There are some caveats, however.
What you need to know
- Jason Rubin, VP of special gaming initiatives at Facebook, says that there is interest in making the Quest/other Oculus products more powerful.
- Users can expect to see more AAA titles within the next year or so.
- Whether that can be accomplished without cloud computing is unclear at this time.
The Oculus Quest is a great, consumer-ready VR headset with one small issue: its catalog. While there are a lot of games and apps to choose from, there aren’t any large titles that you can take advantage of. For that you’ll need one of the more powerful, PC-connected headsets.
However, that may be changing soon. Jason Rubin, the VP of special gaming initiatives at Facebook (the company that owns Oculus), told Protocol earlier this week that users can expect AAA products in the future, although he didn’t provide an exact timetable.
“There’s a segment of the gaming market that wants VR and is very interested in VR, but is waiting for VR to have credibility from the few brands that those gamers believe in,” he said. “You will see those AAA products. Regardless of who makes the call and what the actual deal is, I think you will see those products.”
The problem is, of course, whether the Oculus Quest can handle those AAA titles. Rubin agrees that the Quest isn’t likely powerful enough, and probably won’t be, but he notes an alternative. What if the titles can be streamed wirelessly to the headset from a PC?
“In the longer run… there should be ways to stream that from a computer, over your Wi-Fi, to your face. I won’t get into the incredible amount of challenges that need to be overcome to get there, but in the long run, that’s the way that head-mounted devices end up with AAA-graphic-quality games,” he said.
The term “AAA” is not properly defined, even by a lot of games industry standards, so Rubin deviates the two interpretations. In regards to graphically-intense games, users can expect to need a PC or other device that properly dissapates heat (you don’t want something on your face to get too warm). However, if people are talking about large, in-depth experiences, that’s more likely on the Oculus Quest. Rubin expects to see that within approximately the next year.
Rubin notes the challenges with Wi-Fi or cloud processing in regards to VR games. That increases the chances of lag or internet issues when playing your game or running your app. It’s not viable in the long run, especially if you’re banking on standalone, portable headsets like the Quest, but he notes that it’s not impossible.
“So all of these things have to be solved, but no one thinks it’s impossible. It’s a hypothetical that can be done but it’s not coming anytime soon.”
The interview is also a great read for anybody interested in how Facebook is running its many, many game divisions.
VR without the wires
Oculus Quest
From $400 at Best Buy
From $499 at Oculus
Consumer-ready VR
With the Oculus Quest, you get all the fun of VR without all those pesky wires. Choose from a number of titles and play with hand tracking.
