While both the Oculus Rift and the new “Morpheus” project by Sony have been garnering headlines in the gaming world as of late, Microsoft recently threw in its two cents regarding the future of VR tech.
Big wig Phil Spencer spoke at a panel during this year’s GDC and revealed that Microsoft has been tinkering with the idea for some time now. “I think the technology’s really interesting, and it’s definitely something we’ve been playing with for quite a while…We have this huge Microsoft research organization that is pretty important to us as a platform holder in helping us think about what might be next. It’s where Kinect came from, it’s where Cortana’s voice system came from, it’s where Drivatars came from. There’s a bunch of stuff in our games that have been berthed out of Microsoft research; thousands of people working there in that team.” Says Spencer.
For those still playing catch up, Sony recently unveiled its latest entry into the VR market in what many consider a threat to the Oculus Rift (if Sony’s were to take off and thus provide cross-over support for the PC). Spencer touts its competitors product, saying, “…I think there’s a real something there,” but does he feel there’s a future? “You see these bifurcations; some people are playing simple touch games where you feel like you’re controlling the Death Star, and then other people are putting goggles on their face where they can feel like they’re living in that world 24/7. But the big area in the middle is closer to the casual side in terms of usage.” He said.
We will bring you more on the latest developments in the world of VR tech, as it breaks.