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[-] squaresinger@lemmy.world 17 points 2 days ago

VR did not take off, but for wildly different reasons than what you state.

A steam deck or a games console also need expensive special equipment (in form of the console) that has no other use. Still they are thriving.

They also need expensive powerful graphics hardware for good quality. (Also, standalone VR totally exists and is pretty good nowadays, to the point where I don't see much of a reason to pair my headset to my PC, and I am still rocking a Quest 2. Considering you are quoting "a headset at the Microsoft store", I venture to guess that you haven't tried VR in over half a decade.)

You don't need special equipment if you wear glasses for most headsets, you just wear your glasses inside the VR headset. Source: I have been doing that for years. Glasses compatible VR headsets are a thing and quite common.

VR doesn't cause migraines, migraines are something different. They mainly cause tension headaches and motion sickness. Headsets with better balance (e.g. ones that move the battery to the back of the head or ones that are lighter) reduce tension headaches a lot, and motion sickness differs between people and with practice.

The wide open space is the only actual problem you identified, but also there, VR also works in sitting or stationary standing positions. Full roomscale VR is only required by rather few VR games or apps.

The real issues are:

  • VR doesn't have advantages for working. Like, none at all. Meta focussed a lot on working in VR, and that just doesn't work. No advantage means no reason to do it.
  • VR works for games, but the inability to develop cross-platform between VR and other platforms means that it's almost completely restricted to VR-exclusives. There are a few non-VR-exclusives with a VR mode, but they usually don't actually take advantage of VR, since they have to work on a flat screen too. This means, not a lot of games and the ones that exist are super low budget.
  • Local multiplayer is very difficult for VR. If I want to do local multiplayer on a flat screen console or PC, I need another controller and a place for the second person to sit. For VR I need to buy a second console (headset) and need more floor space. VR multiplayer in the same room often leads to people hitting each other, so to play together it's best to separate between rooms.
  • Gaming is often used as a relaxing, chill experience. That doesn't really work in VR, since VR games require you to move. You usually can't just chill on the couch while playing VR.
  • VR software and UX is still in its infancy. Compare that to flat screen games, which took about 20-30 years to actually become really good in therms of UX and gameplay. VR hasn't had enough time yet to get there, but it's also not something that can just be forced with more money.
[-] Prove_your_argument@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Clearly my user story about my experience is completely invalid as a factor. Good to know.

Edit: you guys are really insufferable.

I'm not alone about motion sickness, which is dubbed cyber sickness with vr headsets apparently. >50% experience this, with >20% having severe reactions. This is a small study but it's not the only one with similar results and there are no large scale studies disproving this that I could find, but maybe you can if you want to be right and put in the effort! I spent about 50 hours in total using VR headsets and I can confirm almost every session had a reaction for me, and a couple of times I had to stop from JUST this. My ex girlfriend tried for a bit and she also had it worse. A very small scale study at northeastern says women makes claims that women have a higher rate for this as well, but you can do your own research.

It's widely known that you need custom prescription lenses if you are nearsighted because most modern VR headsets are unable to match common prescriptions with the focus options available. These headsets are designed to make things appear far away in general, so if you need glasses to see at a distance you'll need special lenses just for the headset you buy - these are not interchangeable between models from various manufacturers today. Many people like myself have astigmatism, so a simple lens like -2.00 will not just do the job, these need to be the same prescription as you would need for day to day glasses. These lenses are not functional for day to day use cases like driving, using a computer outside of VR, etc. https://www.reddit.com/r/MetaQuestVR/comments/1h3bffc/do_i_need_prescription_lenses/

I know some of you really love VR and think it's the future. That's great! Enjoy it! have a blast! pick up the frame on launch day! No one is going to stop you. For many of us, it's not an option and we're not interested because we've tired it ourselves multiple times with multiple headsets and games.

[-] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 hours ago

That's not a user story. That's a personal anecdote from over 5 years ago. The complaints you mentioned are not valid to the current hardware that is available to consumers right now. VR headsets are excellent for physical fitness. I use a VR headset for cardio and boxing games. I get a great workout and I don't get bored. Qualcomm's recent SOCs negate the need for a connected computer.

VR is also a game changer for racing games and flight simulators (all of which are seated and stationary and require no additional room).

[-] squaresinger@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

You mean your story of buying an unnamed "Microsoft" headset at least 5 years ago and using it so little that you could still return it? Ok. Yeah. That kind of "user story" is pretty insubstantial.

[-] Strawberry 8 points 1 day ago

What user story?

this post was submitted on 11 May 2026
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