Will VR be the future of gaming? Can virtual reality technology open up new ideas for gaming?

If you have watched the Conan the Killer Schoolboy movie "The Phantom of Baker Street", you must have been impressed by the "egg" immersive game console. If there is such a VR game console in reality, which can allow users to enjoy the real feeling in the virtual world, it will definitely become a crazy purchase for gamers.

As the representatives of game consoles in the new century, Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox One are also competing to develop corresponding VR devices for immersive games. So in the face of this hot VR storm, can virtual reality technology bring new ideas for game development?

Microsoft and Sony are eyeing VR, is there a future for virtual reality games?

As early as January 22 this year, at the Windows 10 preview conference, Microsoft launched a version called Windows Holographic and demonstrated a HoloLens glasses, announcing Microsoft's entry into the field of VR technology. At the same time, it also demonstrated the excellent gaming effects of "Minecraft" under HoloLens glasses with this technology at the conference.

Coincidentally, Sony, the old rival of Microsoft's game console, also recently launched the VR "Morpheus Project" in a high-profile manner, and announced that it will make a big move into the VR virtual reality game field in 2016 in conjunction with PS4.

With the two major next-generation console owners optimistic about virtual reality technology, is there a future for VR games?

As we all know, the experience of using VR games depends to a large extent on powerful hardware devices. Without good hardware, the gaming experience will be greatly reduced, especially for the two next-generation consoles, PS4 and Xbox One, whose pictures are basically maintained at 1080P and the frequency reaches more than 60fps. Such conditions greatly improve the hardware strength of VR devices.

However, it seems that there is no need to worry about these problems. Sony's own hardware performance has been verified by PS4, and Microsoft has also cooperated with Rift and other manufacturers to produce its own software. These have greatly increased the possibility of VR games, and it seems that VR console games are expected to meet the majority of game players.

Nintendo’s dark history, is VR technology flawed?

Faced with so much positive news, many players who are optimistic about VR games are cheering, but old players familiar with Nintendo may not be so excited.

The combination of VR technology and games was favored by Gunpei Yokoi of Nintendo 20 years ago. Virtual reality glasses were also developed with the efforts of Nintendo. The VR game console Virtua Boy, which seemed to be ahead of its time, only sold 770,000 units worldwide in just two years, which was a clear gap from the planned 5 million units at that time. It ended in such a hasty manner, becoming a painful black history of Nintendo.

Nintendo’s failure also forced the VR game plan to be frozen. According to Nintendo’s plan at the time, the emergence of VR game consoles would not have ended up like this. However, due to many reasons such as immature technology, Virtua Boy did not appear in the form of glasses, but was hastily launched on the market in the form of a semi-game console.

The half-finished machine also created a half-finished effect: the inconvenience of wearing concealed the advanced design; the monochrome flickering screen not only seriously hurt the eyes, but also easily caused dizziness and fatigue, concealing the advanced concept of three-dimensional images; game developers' job-hopping, hesitation and wait-and-see attitude created a shortage of games, which easily concealed the excellent gameplay of Nintendo's software.

The combination of VR technology and games has declined and no one is interested in it.

Looking back, can VR games be successful today?

After all, 20 years have passed. It seems that Nintendo's failure back then was only due to technical deficiencies and did not hinder the development of VR games. Most gamers are also optimistic about the powerful PS4 and the technologically advanced Xbox One.

But can this really make VR games available to the majority of players?

Flaws are still flaws. Even though VR games now have exquisite graphics that have replaced the red and blue flashes of Nintendo and are lightweight to wear, it seems unable to prevent VR games from bringing players a series of adverse reactions in virtual reality, such as dizziness and vomiting.

Just like virtual reality, the conflict between virtuality and reality brought by VR makes the brain resist, which causes dizziness and forces people to stop accepting such visual input. The feeling of vomiting is the disharmony caused by the asynchrony between the virtual game screen and the human body movements. Although the technology has developed rapidly, the sensitive human body will still be affected by the slightest difference, which also makes it impossible to wear VR glasses for a long time.

Seeing this flaw, players seem to have to be prepared to wait, as it will take some time for VR games to appear.

Microsoft and Sony's high-profile development of VR games has indeed brought new ideas to the game, but in the face of their full confidence, most players still ask the same question: Can VR glasses cure dizziness?

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.