VR is in a tailspin, and the sales numbers prove it.
While I feel kinda sad it didn't work out this time, my fundamental belief is that people do not want to wear glasses of any type except sunglasses. And if I just hold true to that belief all of this stuff falls away eventually. We will generally put up with glasses if we have to, but if you don't have to.....
The most telling part of the article was this:
"When the PlayStation VR came out, I scrambled to get one into my house. I ate up its games, burning through VR Worlds, goofing off in PSVR Playroom, and encouraging friends and family to give it a spin. They all had the same CNN-esque reaction. “Wow!”
But then, 30 minutes later, they wanted the thing off their heads for a return to reality. Not a single one of my friends or family members went on to buy a VR unit of their own. In fact, not one of them has asked to give the PSVR another try when they come over." (emphasis mine)
While current VR did solve all the latency issues that doomed the first try - I'm not sure that latency was the whole problem because latency made you feel sick. Even though current hardware fixed that, not all of the sickness went away and it's hard to find numbers on how may people are affected by motions sickness with these headsets. But they do post signs now about how VR can make you feel sick. The exact same thing happened with 3D. And it's always sort of a surprise when this happens to people.
For instance back when 3D was a fad Mr S. and I were at the movies and he got a severe reaction from the glasses. So severe he thought he needed to go to the hospital. And he worked on the old timey VR when it clearly made you sick! So it's not like this was a foreign feeling to him. Which is why he was convinced something other than motion sickness was causing his reaction. Plus he'd used 3D glasses tons of time before. For some reason this one movie made his brain freak out. We actually had to leave. He came home and laid in bed for a while.
One time when I was trying VR in the earlier days I got motion sickness so bad it lasted for like an hour. And I don't get motion sickness. I was really surprised. So, likely people who try these things don't want to go back because they are experiencing some level of motion discomfort. Something that people who love to hype this tech never actually seem to write about.
The article goes on to say:
"Today’s VR headsets don’t answer that question. After the initial shock wears off they offer too little content, are too confusing to use, and leave too many users dealing with motion sickness or other VR-related ailments. Even hardcore VR enthusiasts rarely use a headset for more than an hour at a time." (also emphasis mine)
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My unexpected demise was in fact a rumor: I have survived the ordeal of moving, and now at least everything's nearby even if it isn't all in the new place yet.
ReplyDeleteThe fridge is loaded, the kitchen is starting to come together, and I have something resembling an Internet connection that isn't stuck inside my phone or my tablet. The bed is new, the desk is new, and I am now the slightly perplexed owner of more than twenty new outlet-sized surge protector blocks.
My clothes, however, are still in suitcases.
Next week I'll go back to the old place to direct the cleaning people to deal with unclean stuff so I can hand over the keys. I'll be staying in a hotel for that since the drive time between places is enough that I don't want to try a Mad Max run into the city. :-)
And yes, there are Real Cubans who will make my coffee here, but of course the coffee is still coming up from Miami. :-)
But about VR: 3D makes me sick, especially if it's the "Real 3D" version.
I usually don't go to the movies when there's only a 3D option to watch.
My last "Real 3D" experience led to a headache that lasted for over a week.
I used to know where my un-3D glasses are -- they're a set of 3D glasses that have two of the same lenses in them, so I won't see the 3D effects. I'd buy another set if I felt like I'd go to the movies a lot more, but the truth is that a lot of what's in the theaters now really sucks.
It's like how all of the pop songs are really the same song, or that they're written by the same two people, at least the ones that aren't "created" by a small committee of "artists" who write painfully stupid lyrics. (If they want to be shocking, they should just go totally Plaid on us instead of boring us to death with shock for stupid people.)
So now I just wait for the DVD to come out without the 3D crap.
VR actually made me want to hurl within about ten minutes.
I wear glasses all of the time now, but the difference in weight is significant even with having to wear standard index lenses instead of polycarbonate.
My heaviest pair of glasses weighs 25 grams, and the ones I'm wearing to write this weigh around 15 grams.
If VR tech could come in a lighter form factor without the huge barf effect, then more people would give it a try, but just to be safe I'll probably be one of the ones who will give it a try several years after everyone else.
"NOW WITH NO BARFING" could become a YUUUUGE selling point. :-)
BUT OMG THIS VISOR MAKES ME WANT TO HURL HURL HURL IT THROUGH A WINDOW :-)
Glad to see you are getting more settled in Texas Refugee.
ReplyDeleteIt's sort of surprising how much having your brain tweaked that way can affect you. Some of the stuff doesn't bother me at all, and then for some reason one demo or movie can make you feel hurp-ey for a while.
I'm pretty sure a not-so-benevolent supercomputer might consider adapting Harlan Ellison's "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" to VR with all of the purgative effects in place, if not actually amplified ...
ReplyDeleteVR systems could also be used for real-life Vogon Poetry Appreciation Chairs. :-)