today, but I keep trying." Months later, Carmack announced he was leaving the company, complaining that he was "evidently not persuasive enough" to change the company for the better.
Related:
John Carmack's 'Different Path' to Artificial General Intelligence
John Carmack Steps Out of Meta's VR Mess
The Low-Cost VR Honeymoon Is Over
The First "Meta Store" is Opening in California in May
John Carmack Issues Some Words of Warning for Meta and its Metaverse Plans
Meta Removing Facebook Login Requirement for Quest Headsets by Next Year
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Opportunist on Monday August 01 2022, @11:30AM (8 children)
Did someone find a way to patch out the metastasis spyware and now the cross financing by selling the privacy of its users doesn't work anymore?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by looorg on Monday August 01 2022, @11:44AM (7 children)
Isn't it more like they are hiking the prices now so the next version, that will be even more expensive, will not seem to expensive any more by comparison? It's easier to sell the price (and quality one would assume) hike when going from $400 to $800 compared to $299 to $800. Or as they put it already they had priced the basic version artificially low to hook people. Now that they are hooked they can charge a premium for the "pro" version.
That said I don't know if they ever sold it at a loss or not and hoped to make it up in other means. That remains somewhat unclear but not unheard of in other sectors such as the home console market where the machine is powerful but kept low in price and then they make it back on all the games, DLC and all the other stuff they sell in their online shops to customize the game (of cause you need this special blue pixel horse to ride on ... or this cool looking hat ... or this ...). So if they think the Playstation 2 VR thing is the saving grace then that is probably for this reason. Sony will sell it cheap and hope to make it up for it in and with the games.
Apple-prices of $3000 doesn't even matter as these are the people that are already paying the stupid tax on phones, computers and whatever. So they are used to getting gauged when paying for the logo.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Immerman on Monday August 01 2022, @12:51PM (6 children)
Honestly, from what I've seen so far VR is promising but not quite ripe yet. On both the software and hardware side.
Apple on the other hand specializes in delivering a highly-polished (if often restricted) premium experience. They're not as good at it as they used to be, but it still seems to be their target niche.
If they can actually deliver such an experience for VR/AR... well, I'm sure it will have a premium price tag to match, but I would also expect it to deliver a very compelling experience. With luck, compelling enough to bring some focus to the rest of the industry as well.
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Monday August 01 2022, @04:21PM (5 children)
VR has been promising but hasn't been quite ripe yet for about 30 years.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday August 01 2022, @05:33PM (4 children)
Oh? I struggle to think of anything prior to the original pre-Facebook Oculus that was particularly promising. At least not anywhere remotely close to the consumer market.
Tantalizing, certainly, with the promise of things to eventually come - but not promising in themselves.
The current generation is almost there. The raw technology is... adequate. Still lots of room for improvement, but now to the point where it's fun and useful, and can be used for hours at a time.
What's still obviously lacking is comfort, style, and an intuitive general-purpose interface.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Opportunist on Monday August 01 2022, @09:12PM (1 child)
The current generation is as much "almost there" with VR as 1990s computers were "almost there" for what was back then called "multimedia". We had "full motion video"... in a resolution of about 240x120 with 15fps, fitting about 30 seconds of it on a CD, in a quality that would make people comment "use a better potato" if it was uploaded on YouTube.
(Score: 3, Informative) by r1348 on Monday August 01 2022, @10:17PM
Well my experience using the Valve Index has been nothing but positive, but that's in the 1000$ range.
And once you finish Half Life: Alxy, everything else feels like a demo.
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Tuesday August 02 2022, @02:22AM (1 child)
I played a VR game running on a Commodore Amiga back in 1990. Obviously it was blocky as hell, but the frame rate was OK (about 20fps from memory) and there was entertaining gameplay there. You needed to navigate around a series of platforms with ramps connecting them, and shooting a gun that had a projectile that followed a parabolic arc (i.e. you needed to estimate how high to shoot to hit a target that was further away). There were moving opponents on these platforms/ramps that were trying to shoot you too, and a bird / pterodactyl that would sometimes fly over and swoop.
Based on what was on offer 32 years ago, I expected things to have moved forward faster than what we have today. Then again, 3D TV was a flash in the pan that everyone decided wasn't worth it after all, so perhaps our demand for 3D is just not as great as people assume it is?
(Score: 2) by Kell on Tuesday August 02 2022, @11:52AM
Yeah, I remember it to - gen 1 VR. Clunky but tantalising enough to make The Lawnmower Man seem like it was on to something.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Monday August 01 2022, @11:33AM (5 children)
> Has a compelling reason for the general public to get one emerged yet, or are we still quite a ways away from that?
Pornography. Isn't that really the answer to all these new emerging tech toys? More and better views of naked people getting it on. Now it's almost like you are there yourself ... creepily watching. It's peeping Tom tech. With the added benefit of you don't even have to leave your own home or stalk strangers.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday August 01 2022, @01:41PM (4 children)
Beat me to it. There's already a pile of artisan VR pr0n out there, stuff like Virtamate, but it's mostly just one guy at the centre and a pile of others producing plugins and whatnot. If one or two big commercial vendors started doing it, VR headsets would fly off the shelves no matter how much they cost.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday August 02 2022, @08:46AM (3 children)
Is that the software development, or the "mature" content produced?
(Score: 3, Informative) by driverless on Tuesday August 02 2022, @09:00AM (2 children)
I'm not really familiar enough with it to be able to say anything definitive, but for Virtamate it seems to be one developer doing the software and lots of third parties providing content. Google will tell you a lot more than I can.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday August 02 2022, @12:02PM (1 child)
That's a more informative answer that I'd expected: I was worried the "one guy in the centre" was in the actual videos.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday August 02 2022, @12:11PM
They're not actually videos, it's all CGI. So the developer(s?) are using something like a 3D game engine customised for pr0n rendering and the addons are things like textures, scenes, effects, motion capture of models, that sort of thing. It's 100% computer-generated.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Revek on Monday August 01 2022, @11:42AM (3 children)
To not purchase any of them. VR hype has been around since late 90's. Everything that has followed has been a unprofitable disaster. If this current frenzy is still going in a few years then, maybe.
This page was generated by a Swarm of Roaming Elephants
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Freeman on Monday August 01 2022, @03:24PM (2 children)
Even 'ye olde HTC Vive can give you a very good experience. Depending on your interests, you may/may not be interested in it at all.
Personally, I found some very fun and great experiences. My kid has as well.
#1 VR game for kiddo: VR Zoo
It feels a lot more like a tech demo, but it has a bunch of animals. And the animals can be picked up with the controller and carried around. It is supreme animal awesomeness. There's also VR Aquarium or whatever, it's somewhat similar to VR Zoo, but fish, etc.
I don't have a #1 game / app for VR, but there are some super great experiences and fun to be had.
Steam's Lab thing is a lot of free, casual, fun, tech demo like VR stuff.
In the event that you are a Fallout fan, Fallout 4 VR is extremely awesome. The locomotion is a bit nausea inducing, but the teleport movement style is very playable. You end up with an entire Fallout world that you are immersed in. Sure, you have some mobility issues, but you turn the entire Fallout world into a giant shooting gallery. It's super fun and has some VR experiences that are superb, like riding in a Brotherhood of Steel Vertibird.
Skyrim VR has pretty much all the limitations of Fallout 4 VR. I just never got into any of the Elder Scrolls games. I did try it and could play it. It's essentially a Fantasy version of Fallout. Instead of guns, rockets, etc. You have bows and magic. Maybe the thing I'm missing is VATs (time pause and aim at limbs, etc.) for Elder Scrolls. I certainly feel the pain of a missing mini-map, but maybe I'm just talking crazy. I really haven't played it much and speculating on the things that make it not an instant win for me. Shooting Fireballs, etc. from your hands in VR is extremely satisfying, though. Maybe the game is just a bit slower paced than I want?
Portal Stories VR is an excellent free adaptation of the Non-VR free expansion for Portal 2. In the event you enjoyed Portal/Portal 2, you're very likely to love this free VR expansion. It doesn't work exactly like the normal Portal mechanices, because that wouldn't work well in VR. It's an extremely fun playthrough, though. Also for how cheap you can get Portal 2, this is a literal steal.
There are some others, but really, if none of those sell you on VR. You're not likely to find random VR games to be of your liking. You can go places to try out VR though, so in the event that you're not sold on the idea, but interested in looking at it. You can go try it out yourself, before spending $400 on a heaset. We're assuming you already have a $1,000 computer you can play it on. RX 480 and GTX 1650 are both entry level, VR gaming cards. I've also used a Ryzen 1700 and 3600 for playing VR and 16GB of RAM should be enough, 32GB doesn't hurt though.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Monday August 01 2022, @04:39PM (1 child)
I had a very similar experience; a used HTC Vive is in the $300ish category and I've had a blast using it. I thought it was a gimmick for years but after getting the headset I'm keeping it.
I always introduce people using Steam Lab; the opening sequence with the dog wins over a lot of people. When my parents were visiting for a few weeks I moved the PC to the living room and it became social: you can setup the goggles to be duplicated on your monitor (TV). I've also streamed that display on Twitch successfully (twitch.tv/richtopia! I need more subscribers than just my mother).
For me, I've been surprised with the titles that resonate with me. My friend is really into Eurotruck Simulator and using my monitor I never saw the appeal, but in VR it is a blast to push the truck as hard as possible.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday August 01 2022, @08:08PM
I got my Vive used for near $450 around 3 years ago. I was looking at used HTC Vives and found it interesting that they were quite a bit cheaper now. You can also get a Quest 2 and use it with your PC, which made it a steal at $299, before the recent price hike to $400.
The original Vive is definitely somewhat clunky. Despite some of the drawbacks, you can have a great experience with it. When I got it, the real options were, "HTC Vive" or "Occulus/Facebook" and I definitely went with the "Not Facebook" option.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Monday August 01 2022, @11:43AM (3 children)
I thought this was main competitor to FriendFace?
(Score: 2) by WizardFusion on Monday August 01 2022, @01:50PM (1 child)
The full steam kit (with free game) costs £919.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Opportunist on Monday August 01 2022, @04:23PM
Well, you have to pay more to get your VR metastasis-free. But at least you now know what your personal data is worth.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Monday August 01 2022, @04:59PM
I have a Valve Index. I love it.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 4, Insightful) by r_a_trip on Monday August 01 2022, @01:17PM (8 children)
Compelling reasons for VR? There are none for the general population. They already said a hard NO. Passive 3d tv's were as close as the masses got to an easy, but very limited form of virtual reality and they declared it a hassle to put on a lightweight pair of glasses and see their content stereoscopically. Even with that minor inconvenience, the technology flopped.
Now look at VR goggles. Do we really think people will shell out in excess of $500 for a headmounted dual screen? Which cuts them of from the world we live in, just so they an immerse themselves in the addictive world of FAANG and spend all their waking minutes in the spend-all-your-money walhalla? Dream on. There is nothing easy, turn-key, push a button about strapping yourself in a headmounted display, to see yourself walking around in a fake 3d world. Add in the privacy issues with the companies pushing this and their ever growing hunger for more profit and it seems like a losing deal from the get go.
VR has its uses. Education. Remote work. Research. Etc. Does it have a must-have use case in the common home? Not a chance. In the living room it might be a plaything for uber technology nerds and the people who like to show off, but Joe and Jane Sixpack won't adopt this as a staple.
(Score: 3, Informative) by IndigoFreak on Monday August 01 2022, @02:02PM (2 children)
I disagree it has educational benefit. You now want schools to have a 3000 dollar headset, that sticky fingered kids are going to use? That's a nightmare. This is just a way for meta to cash in on education. I strongly disagree with all this IT crap in the schools. I see no benefit for the kids other than to have touched a computer. It's been nothing but a nightmare for both my kids. The teachers require the math homework to be done on paper, since you can't easily do math on a word document(they probably can't afford good math software). You can't turn in the paper to the teacher, but you somehow have to take a picture with your phone, transfer it to the laptop, then upload it. With software in your way of the transfer, and the website not working over half the time to upload your documents. All while the software shows you with an F because as soon as the teacher puts up assignments online they have a 0 score.
Watched a meta commercial last night, and they were peddling this BS. Showing a person training for surgery, on an empty table, slicing into someone. There's no resistance for their fake knife. Hows that helpful!
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Monday August 01 2022, @02:41PM
There was an industrial model (forget the name) where you had someone on site wear a AR headset that included head mounted cameras and an offsite expert wear the VR headset. The expert could then direct the local through complicated emergency procedures. It looked like a great idea, but the company went under (or at least discontinued it).
Personally, I want one that has two cameras that feed normal vision to the screens. Give it the options to brighten/darken/zoom/enhance contrast/false colour. Main requirement is zero lag. Would also be good for operating lasers, "Replace camera before looking at laser with remaining camera". :)
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by r_a_trip on Tuesday August 02 2022, @10:38AM
Which is why I said "VR has its uses. Education. Remote work. Research. Etc." I strictly spoke about VR as a common consumer technology.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday August 01 2022, @03:26PM (1 child)
From what I've seen it's seen some interest as a cardio exercise thing.
It's big enough to get the FTC involved anyway: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/07/ftc-says-metas-supernatural-purchase-could-ruin-the-vr-fitness-market/ [arstechnica.com]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Freeman on Monday August 01 2022, @03:28PM
Just playing a game like Space Pirate Trainer or other VR game that requires you to move around and dodge a bit. I've found myself working up a sweat and getting tired, just from playing the game. Not, wow, this game sucks, I'm going to move on to the next thing. More of a, man I've been playing that for an hour and I'm pretty tired now. Maybe some Non-VR game or something now.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Zinho on Monday August 01 2022, @08:40PM
There is research [neurosciencenews.com] indicating that VR can cause neural development problems in young children:
I'm restricting my 8 and 11 year kids to an hour per day max in VR to reduce any problems this may cause. I don't recommend using it for early education.
"Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2022, @10:00PM (1 child)
The main issue with previous stereoscopic devices is that a large segment of the population have issues with seeing the image correctly. It just doesn't really work for them. I previously worked a bit with maps and images that you had a 3D effect on via a small standing device, sort of like a pair of glasses on a stand, and for a lot of people they just could see the images or maps correctly. Is that an issue with VR to? People just can't see it correctly?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 03 2022, @01:22AM
The old red/blue 3D doesn't work for me unless I put at least a 80% neutral filter over the blue lens. Yes, I have reduced red/green color vision.
If your system worked on color around 7% of men would not be able to use it.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2022, @01:27PM
It's made by MetaFacebook.
That invalidates any upsides the device might have.
Also, i don't see the point in cracking it, because of the budget difference (they budget is so much larger, it makes no sense to attack them in this arena, cos they will push out a new update as soon as they learn about crack existing) So, can't really massively hurt 'em this way, i think.
And it's gonna be unlikely that a worm can be made to brick all these satanic devices... You could get lucky, but its a waste of time in my opinion.
(Score: 4, Informative) by stormreaver on Monday August 01 2022, @02:41PM (1 child)
I found the Quest 1 to be compelling, and so did my kids. I bought three of them because the price was reasonable. We all got lots of usage out of them.
I found the Quest 2 to be compelling, and so did my kids, and the price was really good. We largely retired our Quest 1's, though most of the games I like still play on it. We gets lots of usage out of them.
If the next Quest costs $800, my kids and I will be sticking with the Quest 2 until they no longer work or are no longer supported. Then, we will be exiting the VR space.
I think Facebook has just announced the end of the VR revolution, and will have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory if it follows through with these plans.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday August 01 2022, @08:26PM
The Quest 2 is a reasonable device. Likely, there will be a $300ish device that beats it in the near future. There's plenty of room for competition in VR as it stands. I get that a standalone VR console for $300 is a much more palatable price. Than say an HTC Vive or Valve Index + gaming computer, per person. Currently the Quest 2 is getting a price hike of essentially $100. That's not great, but it's not a $500 price hike. The next Quest is likely going to try and compete with the HTC Vive and Valve Index, etc. As it stands, you have the people that like hooking up a headset to their computer and playing
"real games" like Fallout 4 VR. And you have the people that like to play Beat Saber and other Casual games. Casual Games work well for the built-in hardware on a Quest 2. Fallout 4 VR, Skyrim VR and anything that needs a discrete GPU to run, just won't work on the Quest 2. Unless you use the link functionality and hook it up to a computer anyway. Which kind of defeats the purpose of a wireless headset and the built-in cameras to track, just aren't as good as HTC's or Valve's base stations.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2022, @09:25PM
If I want to be disoriented and get a headache, alcohol is way cheaper.
Maybe they should work on a way to bring back two-buck Chuck. Just put a tracking device in the cork--give up your privacy in exchange for data about how much you drink.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Tuesday August 02 2022, @09:16AM (1 child)
The price of everything is up. What isn't up 20% or more? Just wait a few more months for it to propagate through the supply chain.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 3, Touché) by kazzie on Tuesday August 02 2022, @12:05PM
Wages. :D