Vendetta Online Becomes the First MMO To Launch Support For the Oculus Rift. 48
Incarnate-VO writes "Many-platform space MMORPG Vendetta Online has added another first, with the official launch of support for the Oculus Rift family of head-mounted VR displays. The VR adds another level of immersion to the twitch-combat space title."
A few limitations: Windows only (because the Rift only supports Windows), some effects are disabled, and the developers still want to tweak things like the HUD. But it's a good first step, and supports both the low-res and high definition revisions of the Occulus Rift.
Re:The rift supports OSX... (Score:2, Insightful)
Chicken and egg solution (Score:5, Insightful)
Isn't that the point though? The big problem with any new tech is the "chicken and egg" issue - why would you buy an expensive blueray player when there's not many movies available for it, and why would the publishers make the expensive new discs if nobody has the equipment to watch them? The market stays tiny for a long time until a critical mass builds, and then the market suddenly takes off, or the products fail. Same general thing with VR helmets/games - Who would buy a VR helmet with no games except for hobbyists? And who would make games for a helmet nobody has? There's a very real risk that this could be one of the many failed technologies that fell by the wayside for lack of market penetration (8-tracks anyone?)
In this case they came up with a potentially great solution - there's plenty of hobbyists among those who make games and mods, so they marketed first to them. What better way to play with your new toy than to get VR support working in your game? And once you have VR support working why not polish it up a bit and add it to your public release, so you can hopefully cash in on some of the people with new VR helmets that are looking or supported games? Then with the second, consumer-oriented helmet production run/marketing campaign you have a fair-sized library of supported games right out of the gate. Maybe it's mostly older games that lack some of the "flash" of the newer titles, but they're also largely games that are compelling enough in some fashion that they have withstood the test of time and still have a decent number of players. And most importantly there's a fair chance your potential new VR customers have one of their favorite games supported out of the box, and know that there's at least a year or two backlog of games they've never played before already available with VR support. Makes it a much more compelling buy, don't you think? Especially considering that at least some of those gamers are considering holding off on a system upgrade to buy a VR helmet instead.
I for one am chomping at the bit to try out some VR gaming, but didn't even consider getting in on the first release - I've already got a TrackIR that does head-tracking in several flight and racing sims (not nearly as immersive as VR, but still impressive and improves situational awareness dramatically), but ran into the problem that there really aren't that many games that support it. The AAA titles all do, but most of the zany casual stuff doesn't, and things like FPSs and other non-simulation games that would leverage it wonderfully mostly don't support it. If I can be assured that I can get at least a handful of good games, and dozens more "maybes", I'll be seriously considering getting in on the second run Oculus (or maybe the third run if the second hasn't upgraded the screen) - I'd expect to get at least as much enjoyment and novelty out of it as I would a new video card or anything other upgrade I could get for the same price range.
Hmm, just had another thought - even if it doesn't catch on immediately in the consumer market I bet you there's a pretty good market within the game-making industry itself. Just how much time and aggravation do you suppose you could save your level designers and decorators if they could edit the world in VR? I'd bet productivity, quality, and morale would all benefit greatly.