Major Game Publishers Express Concern about VR’s Motion Sickness Problem

For All the Excitement in Many Portions of the Gaming Community over Virtual Reality Technologies like the Oculus Rift and Sony's Project Morpheus, Major 3rd-Party Gaming Publishers Have been Slow to Throw their Weight Behind the Idea. In Fact, at least 2 of those Publishers are Now Publicly Expressing Worries about Motion Sickness and Nausea Getting in the Way of the Consumer Adoption that Virtual Reality Headsets are Going to Need to Become a Market Force. In an Interview with Bloomberg this Week, Take-Two President and CEO, Strauss Zelnick Said, the Industry is "Not Yet" Ready for Virtual Reality. He Said that's Partly because Developers Need to Work Out Issues such as "how are you going to see your controller, how does the controller interact with this immersive space", but, it's also because of Comfort and Motion Sickness Issues with Current Prototypes. "We are concerned that you'll play our games for a long period of time — we don't want people getting nauseated", Zelnick Said. "And also, having had the experience, I'm not sure how long you want an immersive headset on your head. We'll find out."


Electronic Arts apparently has Similar Worries. Speaking at the UBS Global Technology Conference this Week (as Reported by GameSpot), EA CFO, Blake Jorgensen Said that, Nausea has Gotten in the Way of Many People Enjoying the Prototype Headsets in his Experience. "The challenge is if you are at all even slightly motion sick prone, it's very tough", he Said. "I've seen people within 30 seconds have to take the goggles off because... it is so immersive. It's an incredible experience and I think there's a huge opportunity but, there's some technology steps that have to be played out and I think so ways to make sure people enjoy it but, don't get sick by it too quickly." Motion Sickness is Far from a New Concern in the VR Space; at Least One Indie Developer has Publicly Delayed Plans to Work in VR until the Problem is Fixed. Oculus CEO, Brendan Iribe, Recently Called Disorientation and Motion Sickness "the elephant in the room" for VR and he Went so far as to Urge Competitors Not to Release VR Hardware "until they've solved that problem". At September's Oculus Connect Conference, though, Iribe Said Oculus' New Crescent Bay Prototype is the 1st VR Headset he Used without Feeling Nauseous so, the Company is at Least Optimistic it Won't be a Continuing Problem Well into the Future. Neither EA nor Take-Two Seem to Think that, Motion Sickness in VR is an Insurmountable Issue.


On the Contrary, Both Publishers Seem Ready to Jump on the VR Bandwagon if and When it Really Leaves the Consumer Station, Nausea-Free. "I will say this. If that's what consumers want, we'll be first in line to give it to them", Take-Two's Zelnick Said. "We see no reason to innovate in terms of business models. We prefer to be a fast follower... I'm happy to have other people spend loads of dough on R&D." EA's Jorgensen Went Further, Saying his Company was Already Experimenting with VR Technology for PCs and Game Consoles. "If a virtual reality platform takes off, either a standalone or as part of any of those other platforms, we'll be there to build games", he Said. "If you look at our games, they're incredibly well set up for virtual reality because we create these big, immersive worlds that people essentially play in." The Wait-and-See Attitude regarding VR, Seems Pretty Common among Major Publishers. UbiSoft Vice President of Creative, Lionel Raynaud, Told GameSpot in March that, he Thought a VR Headset "would need to sell at least 1 million units to be viable for development". Nintendo President, Reggie Fils-Aime, Told the AP in June that, he Thought VR Technology "isn't quite there yet" as Far as Enabling "a fun experience". And Microsoft Told at this Year's Game Developers Conference that, it is Willing to "see how the VR space evolves" before Announcing its Own Plans. "At this point, everything you're seeing out there is just prototypes and development stuff", XBox Group Program Manager, David Dennis, Said. "I think for us, it will be interesting to see how consumers respond and what experiences developers are able to deliver."


It's a Somewhat Understandable Position for these Big Businesses to Take, Given the Virtual Reality's 1st Big Bust in the '90s and the Nature of the Game Business. You Don't Have to Go Back Very Far to See How Promising Technologies like Motion Controls and Rhythm Games Went from Being the Next Big Thing to Being just Another Dead Fad Clogging Up Warehouses and Balance Sheets of Gaming Publishers. While Indie Studios are Excitedly Tinkering with their Devkits as we Speak, the Established Industry is apparently Going to Need Some More Reassurance from Hardware Makers and Consumers before, Taking a Similar Plunge into VR.




Info Sources:

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/-grand-theft-auto-hits-next-gen-platforms-7Xx~0MaJSTGeuEA~etwXqg.html

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/vr-needs-to-fix-motion-sickness-problems-ea-says/1100-6423676

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/virtual-reality-devices-need-to-sell-1-million-units-before-ubisoft-gets-interested-update/1100-6418392

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/03/microsoft-were-willing-to-see-how-the-vr-space-evolves