Last week’s Meta Connect started off promising on the gaming front. Viewers got release dates for Iron Man VRan upcoming Quest game that was previously a PS VR exclusive, as well as Among us VR. Facebook owner Meta also announced the acquisition of three major VR game studios – Armature Studio, Camouflaj Team and Twisted Pixel – although we don’t yet know what they’re working on.
Unfortunately, this is where the gaming section of Meta Connect mostly ended. Other than tiny glimpses and a glimpse of fitness, video games weren’t the focus of the show. Instead, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wanted to focus on what appeared to be the real vision of the future of virtual reality, which involves a lot of legs and a lot of work with the Quest Pro, a mixed reality headset that will cost $1,500.
It’s a notable narrative shift for the technology, which could leave video game players confused about whether VR is more for them. When Oculus started making a splash in the 2010s with its prototype headsets and eventually its Oculus Rift system, many wondered if it was finally time for video games’ virtual reality dreams to come true. Things actually seemed to be moving at a slow, imperfect pace. However, since Meta bought Oculus in 2014, it’s been slowly integrating it into its own overall goal of going beyond just a social network and becoming a place where people exist. And that apparently means reducing the importance of video games as the main focus of technology…at least in the world of Meta, with the Quest Pro as meaning.
What was missing from Meta Connect?
We already knew that Meta dives deep into the metaverse (it’s in the name, after all). Horizon Worlds, the company’s metaverse app, is technically a video game. His website features cartoonish hangouts, concerts with Post Malone, and the ability to create your own world. If you didn’t know better, it would look like a simple Fortnite competitor.
But according to messages from executives, this is not the true potential of the software. In 2021, Meta introduced Horizon work rooms — just put on your headset, create your avatar and meet your colleagues in a virtual conference room. Sure, you can do all of this with video conferencing software like Google Meet or Zoom, but what if you could do it in virtual reality? Isn’t this the future?
The Connect has centered around this idea by making the new Quest Pro take up most of the presentation. This headset has impressive technology that allows the user to interact with real-world elements in VR. However, it costs $1,500 and is set to release this month. It’s an incredible move given that even Zuckerberg admitted to The Verge that the technology is still years away from being “fully mature.”
Based on Meta Connect and subsequent smaller announcements, there are very few experiences that show Quest Pro’s improved relay technology. I expect you to diethe VR cooperative game, receives an extension called The sweetness of the hearth. It’s described as a “mini mixed reality mission” where players will interact with real-world objects while using the headset. There was also a quick demo showing beat the saber played in mixed reality, but it didn’t show anything new or unique to the Quest Pro.
Video games, or rather video game experiences, seemed like an afterthought in Meta’s grand plan. Beyond Among us VR get a release date and the announcement that Iron Man VR was hitting Oculus for the first time, the other news focused on metaverse-like features. Population: onea VR battle royale, gets a sandbox mode, allowing players to create their own maps and game modes.
Other interactive quest experiences that got airtime were related to fitness. The exercise is ideal for virtual reality, as the headset allows for different types of movement than a user would normally do at home. It can also make exercise more visually appealing by allowing users to float through beautiful scenery or box against more realistic opponents. Meta also announced that its Quest Active Pack will be released this year, giving people specially designed accessories for training in virtual reality.
Finally, there is Microsoft. CEO Satya Nadella popped up on login to reveal that Xbox Cloud Gaming will be coming to the Quest soon, although we don’t have a release date yet. However, that was a footnote to the rest of Microsoft’s news, which involved bringing Teams, Office, and other Windows apps to the Quest.
The Oculus (now Meta) brand started with hardware designed for game developers, and the Oculus store is filled with games and apps that regular gamers can use with their headsets. With Meta’s rebranding and Quest Pro’s upcoming focus on the enterprise, it feels like gaming is becoming less important, even amid some studio acquisitions.
games vs metaverse
Facebook has always been a social platform, and according to Zuckerberg, that’s why the company has been so invested in building its metaverse. He feels like this will be the future of the internet, the next stage of browser windows and 2D screens.
“The defining quality of the Metaverse will be a sense of presence – as if you were there with another person or in another place,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post shortly after Meta’s rebranding. “Feeling truly present with another person is the ultimate social tech dream.”
The main reason Facebook bought Oculus in the first place was to use virtual reality to expand social connectivity online. But games have always played a big part in that. “Oculus’ mission is to enable you to experience the impossible. Their technology opens up the possibility of whole new types of experiences. Immersive gaming will be first, and Oculus already has big plans here that won’t change and we hopefully accelerate,” Zuckerberg said in a statement following Meta’s purchase of Oculus.
“But that’s just the beginning. After the games, we’re going to make Oculus a platform for many more experiences.
Games are of course still part of the structure of Meta. Video games and other Quest Store apps are also still making money — $1.5 billion to date, with a third of titles making over $1 million in sales (via TechCrunch). However, the company’s messaging says the future is defined by two things: Horizon Worlds and the Quest Pro. And both show that the Metaverse isn’t ready for prime time.
While Meta says to use Horizon Worlds Because meeting co-workers will be the future of work, a report from The Verge says the app is so buggy that Meta employees refuse to use it despite instructions from their superiors. The Quest Pro is another bizarre move from the company. It costs $1,500 for a headset (did I mention that already?) and doesn’t have many distinct features from the much cheaper Quest 2. From first impressions, it’s more balanced in weight, it has an improved screen and controllers, and it still works with Oculus games. Of course, the large storefront is for passthrough, and while it goes a long way to helping users feel less isolated in VR – and can be used for unique gaming experiences – it’s not worth the high price Meta bill if you use VR more casually. For gamers who already spend hundreds of dollars on consoles and games, the existence of the Quest Pro is not only unnecessary, but exclusive.
I don’t dispute that virtual reality has applications outside of gaming, including in the medical and automotive fields. There are professional fields where virtual reality and augmented reality can be useful. But VR gaming has only grown. Transparency Market Research expects 32.3% growth by 2031, while Zippia estimates the market will grow from $7.7 billion to $26.9 billion by 2027. Meta managed to corner the consumer VR market with the wireless and affordable Quest 2. away from gaming friendly with the Quest Pro, we’re left with the upcoming PlayStation VR2, the pricey Valve Index and other lesser-known headsets to fill the void.
The future of Meta and the game does not look good
In response to criticism of his long-term pivot to virtual workspaces, Zuckerberg and other executives said it was just the first step in a long-term, multi-year plan to remake the internet. Zuckerberg himself has called the Metaverse the “next chapter” of the internet.
But the company’s messages have been all over the place, especially when it comes to how video games fit into that future. Of course, a lot can be said about how the metaverse is also about work. But given that virtual reality has been widely used in games and is only expected to grow with the release of PS VR2, it seems odd – but not surprising – that Meta would pay it any attention during a presentation. annual. For a company that wants to bring people together, Meta is very focused on work, buying digital clothes, legs (which we found out aren’t as ready as the presentation made them out to be), and Microsoft Office, while missing out on one of the greatest ways people socialize in the 21st century. Instead of releasing $1,500 headsets without practical applications or even great tech demos, Meta should take a look at what made the tech so great in the first place and not alienate much of its audience. .
Despite the dreams of VR users who saw it as the next frontier of video games, reality currently says the opposite.
Editors’ Recommendations
#gamer #Meta #Quest #Pro #Digital #trends