AR/VR Weekly: CCP Games has found one solution to the VR drought (update)
Studios are dealing with the so-called VR drought. And it looks like CCP Games is taking an alternative route to dealing with the doldrums as companies wait for VR to hit critical mass.
Take your game beyond VR.
The Icelandic company will launch a version of Eve: Valkyrie, its flagship VR starfighter game, that brings it out of the virtual reality. It will be on PC or PlayStation 4, and you’ll be able to check out the space combat without needing an Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, or a PSVR on September 26.
I’ve seen a number of games I’d like to play outside of VR. Eve: Valkyrie is one of them. I’d also enjoy Inxile’s The Mage’s Tale without VR. I find that I start to feel antsy after wearing a VR headset for more than 10 minutes — I just don’t like being unable to see my surroundings. I wouldn’t be surprised if, this evening, I buy this non-VR version of Valkyrie and check it out on my gorgeous living room TV.
But does this defeat the purpose of making a VR game? Is it a savvy business move while studios wait for VR to become mainstream? Or is it just giving customers an alternative, tapping into a revenue stream that doesn’t exist yet? Or is it a cop-out, an early sign that companies are getting worried about the VR desert?
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—Jason Wilson, GamesBeat managing editor
P.S. Rez hit PC VR last week — check out why it’s one of the best games ever made.
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Correction, 9:50 a.m. August 16: Warzone did not launch today. We have corrected the story.
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