The unveiling of the next edition of the Ace Combat video game series, Ace Combat 8: Wings of the Veil, was supported by a special video message from Kazutoki Kono, Brand Director of the series, who also greeted everybody for Christmas and gave the patrons a little update. The video was posted on the official Ace Combat social media channels along with the message. However, there was a rather divided response from the community, and much of the discussion centered around the fact that the game was confirmed not to support virtual reality indirectly related to the message.
So what is going on here? The official Ace Combat account sent out a tweet that said, ‘A special message from Kazutoki Kono, Brand Director for the ACE COMBAT series. #ACECOMBAT8 #WingsOfTheVeil’ along with a link to the video. It is quite likely that Kono-san in the video thanked the fans and gave hints about the franchise’s future, with some fantastic orchestral music in the background that instantly attracted several commentators. But for some players, the nice music could not cover up the silence regarding an important feature.
The strong and very immediate responses from one segment of the fandom came as a one demand that was repeated over and over again: Where is the VR support? This goes back a long way. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown had a limited but extremely well-received VR mode that was exclusive to PS VR and was widely regarded as the only way to play the game. It was immersive, exciting, and showcased the potential of the virtual reality flight simulation games. So, when Ace Combat 8 was revealed without any mention of VR, a large group of players felt the series had taken a step back.
Comments like ‘No VR no buy’ were voiced by user simonnewme who characterized playing the flight game on a flat screen as ‘redundant and stagnant.’ Another user, James Miller, simply stated, ‘This game really needs PSVR2 support. I bought Ace Combat 7 on the first day because of PSVR support, but I will wait for this one until I see it at a much cheaper price. Disappointing.’ A similar point of view was expressed by evo7mc who said, ‘It’s funny how you can regress after 7 had VR and then drop it for 8! Gaming should move forward not backward.’
Such remarks from part of the audience clearly indicate what they think. Nevertheless, it is not that straightforward. Developing for VR technology means completely different processes compared to non-VR gaming. One user pointed out in a reply that ‘developing for VR is more complex and running VR is more resource-intensive than flatscreen. There’s a reason why the AC7 PSVR missions are so minimalistic compared to the rest of the game.’ The conflict lies in the need for expensive and top-notch resources. Another player, Iphooen, opined that ‘VR is a super tiny minority to the rest of gamers,’ hinting at the developer’s point of view of not expecting a good ROI.
The discussion that followed was quite lively. User Berkut83 pointed to Star Citizen as a perfect case that ‘VR is doable even on the most demanding games,’ and he claimed that ‘if developers really care about making a good game and are not lazy, then anything is possible.’ It is a typical gamer dispute: are the problems due to a lack of technical capability or the developers’ choice of not making it a priority? The fervor of both sides is just as strong.
And, it was to be expected, the internet being what it is, the discussion went off into some bizarre and wild directions. One user ytgirlsfugdogs responded to the original tweet with just three words: ‘Woke DEI Slop.’ This was rather… perplexing for practically everyone else. When Rook F22 pointed out the confusion (‘Me when I haven’t played Ace Combat’), the user remained unyielding, reiterating that the color palette of the debut trailer signified that the game would be ‘full woke DEI slop’. The user put forward a very peculiar, irrelevant rant that other users soon brushed aside, with ItMegatron just replying, ‘Bro what.’ This has once again served as a reminder for the gaming community that not every conversation thread on a gaming topic would be about the game, if you know what I mean.
But, let’s get back to the issue at hand. In the midst of the VR debate and the random culture war nonsense, there was a lot of genuine excitement. In fact, most of the players are just content to see a new Ace Combat coming. User Rook F22 commented, ‘Thank you for keeping this series alive,’ while TheCringyBrit shouted, ‘Unbelievably hyped for this! Full faith in the team!’ – these comments illustrate how deep the love is for this niche but still adored series, which is also available on Xbox.
