350°

Reality Check - Did Microsoft just make VR obsolete?

Clearly the 2 technologies are different, and there are significant advantages to both. However, that certainly doesn’t mean that both ideas will be able to thrive in tandem. Consumers and businesses will make a choice, and there is every chance that one of these concepts will fall by the wayside.

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gameondaily.com
3396d ago Replies(17)
Dewitt3396d ago (Edited 3396d ago )

You can have it scan your room and choose where you want to place holograms or if you want to completely eliminate the objects from the space.

"“Is it real?” I ask. I’m looking around at the landscape of Mars, where a dusty, rocky desert stretches in every direction, reddish mountains rising in the distance. It looks so vivid, so strangely plausible that it’s hard to believe that I’m actually looking at the surface of another planet and not the set of a sci-fi movie."

Also, you can turn any space including walls in the house into a huge projection screen, viewing your gaming content in a completely unique way.

"More interesting than the bats, however, is what the explosion leaves behind: a digital breach in the wall that seems to open up a window into a whole other little world lined with veins of ore. I want to keep going, digging deep into the wall to find out what other treasures it contains, but the men from Microsoft politely inform me that there isn’t time. Reluctantly, I walk back to the chair where they will reclaim the HoloLens, dropping as many torches as I can en route with frantic Redrum gestures."

http://www.rockpapershotgun...

Volkama3396d ago

So far there are no tech demoes that allow you to move around any area beyond the confines of the room though. The Mars one in particular, let you see well into the distance but obviously you couldn't walk to it, and there was no way to move beyond those confines.

Maybe moving around with a control pad will be intuitive and fine. Maybe the headset lacks the hardware resources to do that. Maybe seeing Mars move but not the room screws with the mind.

Being able to move around will be pretty critical a lot of types of game...

Dewitt3396d ago

"When I walk towards a nearby desk with a computer, I notice that that Martian landscape disappears beneath it, rather than projecting over it; users can designate areas where they don’t want holograms to appear, which is especially useful if you want to interact with the holograms using a computer. They encourage me to hold the mouse, and when I move the cursor off the screen, it appears suddenly within the holograph as though the Martian landscape has become an extension of my desktop."

Did you even read the article? It is fully compatible with a mouse/keyboard at this stage, of course it will compatible with the XB1 controller and many other peripherals.

Volkama3396d ago (Edited 3396d ago )

Yes, but I read another article where it was confirmed that you cannot move around the surface of Mars right now. They said they hope to implement that feature later.

Using a keyboard an mouse around a static area does not address the point, unless you could click-to-move or drag your way around the terrain and right now you can't....

Not really after an argument though. I'm sure we'll see more of what HoloLens can do before long.

Death3396d ago

Don't the same rules apply to VR? How much walking around are you doing completely blind? You can move with the controller, but you are stationary. I would imagine the most optimal place to use either technology would be a large open room. AR has the ability to change the landscaping and layout if the room is free from obstructions.

Volkama3396d ago

@Death at the moment AR does not allow you to move around with a controller while being physically stationary. That wasn't featured in any of the 4 tech demoes, including the surface of mars.

It seems like it should be an obvious thing, and maybe it wasn't deemed worth showing but it is a little curious in it's absence so far.

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iNFAMOUZ13396d ago

id like both, but i see myself loving vr more, i have to see if ar is fun or not, but as of right now at least for me vr takes the cake, cause your whole field of view is another world, you can get lost in, and ar well your still in your world with virtual stuff popping up, have to wait and see on ar

mhunterjr3396d ago (Edited 3396d ago )

No. They are two completely different approaches asn they both have their own merits. I can think of tons of scenario's that could be done with Hololens that couldn't be done with a VR headset. I can think of tons of scenario's that could be done with VR, that couldn't be done with Hololens in its current state...

Depending on the final resolution and FOV of the AR display however, theoretically, MS's AR goggle's could produce a hologram that encompasses your entire peripheral vision, making it effectively a VR device as well... The current build however, had a tiny FOV compared to the VR HMDs.

medman3396d ago

VR is more immersive, and would be what I personally prefer, to get lost in a game world or non gaming experience...but I would like to play around with AR too. There is a market for both....I for one am glad to see Sony and Microsoft doing different things with the technology.

Death3396d ago

I disagree VR is more immersive. To me, blending fantasy with reality is much more immersive. With AR, you are still you and not an avatar. How can you get more immersive than reality? I will agree you can escape reality more with VR, but that is the opposite effect.

rainslacker3395d ago

Think it depends on what the developer is trying to achieve. If the dev is making a fantasy world, then you certainly don't want to see your ratty couch and gerbil cage while fighting a dragon in a cave.

If the dev wants to make a horror game that takes place in your living room, then AR would probably work better.

However, there is no reason that VR HMD's couldn't do what AR ones do, but would likely require some kind of camera on the unit.

In the end, I still think this hololens is just projecting images over the environment like current AR does, and it's not actually holographic at all. This means the images will always be 2D, and the 3D is simulated in real time. If that's the case, lag could cause some of the same problems we see with VR headsets.

MonsterChef3395d ago

I don't get your logic here, you seem to have a strong belief that a game developer is going to specially make for you a game that's tailored to your house do you see the logic of that. "Ohh ar is so more immeressive I'm in my house running from a monster"and there goes another element that brings a problem what's your weapon what can you use do you have to use your gamingpad (knocking off the immersive feel) or does it incorporate real objects into virtual ar objects again knocking the immersion but seeing your a Microsoft fanboy anything they do is the greatest thing since slice bread

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60°

Star Wars Outlaws Wanted Levels Can Be Cleared by Defeating Death Troopers

You can clear your wanted levels in Star Wars Outlaws by defeating the death troopers.

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gameinformer.com
130°

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Appears To Have Received A Substantial Visual Upgrade, Comparison Inside

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 has received a substantial visual upgrade, and we've put together a comparison that shows the improvements.

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twistedvoxel.com
Barlos49m ago

Why market something that isn't designed to be sold?

This has GP rental written all over it.

Tacoboto44m ago

They just posted a 20+ minute video about Psychosis and how the game portrays that through Senua.

Regardless of what Microsoft is doing (retweeting Ninja Theory is about as low effort as it gets, and Dashboard Dynamic Themes should've come months ago), Ninja Theory themselves are at least trying.

It's sad though. That new video was a really good behind-the-scenes too, and it just came at such a bad time.

Tankbusta4040m ago

How much marketing do games really need these days? People that play games know when its coming out. I really think the days of the constant tv ad etc are going the way of the Dodo. What scares me more is the lack of "previews" on big video game websites, it only got a few on April 4th and then nothing since.

RNTody13m ago(Edited 13m ago)

Wow Tankbusta40 how out of touch with reality can you be, mate. Do you think companies are insane to spend millions on having giant billboards for big releases and TV adverts and superbowl slots and round the clock PR and interviews? Most of the people who buy games aren't on gaming forums like these knowing the exact release dates!

This isn't being marketed because Microsoft isn't selling the product, it's a Game Pass day one and they don't throw their weight behind games like this.

170°

Sony Makes Changes To PSN Backend To Pave Way For Future PC/PS5 Cross-Platform Releases

It appears Sony is making changes to the PSN backend in order to pave the way for future cross-platform releases across PC and PS5.

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twistedvoxel.com
PrinceOfAnger4h ago(Edited 4h ago)

If sony want their games to be more successful on pc and to sell more they need to bring the games day-one like helldivers 2! , and not after 2 years.

-Foxtrot4h ago

If it's first party (can't speak on Helldivers) then the PS5 should be focused on first in my opinion rather than worrying about 2 versions.

PrinceOfAnger4h ago

Nixxes can help with the development and release the games at the same time..

Tacoboto58m ago

Nixxes takes completed code and ports that to PC. I'm sure they do work during primary development but I like this setup.

PS5 owners are treated as first class by their platform holder, PC players get the final complete version, and GaaS are treated separately. Win-win.

XiNatsuDragnel4h ago(Edited 4h ago)

First party ps5 games need to be ps5 only until 6 months imo because they need to sell consoles still and then focus on PC later.

shinoff21834h ago

I don't see a big deal. The sales also help future development. I'm all in.

thesoftware7301h ago

This makes sense, just now doing it shows how behind and short-sighted regarding PC they were to begin with.

shaenoide1h ago

If they release it day one many will not buy a playstation anymore (me included).

Jingsing30m ago

I'm already not buying a PS5 Pro or PS6 and it isn't day one, They are already damaging themselves.

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