MyOpinion

Let's first take a look at where virtual reality is today.

Meta has sold well over 20 million Quest units, but the more important question is how many people are using the devices on a regular basis. The VR platform had about 6 million monthly active users in October 2022, according to a Wall Street Journal report, though more recent numbers aren't available.

It is doubtful that the number of active users has reached ten million or more, but even if it has, it shows that virtual reality is still far from being a technology that many people use actively, especially outside its largest market, the United States.

What does mass adoption actually mean?

The question, of course, is how do we define mass adoption? Are we talking about 50, 100, 500 million active users, or even something on the order of smartphones? The answer would be different for each of those numbers.

I don't want to commit to a specific number, so I'll put it this way: VR will be adopted by the masses when it is useful in people's everyday lives and outperforms other technological devices in terms of usefulness, rather than being primarily entertainment.

Meta Quest does not do this yet. Currently, the most popular uses for the headset are gaming, social, and fitness. Games are entertainment. While the latter two applications can be considered useful in a strict sense, there are numerous alternatives to VR headsets. The added value of VR is not great enough for the masses to be social or exercise primarily in VR headsets.

VR headsets need to become full-fledged computers

I believe that VR headsets will not be ready for mass adoption until they mature into lightweight, easy-to-use, general-purpose computers that allow you to do your work more efficiently than other computers.

Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro are still a long way off. The devices must be significantly lighter and smaller (ideally less than 150 grams), provide a flawless view of the physical world, and establish an entirely new input paradigm that can replace touch input as well as mouse and keyboard.

If we look at where we are today, it is clear that we are only at the beginning of VR's evolution, and I would imagine that true AR glasses could achieve these critical features sooner than VR headsets, but we'll have to see.

Finally, I'd like to say that I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing if VR headsets don't reach mass adoption, at least not to the extent that the majority of people use them on a daily basis. They can be a successful product and enrich the lives of many people without becoming the next big computing platform.

At the moment, the market is not there yet and is too dependent on Meta, but I hope that will slowly change over the next decade.

Most of you know about the MS8K by now. For those who do not: it is a new Lighthouse PCVR headset from a Panasonic spin-off called “shiftall”. The headset sports two 4k microOLED panels, pancake lenses, motorised IPD adjustment, Diopter adjustment and a very sleek overall design that weighs in at only 185g.

I had a whole afternoon with the device at the shiftall headquarters in Tokyo and could check out whatever I wanted on their 4070super PC they had set up for this test session. And yeah, I really wanted to try out Microsoft Flight Simulator, since it has become one of my favourite things to do in VR.

And I am happy to tell you that the experience blew me away. This was the best experience I have ever had in MSFS. Period. What made it so good? The immersion in this headset is just so fantastic, the headset ticks so many boxes:

Visuals - more pixels than the Apple Vision Pro, also microOLED. And the beautiful thing is: really good lenses. Much better pancake lenses than in the Bigscreen Beyond. You get a really good edge to edge clarity here and much less glare. The lenses are very comparable with the Quest 3 lenses. Now since this also has a near perfect binocular overlap and a standard FOV (around 100h), you simply get the best visuals that I have so far seen in VR. Yes, even sharper than AVP and that with DisplayPort. Exactly what we VR enthusasiast crave.

Comfort - the headset is just so incredibly comfortable. It’s a soft strap that is designed in the halo way. So the headset is not pressed against your eyes but hovers in front of them. And the gasket itself is comparable to that of the PSVR2, so it is just there to keep the light out. Nice. Also, there is eye relief, so you can get the lenses as close to your eyes as you want, or leave more room if that is better for you. Real IPD adjustment is built in as well and its realised with motors. You set up your IPD in their software and the lenses move to the correct position. Nice! Also there is even diopter adjustment. All that in a package that only weighs 185g. It was so comfortable I forgot I was wearing it.

Downsides - Yes, there are downsides, too. We do not yet have the perfect headset. In my opinion, it is not a very bright headset. It is very comparable to the brightness of the Bigscreen Beyond. So if that is alright for you, this one will be too. But yeah, there are without a doubt brighter headsets out there. The team tells me that the pre-production unit I was using still did not show me the highest brightness yet. It was configured to be as colour-accurate as possible and that meant it was not optimised for brightness. They say they can give us 10 to 15% more brightness in the production unit. Other than that, there is no audio. So you have to take care of your own audio. I personally prefer audio that is built-into the system, or at least an audio strap like the great one of the Bigscreen Beyond.

Overall, I walked away impressed. I truly believe this is the next go-to headset for PCVR enthusiasts who simply want the best visuals that are possible right now. I personally can’t wait to get it for MSFS 2024 and actually all of my other PCVR games!

We’ve all seen Silent Hill 2 flourish over the years. When Team Silent carefully crafted this incredible survival horror experience, players would end up playing the game endlessly for well over a decade. It’s such a highly cherished game that there was plenty of concern when Konami finally unveiled that a remake was coming. Now that it’s here, fans are able to breathe easy, as it’s quite a stunning game to play.

Bloober Team worked extra hard to ensure that it met fans’ expectations when Silent Hill 2 was released. It’s a very well-done game, and I suggest playing it if you are at all intrigued. However, if you have the game on PC and want to get a little more immersed, this VR mod might do the trick. Thanks to Videogamer, we’re finding out today about a mod that might take you further into this nightmarish hell.

Praydog released a VR mod for the game, and it looks like something you will want to try out cautiously. The gameplay features smooth movement and the ability to use melee weapons accurately. Depending on where you swing, it will allow the melee weapon to pinpoint an area on the enemy’s body carefully. You’ll get a small look at the mod in action from the X post embedded above.

We wish that there was an official VR mode release for this game. But perhaps even the development studio wasn’t keen on bringing this level of horror to players. Regardless, those brave enough to take on the challenge can now do so with the mod. Meanwhile, the rest of us might be waiting to learn more about what the next thrilling Silent Hill installment will offer.

The well-known graphics card manufacturer Nvidia is venturing into new realms. As DigiTimes reports, the company is developing its own ARM-based processors for the PC market. The launch is planned for September 2025 - a strategically clever time, as Qualcomm's exclusive rights for Windows-on-ARM will then expire.

Nvidia definitely has the technical expertise: Years of experience in the areas of graphics processors, AI and ARM architectures form a solid foundation. The company is pursuing two potential approaches for the new chips: A mainstream variant with integrated graphics or a powerful gaming CPU combined with a separate graphics card.

New opportunities for mobile PC VR gaming

The potential impact on mobile PC VR gaming is particularly exciting: powerful and energy-efficient ARM processors could create the basis for a new generation of gaming laptops. These would be ideal for PC VR gaming, for example with your Meta Quest 3 — without having to sacrifice mobility.

The greatest challenge will be software support. Modern games and VR applications must run smoothly on the ARM architecture. This is where Nvidia could benefit from its close relationships with the gaming industry.

Meta has added an important puzzle piece to Horizon Worlds, as the company has quietly rolled out its premium digital currency on the social VR platform in the US, UK, and Canada.

Roblox has Robux, Rec Room has Tokens, and Horizon Worlds now has Meta Credits, letting users buy in-world digital goods from creators, such as avatar outfits and access keys to premium worlds. Unlike Quest Cash, Meta Credits can’t be used to buy hardware or accessories, just stuff in Horizon Worlds.

While it’s a big step, this isn’t the official start of the Horizon Worlds economy. Meta has been experimenting with monetization on Horizon Worlds since 2022, allowing users to buy digital goods directly with their local currency. The difference with Meta Credits (like all premium tokens) however is the all-too familiar obfuscation of the amount of real-world money being spent.

Apple has released a new immersive music video from The Weeknd featuring his latest single ‘Open Hearts’, which is available exclusively on Vision Pro for a limited time.

Captured in Apple’s Immersive Video format, Open Hearts serves up 180-degree immersive views and spatial audio set to eponymous single from the Canadian pop artist’s upcoming album ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’.

With Metro Awakening, Vertigo Games delivers a gripping post-apocalyptic shooter that tells a successful prequel story over twelve chapters. No prior knowledge of the Metro books or games is required, making it easy to jump in.

The interaction with the world and the gadgets works really well. The handling of the weapons is convincing. Most of the fights are exciting, and the soundtrack is well arranged. Plus: There are plenty of scary moments thanks to the great play of light and shadow and the mutant enemies you'll confront.

Graphically, the Quest version performs quite well, without reaching the quality of Batman: Arhkam Shadow. For a visual comparison between the Quest 3 and PSVR 2 versions, take a look at the linked article.

However, I hesitate to give the game a full recommendation. The level design and the locations are not varied enough for me, especially in the later parts.

Other points of criticism include the sometimes predictable actions of the enemies, the unfair distribution of save points, and the fact that there are far too few creative puzzles. However, if you can overlook these flaws, you will be entertained for seven to nine hours at a good level.

Little Cities: Diorama is the first mixed reality version of the cozy city builder. Its creator Purple Yonder developed the Vision Pro version together with nDreams studio Near Light.

Gears & Goo is a tower defense game developed for Apple Vision Pro by Resolution Games (Demeo, Blaston, Racket Club).

2023 was an excellent year for VR games, and 2024 will even surpass it in terms of quality and especially quantity.

Since October, the number of releases has increased so much that even we are struggling to keep up. Our inboxes are overflowing with announcements of new VR games and updates to existing titles. At times, it feels like developers have been waiting two years or more to release their products at the same time.

The timing is no coincidence: The low-cost Meta Quest 3S was released in mid-October, and VR studios are naturally hoping for a bumper holiday season. Of course, it would be foolish not to take advantage of this unique opportunity.

There are currently rumors that game sales are not as strong as some established VR studios had hoped for with the launch of Quest 3S. Generally, two factors are being cited: the merging of the App Lab and the Quest Store, which has eliminated curation, and Meta's recommendation system, which is said to prioritize Horizon Worlds content over third-party titles that studios have been working on for years. Both of these factors could have led to lower visibility in the Horizon Store and therefore lower sales.

Another possible factor for the alleged decline in sales could be that Meta is currently throwing so many high-quality VR games at new customers for free that they have no reason to buy new VR games, which of course hurts the ecosystem.

Clone Drone in the Danger Zone (2021), the hit arena battler from indie studio Doborog, is bringing the game’s voxel slice-em-up action in a new VR-exclusive sequel next month, coming to Quest and PC VR headsets.

Called Clone Drone in the Hyperdome, the new single-player VR experience includes a thick slice of the series’ unique combat and action-based storyline, where players fight to the death against killer robots—which just so happen to be very frangible.

Doborog says in Clone Drone in the Hyperdome, players take on the role of Blink, a teleporting robot who is the newest ‘looprunner’ gladiator forced to compete in Crashloop, a deadly roguelike combat sport.

bHaptics, the South Korea-based VR haptics creator, announced it’s launching a refreshed lineup of its most popular haptics hardware, which are said to support over 270 titles across Quest, PSVR 2, and PC VR headsets.

The company today announced pre-orders for three new accessories: TactSuit Pro, TactSuit Air and TactSleeve.

Pre-orders for all three are set to launch today, November 12th, and go until November 26th.

Cyborn, the team behind VR sci-fi adventure Hubris (2022), announced it’s releasing mixed reality city builder Wall Town Wonders on Quest 3 next week.

Coming November 21st to Quest 3 and Quest 3S, Wall Town Wonders promises to turn any room in your house into a magical miniature town.

Supporting hand-tracking, the mixed reality game lets you interact with tiny characters as you help them rebuild and customize their world, rightfully built across your real-world walls.

Wall Town Wonders also promises to bring “a peaceful environment where you can progress at your own speed,” which includes a variety of quests, mini-games, and hidden surprises.

The studio says it’s cued up post-launch seasonal content, letting you keep your little town fresh with new themes, events, and special decorations for the game’s 100 unique buildings, 40+ characters, and variety of skins and decorations already available at launch.

You can pre-order Wall Town Wonders on the Horizon Store for Quest 3 and Quest 3S at a 10 percent discount, which is regularly priced at $20.