Valve Possibly Prepping For a New “VR Device”, Receives Certification in South Korea

[bonami2]

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Valve's next entrant in the VR industry is highly anticipated amongst fans, given that the Valve Index was well received. It is now being reported that a new "Valve Hardware' has been certified in South Korea, indicating that the company is indeed prepping for the next step in VR.

The VR expert Brad Lynch disclosed the RRA (Radio Research Agency) certification on Twitter, with Valve applying for certification for a new '1030' hardware. While it isn't confirmed that the certification is based on Valve's next VR device, the analysis is made based on the fact that the details mentioned in the certification match the ones of the Meta Quest 3 and HTC VIVE XR Elite; hence, it could be said that Valve is preparing to release something in that domain, especially since they said not long ago that a proper Deck 2 device wouldn't be released until the hardware improvement was significant.

Valve Possibly Prepping For a New "VR Device", Receives Certification in South Korea

WCCFTECH.COM

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It is being reported that a new "Valve Hardware' has been certified in South Korea, indicating that the company is prepping a new VR device.

 

[Andrew]

South Korean certifications do seem like a good place to find new things coming out. Things get certified there before anywhere else in the world for some reason.

[bonami2]

17 hours ago, Andrew said:

South Korean certifications do seem like a good place to find new things coming out. Things get certified there before anywhere else in the world for some reason.

With all the issue with China/Taiwan maybe doing business with Korea is a good idea. That my only assumption.

[UltraMega]

I'd be surprised if this was more than just an updated VR headset/hardware refresh. It's my understanding that Alyx was Valve's push to give legs to the VR market and it failed massively for them to the point that they dropped any other VR projects they had planned. Clearly Alyx is a great game, but it's just one game and it wasn't enough to bring VR into focus. 

 

However you feel about VR, it hasn't really found any good footing in the market still to this day. IMO Sony is the only company to achieve modest success with VR in terms of bringing it to the market in an effective way. VR is too segmented on PC and until that changes, I don't think it will ever get very far. 

[bonami2]

I sometime feel like vr is too immersive. I love it but most often than not 98% of time am too lazy to take my headset.

Just easier to eat drink without it too.

[Slaughtahouse]

On 11/09/2023 at 15:53, UltraMega said:

I'd be surprised if this was more than just an updated VR headset/hardware refresh. It's my understanding that Alyx was Valve's push to give legs to the VR market and it failed massively for them to the point that they dropped any other VR projects they had planned. Clearly Alyx is a great game, but it's just one game and it wasn't enough to bring VR into focus. 

 

However you feel about VR, it hasn't really found any good footing in the market still to this day. IMO Sony is the only company to achieve modest success with VR in terms of bringing it to the market in an effective way. VR is too segmented on PC and until that changes, I don't think it will ever get very far. 

 

Cost / entry point is a huge barrier for most. I think Oculus or Facebook / Meta when John Carmack was driving it (Meta Quest 2) was the most successful in terms of market saturation, discussion, and sales by a wide margin.

 

Meta Quest 2 is $300 all in if I recall correctly and doesn't require a PC.

PSVR2 will certainly be popular, the ecosystem cost starts at $1000 USD (PS5 + VR2 headset).

Vavle index ($1000 + high end PC) is way too far away.

 

Once they get over that hurdle ($) I think VR will become more mainstream. Who knows, maybe new hardware with dedicated AI / Neural processors will help accelerate our progression to a more efficient VR system. 

 

If Valve can get a product in the market, similar to the way they've been successful with the deck that is more holistic at a good price point, maybe they can get ahead. 

[UltraMega]

3 hours ago, Slaughtahouse said:

 

Cost / entry point is a huge barrier for most. I think Oculus or Facebook / Meta when John Carmack was driving it (Meta Quest 2) was the most successful in terms of market saturation, discussion, and sales by a wide margin.

 

Meta Quest 2 is $300 all in if I recall correctly and doesn't require a PC.

PSVR2 will certainly be popular, the ecosystem cost starts at $1000 USD (PS5 + VR2 headset).

Vavle index ($1000 + high end PC) is way too far away.

 

Once they get over that hurdle ($) I think VR will become more mainstream. Who knows, maybe new hardware with dedicated AI / Neural processors will help accelerate our progression to a more efficient VR system. 

 

If Valve can get a product in the market, similar to the way they've been successful with the deck that is more holistic at a good price point, maybe they can get ahead. 

 

I think there's more than just cost keeping VR from taking off. 

 

The amount of space it requires is a big deal, but mostly that most people don't tolerate it for more than an hour or so before they get a headache or feel nauseated. 

[Slaughtahouse]

2 minutes ago, UltraMega said:

 

I think there's more than just cost keeping VR from taking off. 

 

The amount of space it requires is a big deal, but mostly that most people don't tolerate it for more than an hour or so before they get a headache or feel nauseated. 

 

Oh I 100% believe you that there are other factors, I just believe that cost and form factor (not having to require on additional and expensive hardware) are the biggest. My opinion is simply based on the fact how successful the Quest 2 is versus the competition. Wireless, clean, single, cost effective solution. As much as Half Life: Alyx is revolutionary, I bet you more VR gamers purchased and played Beat Saber or RE4 on the quest. 

 

I say all of this without ever having strapped on a VR headset in my life and if I were to get a VR headset, it likely would be a Quest. There is where the development is going outside of the console market (Playstation). I would hope Valve comes out with a cost effective competitor because I could avoid a separate store front and potentially access my existing library on Steam. 

 

With the Quest 3 announced (formally) today at $500, it will be interesting to understand if and how the extra $200 improves the experience and what exclusives it may have. 

[Andrew]

20 minutes ago, UltraMega said:

 

I think there's more than just cost keeping VR from taking off. 

 

The amount of space it requires is a big deal, but mostly that most people don't tolerate it for more than an hour or so before they get a headache or feel nauseated. 

You don't need a large area for VR. My VR area is in my chair in front of my computer. If I'm playing something that requires standing up, like HL Alyx, Skyrim, FO4,LA Noire, etc., I simply just move my chair back slightly and stand where my chair was. The area I use is about 1.5x1.5 metres. It would be nice to have a 10x10 metre area for VR, but it's not required.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Andrew

[UltraMega]

You guys remember lan centers? VR seems like it would be a great thing to have a modern lan center kind of thing for. VR might even sell a whole lot better if people had a way to try it before they bought it. I would pay $10 an hour or whatever to try VR in a lan center if there were any. 

[Slaughtahouse]

14 minutes ago, UltraMega said:

You guys remember lan centers? VR seems like it would be a great thing to have a modern lan center kind of thing for. VR might even sell a whole lot better if people had a way to try it before they bought it. I would pay $10 an hour or whatever to try VR in a lan center if there were any. 

Zero Latency VR | Free-Roam Virtual Reality Gaming Experiences

ZEROLATENCYVR.COM

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Immerse yourself in the world's finest virtual reality experiences at Zero Latency. 75+ venues across 26+ countries. Engage in untethered, free-roam VR. No cables, pure fun!

There are business' that specialize in VR arcade like experiences. Would love to check them out. 

 

[UltraMega]

8 minutes ago, Slaughtahouse said:

Zero Latency VR | Free-Roam Virtual Reality Gaming Experiences

ZEROLATENCYVR.COM

---

Immerse yourself in the world's finest virtual reality experiences at Zero Latency. 75+ venues across 26+ countries. Engage in untethered, free-roam VR. No cables, pure fun!

There are business' that specialize in VR arcade like experiences. Would love to check them out. 

 

$50 per person for 30 minutes, damn. Even if there was one near-by, I wouldn't pay that much. That's crazy. 

[Slaughtahouse]

1 hour ago, UltraMega said:

$50 per person for 30 minutes, damn. Even if there was one near-by, I wouldn't pay that much. That's crazy. 

Fair point XD I didn’t see the cost but there is market for VR experiences and I’m sure there are cheaper ones. I’m seeing more and more VR Arcades pop up.

[Kaz]

On 11/09/2023 at 13:53, UltraMega said:

I'd be surprised if this was more than just an updated VR headset/hardware refresh. It's my understanding that Alyx was Valve's push to give legs to the VR market and it failed massively for them to the point that they dropped any other VR projects they had planned. Clearly Alyx is a great game, but it's just one game and it wasn't enough to bring VR into focus. 

 

However you feel about VR, it hasn't really found any good footing in the market still to this day. IMO Sony is the only company to achieve modest success with VR in terms of bringing it to the market in an effective way. VR is too segmented on PC and until that changes, I don't think it will ever get very far. 

 

Simulators are where VR really shines.  Condor 2 (glider simulator), is pretty damn realistic to flying an actual glider.  Condor 2 translates to real flight extremely well, to the point that I would say any potential glider pilot should spend time on the simulator.  My instructor likes to say "Airplanes make poor classrooms, and classrooms make poor airplanes."  Simulators are extremely nice because you can pause and talk though everything going on, while still getting the airplane experience.  The only thing missing is the g force effect and the resistance feel of of holding open the air brakes.  (Also that first flight has a hard realization that the plane is always falling and has no engine, first real flight is unnerving.)

 

On 27/09/2023 at 15:10, UltraMega said:

You guys remember lan centers? VR seems like it would be a great thing to have a modern lan center kind of thing for. VR might even sell a whole lot better if people had a way to try it before they bought it. I would pay $10 an hour or whatever to try VR in a lan center if there were any. 

 

My local mall had one, but their pricing was more in line with $50 for 30 minutes.  I'm a bit too frugal to justify that, but my personal hardware is such that I could easily add VR.  I've been waiting for valve to come out with a new headset.  The index has held it's value on the used market, and paying full price for 4 year old equipment computer equipment doesn't entice me.  The Oculus Rift S is fairly cheap in the used market, but I don't want to deal with facebook/meta.  When I last looked into VR, there were quite a few VR headsets on the market, but the actual implementation/support they get is questionable.