This whole "It's first gen tech, of course it's going to be a bit pricey" thing needs to stop. I could be on board with that if the pre-ordered items you received were all you needed, but they clearly are not. I haven't seen a single collection of replies, on GB or otherwise, that makes no mention of needing to upgrade just to use these headsets.
I know, people love shiny new things because humans are all easily impressed at heart, but we're talking hundreds if not thousands of dollars on top of the VR gear itself just to use it. That's insane. My computer isn't even that damn old and the idea that it requires a complete overhaul just so I can look like I slapped a black Virtual Boy on my head doesn't exactly sound like a selling point to me.
At this point, the only VR I would even consider is the Sony version and who the hell knows what that thing will actually cost in the long run. These things reek of 3D television to me: Too much marketing, too much money, not enough proof of concept.
i mean- if your main critique is that these things shouldn't be this expensive- i'm not sure what to tell you. this early in the game, i'm willing to bet it's almost entirely R&D and material costs. i think neither facebook nor valve/htc expect to be lining their pockets with the sales of these things- so it is what it is. don't buy first gen anything- you'll always pay more.
it's brand new tech- look at the price of 3D printers when they first came to consumer market vs. now. if you can manage to wait even one year from gen 1 retail release- at the bare minimum gpu's should be cheaper. but that said- even fully mature high-tech product lines aren't that cheap- a base model iphone 6s costs $649 unlocked.
you have to remember- facebook, valve/htc, and sony all WANT you to buy these things. the pricing such as it is now tells me they don't expect people for whom a $400 purchase is substantial to buy these things anyway!
and in terms of over-marketing- i dunno, aside from the occasional print article on palmer- where else have you seen VR companies pushing headsets on consumers? it's not like they were running superbowl ads.
Your comparison of this to functional products like 3D printers is unreasonable given that 3D printers are not novelties. I considered at first the idea that when GPS came into the market, it took a while for it to become cheap enough to be mainstream. Then I realized that it had to because more people were going to buy it since it is a necessary item. No one needs a 3D head display and nothing we have currently (software and hardware) is conducive to a future where virtual reality would be mainstream. It is going to take both hardware and software developers forging a complete new era of technology in order for this to be successful. How would that work? What would it take to make people need a virtual headgear? That is probably where these companies should be focusing their energies, not on the lay gamer.
The lack of demos is something to be upset about. Do developers and marketers really think I should just buy a game without knowing if it will run well on my computer? And why do you need to pre-order a game to access its "open beta?" It is the most illogical excuse to add additional preemptive cash-ins on games we have little to no knowledge about.
This also reminds me of the abundant amount of early access games on steam; so called play testing which is really just a desperate call to "buy our game" before they even have a game.
They're priced at $10 each according to gamestop and I think the eshop. I'd prefer a 3d remake with changes, seeing as I've played both Blue and Yellow a ton when I was little. These are just going to be ports.
I play through the classic 2d sonic games every year. I have no nostalgic connection since I only ever had Sonic CD, I never owned a sega console, and I only played through it once in the old days. I play through them again becaus I think they are fun, quick games you can beat in a couple hours each and they are great stress releievers. I can start a classic 2d sonic game with a headache and be pain free ten minutes later.
I highly recommend grabbing Sonic CD and Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and trying them!
I'll be streaming this week again starting tonight @8p EST ! and 8p for the rest of the week, most likely till the end of the year. I'm almost at my $200 goal so if you'd still like to donate, visit my link! tinyurl.com/tqxlife
So what's the deal, is YouTube easier to stream to or something? What are the pluses and cons to streaming through Hitbox, Twitch, and YouTube?
@captainkoonz I presume you mean the banners ExtraLife provides, since I found the same problem. The only way I could imagine resizing them would be going into photoshop. The one Austin used is available here: http://extralife-nodecg.webhook.org/
Someone in the chat also posted this button at one point, which acts as an all-inclusive counter. Pretty nifty if you wanna go the minimalist route: http://www.breadweb.net/files/extralife/
If you do go into Photoshop at some point it may just be worth it to make your own banner so it's customized to how you see fit.
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