Have you ever tried on a good PC based VR headset in a decent title? It really does blow you away. The experience is transformative. I would agree with the criticism that a lot of th etitles that exist today are a little silly, and reminiscent of Wii games, but that isn't going to be the case forever. In this generation you need a pretty badass PC in order to render the 90fps required for a good VR experience, but we are still in the first generation.
As we all know, what costs a fortune one generation becomes more and more mainstream with every generation that passes. My Kepler Titan cost me $1000 in early 2013. Today it is blown away by a $160 RX470 and narrowly beaten by a $140 1050Ti in most titles. It won't be long before a low-mid end gaming PC will handle VR well. That, and as volumes grow and adoption becomes more and more mainstream, the price of decent headsets will fall. Just on Monday HTC announced a 0% financing option for the Vive for $66 per month for 12 months, making it easier to afford for most people.
Make no mistake, VR is coming. I don't think it will be long before it is the dominant form of PC gaming. As Kyle predicted in his video, 2017 will probably be the year that turns the mainstream gaming thought about VR from one of "oh, that's a cute, but expensive toy, I'll just focus on my real serious gaming" to "wow, VR really is the next big thing". While I am not 100% ready to jump in on VR myself yet, I believe him. Having tried the experience myself, as well as seeing my 73 year old mother-in-law gasp and chuckle with excitement when I put the headset on her, I can say with some confidence that I don't believe this is the next "3D TV" or "motion controller" type fad, that will die away. I truly believe VR will not only become big, but that in relative short order it will become the way MOST people play games.
Also consider this. One of the reasons HardOCP has had such staying power over the years is that it got into the PC Hardware and Gaming review site thing early on. Many have comne and gone since. If you wan't to be one of the leading voices on a subject, you have to get in early. You can't wait until something is already a mainstream success. Just look at all the Youtube streamers. There are lots of early ones doing it before anyone else was who are massive successes. There are very few later copycats doing as well at it.
Your argument is well thought out.
I am still not sold on this at all.
I firmly believe that VR will become a "thing". But, I see that "thing" squarely attached to the Playstation and the XBox and not so much the PC.
For VR to gather steam, it simply has to be associated with the cheaper consoles, as that is squarely where the big money resides. If that happens, as you point out, the technology will follow and become
not only powerful but less expensive.
PC gaming is still a niche crowd of hobbyists, somewhat larger than a few years ago, no doubt, but still a pretty small crowd. You'd have to convince that entire segment to jump full
tilt into VR to make a wrinkle financially, UNLESS the game developers and publishers decide that only VR is how one games.
Given that the current consoles and even mid-level PCs are too weak, we won't see a great deal of movement until we hit critical mass, which I still think is several years away.
Argue what you wish, but I really think the console has to drive this technology, as there just aren't that many PC gamers out there. If this does occur, we will benefit because our machines are
going to be beefier and more adaptable to better and more sophisticated accessories.