Microsoft Pulls Any Plans To Integrate Virtual Reality With Xbox
Microsoft, one of the largest tech companies in the world, is giving up on virtual reality.
For Xbox, that is.
The company’s chief marketing officer, Mike Nichols, had this to say in a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz:
“[We don’t] “have any plans specific to Xbox consoles in virtual reality and mixed reality. [We’re focusing on] experiences you would play on your TV.”
This news may not be so groundbreaking after all, as Microsoft already has one of the most widely-used virtual reality headsets on the market: The HoloLens. This latest development seems to imply that from now on, Microsoft will put virtual reality efforts towards the HoloLens and more traditional gaming experiences towards the Xbox.
In fact, this news may not be so groundbreaking after all. As recently as 2017, Phil Spencer was reported to have said that Xbox wouldn’t be focusing on virtual reality.
Why is this a big deal? Well, Xbox’s main competitor, Sony’s Playstation 4, is still continuing with plans to make their gaming console compatible with Sony’s virtual reality headset.
Gaming companies both young and old try to wrap their collective heads around the developing virtual reality space. Without an affordable virtual reality headset and an industry-defining game to go with it, consumers have little reason to shell out $500+ for the experience.
But as the industry matures, we are likely to see things change.
And while our focus is more on augmented reality here at Lucyd, we fully recognize that the fate of AR and it’s older cousin VR are intertwined. As technology creeps forward, we’re likely to approach a day when most of our human experience is integrated with one of two technologies, if not both.
We don’t know about you, but we certainly can’t wait until that happens.
What do you think about Microsoft’s lack of plans to develop virtual reality for the Xbox? Let us know in a comment!
IMPORTANT NEWS
- The Lucyd eShop will launch July 31st, 2018. We aim to build a fun, convenient storefront where you can order the world’s most advanced eyewear. Not only will the eShop carry Lucyd Lens and other products we develop, we spent a lot of effort finding the best frame styles and technologies out there for our future customers. We want Lucyd to be the place to order smart and standard spectacles, with a wide selection of futuristic frames. Best of all, it will be the first place in the world where you can order prescription eyewear for crypto! BTC and ETH will be accepted at first. The Lucyd eShop will ship worldwide and guarantee every pair of specs it sells.
- LCD tokens will be used as the rewards points for the eShop, in addition to previously planned utilities in P2P token transfers between smartglasses.
- Part of the vision for the eShop is that we recognize the need for customization for smartglasses — they are not a one-size-fits-all product. The eShop will offer a range of personalization options, including various colors for most frames, and a number of different lens configurations.
- We are on schedule to deliver the beta Lucyd Lens AR smartglass early next year. Remember, you will need to have purchased 5000 LCD during the ICO to participate in the beta.
- https://t.me/lucyd_en
Meet us there or shoot us an email anytime at [email protected]! If you have not received tokens from the ICO be sure to reach out! Don’t forget, LCD is now purchasable on idex.market/eth/lcd so get yours today. We have a handy tutorial for using IDEX on our Youtube: