For a while, way back in the late 2010s, every developer was all-in on the concept of VR being the future of gaming. Hardware and software were working hand-in-hand to push the VR agenda onto the masses, and we ate it right up…for about a few years.
What was meant to be the next big step in gaming is turning out to be nothing more than a series of gimmicks and one-hit wonders. For those who are still holding their breath, hoping that their Ready Player One fantasies come true, allow me to break the news to you: VR never was, and never will be, the future of gaming. And it’s for good reason.
Tedious and Uncomfortable
It's often a topic up for debate, but I will always side with the opinion that video games are an art form. Artists can spend years developing their piece to be captivating, but it still only takes consumers a quick museum visit to fully appreciate it.
The same principle has always applied to gaming, where developers take several years perfecting their work, only for players to turn on their PS5 and let it rip. This ease of access to mind-boggling titles is the reason why video games are so popular in the first place, but the existence of VR actively goes against this principle.
Instead of just plopping your butt on the couch after a long day of working and turning on your game console of choice, we are dreaming of a VR future where we have to make all these extra steps. Clearing the furniture, fixing the wires and connections, and making sure nothing flies off when you start swinging your controller too hard.
All of these things are additional tedious steps to what should be a low-effort and relaxed activity. Although adding physical activity to your gaming routine sounds nice, this idea fails for the same reason people stop going to the gym: laziness.
A Big Investment
VR Rigs aren’t cheap, and rightfully so. VR headsets and controllers are an experimental piece of hardware, and they have the right to charge as much as they need to bring something so innovative out to the market. With that said, I’m glad I didn’t spend that much money to buy a VR headset.
As I stated above, VR headsets are experimental and innovative, but they’ve yet to solve more common problems like fatigue and motion sickness. Not only that, but you’d also have to invest in enough space to actually play VR with motion controls, which is exactly why I think VR is less the future of video games, and more the future of indoor arcades and amusement parks.
VR isn’t just a big investment for the players; it’s also a big investment for game developers. Developing a VR game is a completely different process compared to the usual games, and I think developers are getting tired of this tedious process.
Sure, there are a few triple-A games out there like Resident Evil 8 or Skyrim that make use of VR and have VR-specific modes, but I think they’re nothing more than gimmicks. I’ve heard people say that playing through Resident Evil in VR is the best way to play the game, but that still doesn’t work because Resident Evil is a fantastic game by itself!
The last time we had a successful dedicated VR game developed by a big company that made waves was Half-Life: Alyx. The next one? The Boys: Trigger Warning. I’ll let the footage speak for itself.
Sunk Cost In Action
I truly believe that the gaming industry has reached a rut when it comes to innovation. VR used to be the next big thing, and even though I’m pessimistic about it, innovation should inevitably come…but what does that even look like?
If the whole selling point of VR is immersion, then the next logical step in this path is to roll out more experimental prototypes that I believe will run into the same problems I listed above. Haptic vests, omnidirectional treadmills, and generative AI NPCs all feel like gimmicks, and I’m worried we may just be hitting a brick wall over and over again.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, and if we don’t go back to the drawing board, then I am going to go insane. I believe that, as an industry, we’ve grown so obsessed over fidelity and realism that we forgot we used to play around with literal pixels on the screen. Don’t get me wrong, I still think VR has a place in gaming, but more as a gimmick rather than the future.
But hey, if you ever find a way to beam my entire consciousness into Pokemon, then sure, we can talk.
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