With the next generation of consoles on the horizon, there is plenty of speculation about what features the new generation will have. Fans waiting for the Xbox Series X should not hold their breath for VR on the console as Phil Spencer said it was not a focus for the company. While this may be with good reason, for those who are comparing specs of the next generation this may be a little bit disappointing. With that said, a developer has explained why this shouldn't be a concern for fans.
The prospect of VR gaming excited many when it first became a reality but the demand for technology has not seen a dramatic increase. Questions have lingered about the value of VR against its cost, and Microsoft seems content to see how demand develops before making further moves towards the technology. Surprisingly this may be a sensible move from the company as industry leaders.
Schell Games has worked on plenty of VR games and its CEO, Jesse Schell, spoke about Microsoft's strategy and added some reason to the situation. Schell explained, "Companies like Microsoft, they don't have any reason to hurry. They can wait and watch and see what's working and then they can act on that." Schell went on to draw comparisons of this practice with other leading technology companies, "for example, Apple's strategy. Apple tends not to invent things, they tend to just make better versions of things that someone else created." It is hard to argue with this logic, and if VR does prove to be popular Microsoft already has plenty of technology that enables the practice.
Games like Half-Life: Alyx are certainly elevating the VR standards and making a compelling case for the technology. Yet Microsoft has already supported the Windows Mixed Reality platform on PC and if the technology continues to impress it would not be surprising to see the Xbox consoles enable VR. While Microsoft is not leading VR technology, if the company can perfect it, when the market wants it, there could be serious benefits for the company.
There is still plenty of speculation about what Xbox Series X will bring to the gaming community and it will be exciting to see what is delivered. While VR may not be immediately available to players, it may prove to be for the best and there may well be an improved experience further down the line. Many will have been worries about the lack of VR in the plans of Microsoft, but this seems to be a strategic decision that may prove to be profitable.
The Xbox Series X is scheduled to launch this holiday season.