So VR is finally a reality, what took them so long?

I've given this question a lot of thought recently as I have watched VR evolve from a syfy concept like in Star Trek to what is now a somewhat a real virtual reality if that makes any sense. Being from the old school of gamers I can't help expressing frustration that it took so darn long for this to become a reality. I'm like Peter Pan I'll never grow up when it comes to gaming, but damn if VR was around when I was playing games like the ones in the arcades like Dragon Slayer and some of other graphic games it would have been so much more fun and immersive. The other thing is that if it had come out back then it would be so much more affordable today, just like the cost of consoles go down, for the average teen who either has to beg their parents to buy it for them or work multiples shifts to save up for one, be it a gaming rig that can handle Oculus, Vibe or even the new state of the art VR consoles now coming out like Sony VR and MS Hololens, which can set the average teenager back quite a few bucks, I know this may sound like a rant, but what they heck took developers so darn long to get to this point from a concept to a reality?

I think its the processor , The graphics vr requires is intense, am happy erryone is in on it, even in my country Nigeria, VR is the next big thing . so much potential

No doubt the graphics VR requires is very intensive and so now that VR ready graphic cards are coming out more it's easier to have a PC that will run VR, but still the prices of some these cards have to come down and then of course you need to be able to afford a VR like Occulus or HTC and those are pretty pricey too, so no question it has not been cost effective and a justifiable expense for a lot of people, but that will change over time just like it has with other peripherals.

I think to that point, gamers are getting older. We like spending extra cash now for better systems, and there is a market for people who want turbo-consoles and extreme game experiences.

The down side is that it also creates a culture of game developers, indie driven, that have access to money. After all, to build for the Vive, you kinda need a Vive, and special companies that are allowed to operate in the US for Steam. So it also, as an unfortunately side effect, subconsciously excludes voices and experiences outside the cultural norm. But with technology in VR taking such quick leaps, and how many billions have now been invested this year, it is just a matter of time before it becomes truly accessible to most.

Processor is huge, developers are huge. But a few good VR games can change the way you see games :) But they are also far from casual lol!

I think it seems that it had to gain momentum, like a train going uphill for years it seems like it was a chug chug struggle and now with the momentum gained it looks like it's going full throttle!

VR is finally happening thanks to multiple factors. GOOD VR requires extremely fast response times to tracking. If you move your head and there's even the slightest delay from what you see, say hello to motion sickness. The smartphone era has played a huge role in this. Parts like accelerometers, gyroscopes, and mobile sized processors, screens, etc. have all become "off the shelf parts" that are produced in such massive quantities that prices are affordable. All of these advances for the individual parts, combined with the processing capabilities of today's processors and graphics cards, make affordable VR a thing. No company wants to create an unprofitable product and no company is going to take the time to do so.

TL;DR Smartphone era gave way to required parts being small, efficient, affordable, combined with processing power.

Originally Posted by BioFanatic

VR is finally happening thanks to multiple factors. GOOD VR requires extremely fast response times to tracking. If you move your head and there's even the slightest delay from what you see, say hello to motion sickness. The smartphone era has played a huge role in this. Parts like accelerometers, gyroscopes, and mobile sized processors, screens, etc. have all become "off the shelf parts" that are produced in such massive quantities that prices are affordable. All of these advances for the individual parts, combined with the processing capabilities of today's processors and graphics cards, make affordable VR a thing. No company wants to create an unprofitable product and no company is going to take the time to do so.

TL;DR Smartphone era gave way to required parts being small, efficient, affordable, combined with processing power.

So I guess what your saying is the tech needed to catch up with itself and it had to be an affordable entry way like the smart phones, but it took the current generation smart phones that are powerful enough and the now more powerful affordable PC Processors both CPU and GPUs to finally get us over that hill so to speak, so now I guess the sky is the limit!

I think all are right, also Oculus played a main role here, with their Kickstarter campaign and focusing in improve the user experiences instead and spring to many they real interest you can create to the public with VR.

A lot of companies didn't ever invest because of the previous experiences of many, like VFX and Nintendo ( but Nintendo made something really bad even for that time).

So, a lot of factors for me, not only graphics because you will find a lot of low graphics quality apps and videos which has a wonderful user experience.

Originally Posted by Chemy JMHT

I think all are right, also Oculus played a main role here, with their Kickstarter campaign and focusing in improve the user experiences instead and spring to many they real interest you can create to the public with VR.

A lot of companies didn't ever invest because of the previous experiences of many, like VFX and Nintendo ( but Nintendo made something really bad even for that time).

So, a lot of factors for me, not only graphics because you will find a lot of low graphics quality apps and videos which has a wonderful user experience.

True, graphics do not necessarily define a good game! :)