Microsoft’s HoloLens has a ways to go and even though it’s taking a very different direction from VR, it’s still somewhat in competition with the same. Xbox division boss Phil Spencer spoke to EDGE (as reported by GamesRadar) on the matter and how even though VR is popular, it’s still very much at an early stage.
“It’s more of an announcement than anybody really having any VR stuff right now – and that’s not a shot at Sony. I mean, it’s hard tech, and I think it’s great what they’re doing with Morpheus. But they’ve announced [it for] the first half of 2016, so a little over a year from now.
“I look at VR as an interesting space. It’s certainly different to the mixed reality we do with HoloLens, but there’s nothing that precludes us from doing something in the VR space.”
There’s also plenty of potential on the PC side. “As you say, there are partners out there, and while these guys are PC-based today, if we want to do something with Xbox…Right now, it’s just been about technologies and things that I think we need to do on Xbox One to make the experience better, and that’s where our focus has been. And I don’t think VR is a now thing. I’m not saying it’s five years from now, but it’s not really a now now thing. Valve’s got their VR thing, which I think is great; Samsung has GearVR, too.
“Funnily enough, they are very interested in Minecraft and how it could work in those VR spaces. So even from a content perspective there are a lot of conversations about VR, and I think it’s a very interesting tech for us to watch on the console side as well as the PC side.”
What are your thoughts on Spencer’s VR views? Let us know in the comments.