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Where is the love for the enthusiasts?

IBdaMac
Protege

I'm sure there are posts about this already, and to be honest, I still want to create another one hoping they'll get the picture.

 

I just got the Quest 2 after starting with the DK2, and getting my Rift CV1 as part of the first set of preorders (sold out in 14 mins, my email confirmation was :06).

 

I'm pretty upset with a lot of things about the Quest 2, and I completely understand the reason for the shortcomings; primarily to cut cost. Fine, makes sense.

 

But where's the 'enthusiast' model for those who have been there since the beginning? Who was hoping that after 6 years, we'd have a little bit better than the Quest 2? 

 

I don't care about the wireless, I'll never use it without my PC. 

 

Where is my super-resolution-upgraded, amazing glass, lightweight/comfortable, with amazing sound...and about 20 other improved features of the "Oculus Rift SEV"?? (Super Expensive Version)??

 

I want to have to upgrade every aspect of my computer to handle the framerate, and I don't even want to realize it's on my head even after 6 hours...

 

Come on Zuckerberg, you went there yourself and tested out the first Oculus before you bought the company.

 

How about a little love for those that got just as excited about it as you did? I'd be happy to spend $2k if I thought it was worth it.

26 REPLIES 26

Anonymous
Not applicable

There are many that would love to see a little higher end enthusiast type model sans Facebook requirement but apparently that is not a direction Oculus is much interested in going in. Seems they are more about volume and getting the most headsets into FB users hands as they possibly can. 

 

Having said that at least they are doing apparently a pretty good job using the Quest 2 as a PC-VR headset through the Link or wireless.  There are other options though as well for those that want something else.

 

In any event Oculus Connect will be coming up I guess next month and we'll see what they have to discuss then.

Zenbane
MVP
MVP

@IBdaMac wrote:

How about a little love for those that got just as excited about it as you did? I'd be happy to spend $2k if I thought it was worth it.


 

Yeah, I spent over 2K just on my PC when I first pre-ordered the Rift CV1 at launch. The "love" for the enthusiasts was quite the affair, and lasted awhile. We got plenty of free stuff along the way (e.g. Unspoken, Robo Recall, Echo Arena, VR Sports Challenge).

 

I would have gladly continued to pay top dollar for some bleeding edge VR goodness, but the fact is that the Software just couldn't keep pace with the demand for better hardware. I could have easily upgraded my PC and fully vested in both the Reverb G2 and Index CV1, but then what the heck would I use them for? To play the exact same games over and over?

 

That's not really my style. There are some games I will gladly re-visit from time to time. Such as WarCraft 2 and Myst. But I usually go several years before loading them up again. Other than that... I'm all about upgrading only for something new and truly compelling.

 

Unfortunately, the software VR ecosystem just doesn't offer something new and truly compelling on any sort of regular cadence. Especially not compared to what we get in terms of Entertainment on platforms such as Steam 2D Apps, or outlets like Amazon and Netflix.

 

I honestly think that enthusiasts received quite a bit of love from Oculus during the first several years. But that love came at a cost where Oculus was clearly operating at a loss. There's a reason that Quest 2 headsets make up more than twice that of the Index on Steam (per the Steam hardware survey results). The numbers tell the truth of the matter: The Enthusiast market is not profitable.

 

It's presumably agreeable that there shouldn't be an expectation for any organization to continue operating at a loss or at the lowest profit margin.

 

The Quest headset will continue to get upgrades, and Quest will eventually have an offering that should satisfy Enthusiasts. In any event, Enthusiasts have other options from other competitors.

 

One thing we can say for sure, is that if Enthusiasts make up a larger portion of the VR consumer market to the point that we see actual Enthusiast headsets like the Index and G2 outselling Quest 2, then surely Facebook would take notice and enter in to the Enthusiast market once again. But sadly, the Enthusiast market is lagging behind the stand-alone market by a huge margin.

Nekto2
Superstar

> How about a little love for those that got just as excited about it as you did? I'd be happy to spend $2k if I thought it was worth it.

You could search for Varjo-3 (4 screens, 2 of them are high res center parts and semi-transparent mirrors inside). But ... it could be up to 3k 🙂

 

> But where's the 'enthusiast' model for those who have been there since the beginning?

Oculus is making much more valuable thing, it's building a market. You need lot's of users for market to exist.  And the market then allowing other companys to build any type of device for enthusiasts.

Without Oculus no devices like Index, G3, Varjo and other would exist. There would not be people enough to pay for them and apps/mods enough to play on them.

> I could have easily upgraded my PC and fully vested in both the Reverb G2 and Index CV1, but then what the heck would I use them for?

To open high quality big virtual 2D screen with Dev Studio and start programming new VR apps? 😄

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

Not sure I understand your post, if you add the Logitech Quest 2 headphones, elite strap  and have a high-end gpu (RTX 3070+) the Quest 2 should be great for high-end VR.

 

Or you could get the Valve Index, or Vive Pro 2 with Knuckles. Revive works like a dream, seriously.

 

I don't see a need for more hmds.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

ohgrant
Superstar

 I have to agree, we have more choices in HMD's than we currently need. It seems that those AAA software designers who make the decisions are still not convinced that PCVR is relevant. Maybe they're waiting for hardware to catch up a bit but it seems like someone somewhere in some board meeting, flipped the switch and declared it dead again. 

 

 My hopes are that the Quest 2 will attract more enthusiasts that will migrate to PCVR. With the gpu shortage persisting the odds sure seem against a smooth road ahead IMO. 

 

    

Gigabyte  AB350 Ryzen 2700x, 32gb ddr 4 3200, 2080ti. HP Reverb G2, Index controllers, Quest 1 and 2x Quest 2. 65" 3DTV HD3D DLP projector.

TomCgcmfc
MVP
MVP

@IBdaMac  You say you don't care about wireless because you never use it without your PC.  If you get the chance to try your Q2 for wireless PCVR with a good gpu and router/wifi setup using Air Link (esp. after v33 sharpening update) you will very likely have a much different view imho.  Esp. since wireless with Air Link gives you sooo much freedom/versatility and  makes it easier to move to alternative play areas.

 

Of course standalone mobile is not nearly as good visually as PCVR versions but I think that this is improving and at least the actual gameplay is still very good.  Many people (with good intentions) seem to think that visual quality is more important than actual gameplay, lol!

 

I think if you are a true enthusiast you will find ways to improve any headset you have in order to make it work best for you.  For my Q2 this only involved minor mods the stock strap and adding a rear mounted 10000-20000mahr battery pack plus short (1.5ft) battery cable.  Cost me less than $40 to end up with a headset that is very comfortable (at least as good as my old Rift cv1).

 

Also, if you are a true enthusiast you are not likely to have only one headset imho.  Lots like myself and Rune use dual headset combinations so that we have the best tools for any particular job.  Also good as a backup, just in case, lol!  I currently use an oled Vive Pro (lens mod and Index controllers) and a Q2 (mainly wireless with Air Link) combo and this works very well for me.  Thanks to the VP Link Box on/off switch and the OTT audio/oculus runtime switching it is very easy/painless to switch between headsets.  I'm very happy with this combo and it's all I really need for now.

 

I'm looking forward to the upcoming Oculus Facebook connect 28 Oct to see what they are working on.  I will not hazard to guess what they will present, unlike the numerous useless YouTube vids that are attempting to do this right now, lol!

 

If you are a true VR enthusiast you need to stay enthusiastic.  It's a great time/place to be right now, except for the pandemic thing, lol!  Cheers. 

i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 32Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

IBdaMac
Protege

Let me just say thank you to those that replied, and give me a minute and I'll respond to each one.

That's the thing, I guarantee there's a way they could build the enthusiast model, and still 'break even'. One of the biggest selling points of VR is a person's reaction. Since I've been showing it to people since the DK2, the reaction is worth more than the experience itself.

 

That's the thing...why can't I stay ahead of the times to be able to have people get that reaction? To be able to show those who don't have $5k to spend on VR, a thing they've never seen before?

 

Catering to the enthusiast community, at even a cost, is how this should be operating right now.

 

He(facebook) got into a market that he knew would be profitable. There's no way he thought it would be profitable immediately. How about you let a person know what VR CAN do, instead of giving everyone only what everyone else has.