In a recent interview, Phil Spencer, the chief of Xbox, reveals that the company has no plan whatsoever to push the next-generation Xbox gaming console, Project Scarlett, into the virtual reality realm. He divulged that the reason they forgo virtual reality is that no gamer is urging them to do so.
In spite of Sony’s success in its PlayStation VR scheme, Spencer explained that the team was convinced to push aside VR in its upcoming console after confirming that gaming experience, money, as well as demand does not satisfy the need of their fans.
During the X019, while speaking with Stevivor, the Xbox head stated that their fans do not associate the Xbox product brand with VR since the company never launch any VR product. The fans also do not expect them to launch a headphone anytime soon. Spencer also stressed on the point that no one is selling millions of VR headphones.
Spencer admitted that he has some problems with the VR, as it is an isolating product. Instead, he believed that games are a communal experience where gamers join in the fun together. He also stated that the production team merely responds to the request of players, and in this case, no one is requesting for VR.
Moreover, if gamers wish to have a VR experience, Spencer believed that the players would know where to attain them. Plenty of VRs is available on computers and several other places.
Microsoft has a plan for its virtual reality with the Windows Mixed Reality. The program’s varied success is probably the reason why the company spends money elsewhere in its forthcoming gaming console’s development. Microsoft’s decision to forgo VR gives Sony and its next-gen console, PS5, a chance to aim for VR-console space domination without much competition.
While Xbox headphones may not intrigue the interest of PC players, the mainstream of this product from the company could have the potential to expose a massive number of gamers to VR’s allure, just like every investment made for new and innovative technology. Similar to PlayStation5, Microsoft’s Scarlett is intrinsically a PC that is powered-up by AMD today. Thus, the production of VR headphones for PC would probably be beneficial.
While gamers that own quality VR headphones would have to give up hope on using them for the upcoming console, they can look forward to the launch of Valve’s new VR games for PC, Half-life: Alyx, in 2020. The game was sold by many as virtual reality’s powerful app, so the VR space may not need Scarlett to gain momentum next year after all.
