It might sound obvious, but if you’re hoping that mom will want to hop into virtual reality while you make her drag around a bunch of ugly ass (and dangerous) wires, it probably won’t happen. That’s why Oculus is doing projects like its partnership with Samsung on the Gear VR. It makes virtual reality mobile.
When the latest iteration was announced, our own Josh Constine said:
The new Gear VR is 22% lighter, making it more comfortable to wear. The trackpad on the temple of the headset also now has a tactile directional pad on it so your finger will know where it’s touching.
Oculus founder Palmer Luckey shared his thoughts today on the state of PC vs. Mobile VR:
Cables are going to be a major obstacle in the VR industry for a long time. Mobile VR will be successful long before PC VR goes wireless.
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) November 1, 2015
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@PalmerLuckey And I say this as someone who has spent many hours as a cable servant, dancing cables around users to keep them immersed!
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) November 1, 2015
This is something that I’ve discussed with virtual reality industry leaders and they agree. Also, it’s a reason why things like Google Cardboard and Gear VR are carrying the load of bringing virtual reality to the mainstream. Of course the PC tethered-with-cables version is way more powerful. However, the experiences that I’ve had with the Gear VR are pretty damn good, so I don’t find myself looking around for an Oculus devkit just yet.
Mind you, I’m not a huge gamer. That’s when Sony’s work on the Playstation VR is so important. It’s a definite chicken and egg situation.
Comfort is so key, especially if we want to get people past the “oh this is cool” five minute demos that they forget about a half hour later. That’s what Luckey means by “real users.” People that are going to come back again and again for more.
As Luckey points out, developers and investors need to be aware of where things are in the industry before they set out on designing or funding products and companies. For solving the cable problem? I’ll put my bet on Luckey and Facebook’s Oculus.
