E3 2017

[Howard_Casto]

So Nintendo killed it, Microsoft and Sony seem to have switched places (Sony is the evil, obstructive one now), Ubi listened to their fans, Bethesda apparently isn't working on anything new.  Thus far E3 has been far more interesting than I thought it would. 

Things I found noteworthy:

Microsoft is officially old enough to get in on the nostalgia game... original xbox titles anyone?
The Duke controller is making a comeback!  Haters can suck it. 
You can network a xbox, and xbox 360, and xbox 1 and a xb1x all together for a game of Halo 1.  Pointless, but still kind of cool. 

Metroid Prime 4 is coming and a 2d Metroid will be released on the 3ds... there is a god.
Mario Odyssey was kind of "meh" until they showed you can possess a T-Rex... admit it... we all want to be a T-Rex. 
Mario + Rabbids looks... fun?!?

Lots of fun games coming out that could be ported to the switch, but they aren't.  WTF Ubisoft?  Capcom?  You can't tell me Skyrim will run on the switch but not the next AC game or MvC: Infinite. 

Everybody wants to play with each other now... crossplay between the pc, xbox, switch.... but not the ps4, cause Sony is a killjoy. 
Speaking of Sony, they had Dad of War and Spider-Man..... and I'm sure... other things.

Ubisoft makes everybody happy with Skull and Bones and the new AC, but then confuses everyone with a Beyond Good and Evil prequel that absolutely nobody wanted.  Fans wanted a SEQUEL with THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

[shponglefan]

Bethesda apparently isn't working on anything new.

Skyrim VR is a pretty big deal, as is Doom VFR.  Fallout 4 VR we kinda already knew about, but good to get a release date finally.

[opt2not]

Prime 4 isn't being made by Retro Studios, so we'll see how that turns out.

[ChadTower]

Mother ---smurf--- I might have to drop the money on a PS4 and VR setup now.

[Howard_Casto]

Bethesda apparently isn't working on anything new.

Skyrim VR is a pretty big deal, as is Doom VFR.  Fallout 4 VR we kinda already knew about, but good to get a release date finally.

It's old games with VR support tacked on, so it really isn't.  When a new game for normal, non-vr nerds is announced let me know. 

[shponglefan]

It's old games with VR support tacked on, so it really isn't.  When a new game for normal, non-vr nerds is announced let me know.

You're missing the bigger picture here.  This is the sort of thing that inches VR towards the mainsteam.  You'll be joining us soon enough.

[Howard_Casto]

It's certainly a step in the right direction, but the install base just isn't there.  Now if it drastically increases vr sales it might, but I don't see that happening.  I mean RE VR didn't.

I did see a decent (not great) i5 pc coupled with an oculus +$100 store credit for $999 today.  So at least they are trying to get the price down.  Then again it's the OR and not the Vive.  I totally called that one tanking.... as soon as facebook became involved.  I considered buying the bundle because my pc is super old and I need a new one anyway but after looking up the pc specs and adding everything up they weren't knocking that much off the rift and the pc was kidn of "meh". 

[Howard_Casto]

Prime 4 isn't being made by Retro Studios, so we'll see how that turns out.

Where did you get that info?  So long as Team Ninja doesn't get ahold of it I think we'll be fine.  Actually I liked that game, story aside so we'd still be fine.

[opt2not]

Prime 4 isn't being made by Retro Studios, so we'll see how that turns out.

Where did you get that info?  So long as Team Ninja doesn't get ahold of it I think we'll be fine.  Actually I liked that game, story aside so we'd still be fine.

Industry contacts. Also, it's plastered all over the gaming sites. Kensuke Tanabe is still producing it thank goodness, but it's a new team that's handling it.

[ChadTower]

It's certainly a step in the right direction, but the install base just isn't there.  Now if it drastically increases vr sales it might, but I don't see that happening.  I mean RE VR didn't.

I feel like we have people saying "nobody will buy the hardware without strong software" and at the same time saying "nobody will buy the software because they don't own the hardware". 

[pbj]

As far as E3 goes, I guess I was... whelmed? It'll be nice to see Microsoft and Nintendo putting a little pressure on Sony.  Everyone will benefit from that. 

I'm just stock piling away gift cards until I decide if I'm going Xbox One X, Switch, or PSVR this Christmas.

[shponglefan]

It's certainly a step in the right direction, but the install base just isn't there.  Now if it drastically increases vr sales it might, but I don't see that happening.  I mean RE VR didn't.

There are still other barriers which need to come down; price and technology improvements being primary ones.  But the more content that comes to VR, the more incentive there is for people to adopt it.  Especially seeing recognizable franchises like Fallout, the Elder Scrolls, Doom...

Ubisoft also announced a couple more VR titles, so they're still pumping resources into developing content for it.

Slowly but surely it's getting there...

[Howard_Casto]

It's certainly a step in the right direction, but the install base just isn't there.  Now if it drastically increases vr sales it might, but I don't see that happening.  I mean RE VR didn't.

I feel like we have people saying "nobody will buy the hardware without strong software" and at the same time saying "nobody will buy the software because they don't own the hardware".

That's not quite right.  It's what I call the "Nintendo Dilemma"  The reason third parties don't develop more games for Nintendo systems is because they are afraid nobody will buy them.  They are afraid that nobody will buy them because historically Nintendo consoles have weak third party support.  It's pretty much like that except Nintendo thrives anyway because they make top quality first party games.  That's a major problem with VR.... the headsets aren't really sold by game developers, so there's no first party guarantee. 

It's like this.... do you know why the Wii nunchuck thrived while the wii zapper failed?  It's because nearly every first party game on the wii required a nunchuck, which meant that most wii owners had one, there was a large install base, and thus developers were more willing to take a risk and require an accessory to play a game.  The zapper got Link's crossbow training, and that was it.  So not nearly as many people owned one and thus developers were far less willing to take the risk on requiring the accessory.  We got a few arcade shooter ports, some shovel-ware and that's it and not a single one required the device, it was optional. 

VR is the same way.  For a significant amount of people to own one it has to be either really cheap, or have a large library.  Since third parties aren't willing to take the risk as a whole, Sony needs to get busy. 

[ChadTower]

Resident Evil 4 with the Wii Zapper is awesome.  Best RE game out there outside of VR.

[ChadTower]

Oh, yeah, and look at the Wii zapper and a Farpoint VR controller side by side.  The basic design is the same.  It's not a coincedence. 

[Howard_Casto]

Sony's m.o. since the start has been to look at what Nintendo is doing, copy it, and "double" it, so yeah that isn't exactly a surprise. 

[05SRT4]

Really excited for Monster Hunter World.

Its about time they bring it back to the Playstation.

Getting my friends to buy a wii or DS just to play it wasn't working out to well.

[opt2not]

That's not quite right.  It's what I call the "Nintendo Dilemma"  The reason third parties don't develop more games for Nintendo systems is because they are afraid nobody will buy them.  They are afraid that nobody will buy them because historically Nintendo consoles have weak third party support.  It's pretty much like that except Nintendo thrives anyway because they make top quality first party games.  That's a major problem with VR.... the headsets aren't really sold by game developers, so there's no first party guarantee. 

It's like this.... do you know why the Wii nunchuck thrived while the wii zapper failed?  It's because nearly every first party game on the wii required a nunchuck, which meant that most wii owners had one, there was a large install base, and thus developers were more willing to take a risk and require an accessory to play a game.  The zapper got Link's crossbow training, and that was it.  So not nearly as many people owned one and thus developers were far less willing to take the risk on requiring the accessory.  We got a few arcade shooter ports, some shovel-ware and that's it and not a single one required the device, it was optional. 

VR is the same way.  For a significant amount of people to own one it has to be either really cheap, or have a large library.  Since third parties aren't willing to take the risk as a whole, Sony needs to get busy.

Yup, exactly.  This is why I don't think VR is going to take off as a mainstream thing. The entry level is too expensive currently, and the software isn't all that exciting yet.

This is also the reason why I think AR will surpass VR eventually, especially in the mobile/tablet market. Reason 1: Everyone has a smartphone now, so cameras are everywhere. There is no special AR camera you need.  2: AR can be a less isolated experience than VR.  You can easily have the AR experience involve more than one person at a time.

[shponglefan]

Yup, exactly.  This is why I don't think VR is going to take off as a mainstream thing. The entry level is too expensive currently, and the software isn't all that exciting yet.

Those are both temporary situations, though.

[pbj]

Here we go again....

[yotsuya]

Here we go again....

[Howard_Casto]

Yup, exactly.  This is why I don't think VR is going to take off as a mainstream thing. The entry level is too expensive currently, and the software isn't all that exciting yet.

This is also the reason why I think AR will surpass VR eventually, especially in the mobile/tablet market. Reason 1: Everyone has a smartphone now, so cameras are everywhere. There is no special AR camera you need.  2: AR can be a less isolated experience than VR.  You can easily have the AR experience involve more than one person at a time.

Augmented reality is an interesting concept, but they've yet to figure out what to do with it.  The 3ds has AR and it's neat to see Samus or Mario running across your desk, but it's really just a novelty.  The Wii U was supposed to have AR, but by the time it was released it was apparent that nobody was really interested.  The problem with the 3ds, and mobile style of AR is you have to hold up your device like an idiot, and that isn't fun for gaming when most games just use the real world as a background. 

I think a different approach might be required.  Like a psvr style headset with a camera on the outside that pipes video back into the game selectively.  Perhaps using good old fashioned weatherman green screening or something.  Like a flight sim rig with green poster board to let the game know where to render the "windows" of the game.  Stuff like this will never be mainstream though... it'll be like the people that buy Logitech wheels... they are certainly out there, but the majority of consumers just use a gamepad.

I really think the future of gaming is in the game appropriate interaction and not so much with gimmicks.  Nintendo seems to have figured it out with the switch.  Those switch controllers are only slightly more expensive then a standard gamepad (member when gamepads were just 20 bucks?) and yet they are crammed with all kinds of fancy feedback and sensors.  So for most games you just use the gamepad, but when specialty controls are necessary, no need to buy extra gamepads, the standard one has stuff hidden away.  Like the World of Goo port to the switch.  There's no wiimote, so the switches controllers just act like them.  Point one at the screen, it just works without a sensor bar or anything. 

My point is the average consumer only has so much tolerance for cumbersome crap.  Wearing something on your head kind of pushes the limit. 

[Mike A]

The VR thread is apparently self replicating.

[thomas_surles]

But did playstation announce the release of God of War or Days Gone?

And did nintendo mention the release date Yooka Laylee on the switch?

[shponglefan]

My point is the average consumer only has so much tolerance for cumbersome crap.  Wearing something on your head kind of pushes the limit.

If they can get the ergonomics right it probably won't be a big deal.  Lots of gamers use headsets, for example.