Google, HTC, Oculus, Samsung, Sony Join Forces To Create Global VR Association (techcrunch.com)

Google, HTC, Oculus, Samsung, Sony and Acer have teamed up to form the Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA) in an effort to reduce fragmentation and failure in the industry. GVRA aims to "unlock and maximize VR's potential," but there are little details as to what this may mean for consumers. TechCrunch reports: What many in the VR community have been thirsting for is some unification of standards in terms of software and hardware. Games bought in the Oculus store don't play on the Vive or PS VR. Sensors for the Vive don't work on Oculus. Sony doesn't play nice with anyone else's standards etc. etc. Valve, which makes the Steam store and SteamVR platform for the HTC Vive and others, is notably not a member of this collective so any hopes of a unified standard (like its OpenVR platform) emerging from this collective is likely not in the cards. From the GVRA press release: "The goal of the Global Virtual Reality Association is to promote responsible development and adoption of VR globally. The association's members will develop and share best practices, conduct research, and bring the international VR community together as the technology progresses. The group will also serve a resource for consumers, policymakers, and industry interested in VR."

Comments

any bets?

[Anonymous Coward]

Want to bet whether said standard will include a patent from each?

Am I just paranoid when i hear these guys get together for this project or that?

Let me help translate here.

[Narcocide]

"reduce fragmentation and failure in the industry" means "make sure Linux never gets any of our shit"

Re:Let me help translate here.

[janoc]

HTC Vive actually has (some) Linux support already, thanks to Valve.

Content is another story, but that won't be changed by an alliance like this

Re:Let me help translate here.

[Opportunist]

Because, well, what's in it for them? They can now create facts and take the market if they so please. They are the only ones that have a huge software library behind them that is heavily loaded with indie developers (i.e. the only ones that are willing and able to take a risk with a rather tiny market).

Yes Sony has the Playstation and its market share behind it, but the PS market depends heavily on large studios, and so far they have been wary to invest into the VR market because it is still very small, no play ground for AAA titles.

Re:What a joke

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, you can get rid of the disconnect by mapping everything 1:1, that works fine. If you only have vection in small bursts, they're imperceptible and don't cause sickness.

AR is just VR except you can see through the lenses. Basically, it's VR with an alpha channel, the fundamentals are identical.

VR comes down to earth

[Tough Love]

Got to hand it to Carmack and friends, separating Zuck from a huge bag of windfall riches was a really slick move, but face it, VR remains a boutique niche and that isn't changing in the foreseeable future. This is the business: selling expensive hardware to early adopters willing to spend hours a day standing up waving their arms around while wearing a heavy, sweaty headset. With the hype died down, that is exactly what percent of the market? Worse thing is, everybody wants a piece of that nonexistent market. Reality: your hundreds of dollars of VR gear is going to end up gathering dust in the closet right next to your Guitar Hero controller and you will be back to couch potato status with your PS4 controller or keyboard and mouse if you are in that segment that can afford a sufficiently powerful laptop or gaming PC. It's about that standing up thing. After the initial thrill, it just isn't going to happen for more than a few minutes a day.

So Zuck got the idea that everybody would be reading their fake Facebook news on a VR headset next year? I wonder why.

Re:VR comes down to earth

[ddtmm]

That is exactly the situation. Well spoken