Apple Highlights Spatial Gaming on Vision Pro

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I think with all the hype building up to the AVP release, Apple would have ensured they had at least one mind-blowing “spatial gaming” experience from “the big boys” available with the launch. I haven’t seen it. Whether that meant delaying the launch and/or investing the development directly, it would have been in Apple’s interest to do so.

I agree with this. Given the launch timing, I was expecting a "watch the Super Bowl as if you are there" experience for Vpro viewers. That lone event will move millions to get into electronics retailers to shell out Vpro money+ on a new big screen TV for the big game. Some of those buyers would likely be swayed to go Vpro instead... or in addition to.

I fully expected something like that... and probably some "watch all of the March Madness games as if you are there" too. Here's another VR360º video to somewhat paint the picture (again click & hold and drag around to look around as if you are there. Vpro owners should be able to just look around)...

and another...

I realize others own the broadcast rights to BOTH the Superbowl and March Madness but both (and all other such events) seem prime to forge special partnerships to be sure 360º cameras are present to capture 4K Vpro "courtside" views and I'm quite surprised Apple didn't "throw some money at" making this happen to spur on early Vpro interest.

In the early days of HD, there were special mobile trucks to present select events in HD quality instead of SD. Now the same exists to present select events in 4K instead of HD. The same could be done for professional 360VR presentations and sell them as PPV to Vpro, Oculus, etc owners who can't actually be at the event and/or can't afford at least $9K for a cheapest Super Bowl ticket + travel costs + etc.

I guess such opportunities shift to those holding the broadcast rights to see if Vpro owners will pay a bit of money to virtually attend some such events- just like some PPV to watch 4K versions of events. With Super Bowl seats starting at $9K, getting to occupy a virtual seat for PPV-type pricing seems easy added revenue, a lucrative cut to Apple and a way to get more people "in" the stadium than it can actually accommodate.

I do expect much of this kind of thing to come in the future. There's already at least one Vpro app that is offering this kind of experience for some concerts. There will almost certainly be many more.

 

[Mike_Trivisonno]

We bought one VisionPro to see if it could be used in our normal work environment. It can. Our lucky test employee is able to work all day generating reports out of a FileMaker database, emailing customers, using group chat; normal work-related activities. It's actually quite useful. Even more so when used in conjunction with his MacBook Pro as it provides much more work space than the built-in display.

The only thing that stops us from buying more is that it only works with Apple's poorly designed and totally useless Magic Mouse. Once it works with regular mice, we will buy more.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I have a Quest. I'm not laughing. Why does the existence of the AVP and games on it threaten the Quest or Quest users? Apple's efforts will only make the Quest better over time.

Because the games on AVP are either mobile games or flat screen games you can already play anywhere, not experiences designed around the headset and actual high quality VR games like on Quest. For god sake Vision Pro doesn't even have Beat Saber

 

[Mr_Ed]

We bought one VisionPro to see if it could be used in our normal work environment. It can. Our lucky test employee is able to work all day generating reports out of a FileMaker database, emailing customers, using group chat; normal work-related activities. It's actually quite useful. Even more so when used in conjunction with his MacBook Pro as it provides much more work space than the built-in display.

The only thing that stops us from buying more is that it only works with Apple's poorly designed and totally useless Magic Mouse. Once it works with regular mice, we will buy more.

Genuinely curious. How much more productive is the test employee with the AVP than just using the MacBook Pro and whatever “antiquated” tools were available? How was the execution of those tasks made better?

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Without 3D controllers, “spatial” gaming on the AVP isn’t very compelling.

Hell Quest 3 handles finger tracked games better than Vision Pro does as tested by the VR media

 

[cardfan]

I agree with this. Given the launch timing, I was expecting a "watch the Super Bowl as if you are there" experience for Vpro viewers. That event will move millions to get into electronics retailers to shell out Vpro money+ on a new big screen TV for the big game. Some of those buyers would likely be swayed to go Vpro instead... or in addition to.

I fully expected something like that... and probably some "watch all of the March Madness games as if you are there" too. Here's another VR360º video to somewhat paint the picture (again click & hold and drag around to look around as if you are there)...

I realize others own the broadcast rights to BOTH of those but both seem prime to forge special partnerships to be sure 360º cameras are present to capture 4K Vpro "courtside" views and I'm quite surprised Apple didn't "throw some money at" making this happen to spur on Vpro interest. I guess such opportunities shift to those holding the broadcast rights to see if Vpro owners will pay a bit of money to virtually attend some such events. With Super Bowl seats starting at $9K, getting to occupy a virtual seat for PPV-type pricing seems easy added revenue, lucrative cut to Apple and a way to get more people "in" the stadium than it can actually accommodate.

I do expect much of this kind of thing to come in the future. There's already at least one Vpro app that is offering this kind of experience for some concerts.

I think Apple did sponsor the halftime show or they make a big deal of it in apple music. I'm not sure why this couldn't have been an immersive video from them.

 

[_Refurbished_]

Gaming has and will always need a physical controller.

 

[Rogue AI]

Great. I’m sure the four people who are deciding to keep their Vision Pros will enjoy them.

 

[Timo_Existencia]

I really wonder how much Meta Quest 3 sales benefit from the AVP hype…

Well...the problem Meta has is that for every sale they make, they are losing money on the device. Meta treats the Quest as a loss-leader, trying to build a market place for VR. But the market they want is all of us living in a second-life knock off where Facebook will own the Metaverse and make money off of data mining.

Apple has built the Vision Pro around a very different idea. First, they are charging correctly for the device, not taking a loss on each one (excluding R&D which gets amortized differently). Second, they aren't investing in the idea of losing yourself in virtual reality, rather on using productive apps to do productive things. The AVP is about the Apple Ecosystem, VisionOS, fitting this new form factor into the work flow.

So, even if Apple is driving more sales for the Quest, that would be driving Meta further into debt.

Meta Continues to Operate at a Loss on Quest 3 – Production Costs Revealed

 

[nfl46]

Who are these “big boys” you speak of?
And you better believe they are “waiting”. Waiting to see if the AVP installed base has any chance of making any development investment worthwhile. I think with all the hype building up to the AVP release, Apple would have ensured they had at least one mind-blowing “spatial gaming” experience from “the big boys” available with the launch. I haven’t seen it. Whether that meant delaying the launch and/or investing the development directly, it would have been in Apple’s interest to do so.

You shall see…

 

[trusso]

Yay $3,500 toy for kiddy games. I love the idea of the VP but this highlights the state of gaming on the mac abought right

Apple will never make it big in gaming or VR because they’ve poisoned the well. Whether it’s developer relations or the continual trashing of old APIs, developers and users are rightly suspicious of going all-in, or even anywhere near, Apple’s watering hole.

Apple is a bully, and like the old story, they seem to be the only ones who don’t realize they have no clothes.

 

[Timo_Existencia]

Apple will never make it big in gaming or VR because they’ve poisoned the well. Whether it’s developer relations or the continual trashing of old APIs, developers and users are rightly suspicious of going all-in, or even anywhere near, Apple’s watering hole.

Apple is a bully, and like the old story, they seem to be the only ones who don’t realize they have no clothes.

Yeah, Apple is doomed.

 

[Flamingdeathbolts]

I’m excited for this. Got to build on to the platform from somewhere even if it means basic games. I remember back in the day playing Grand Theft Auto 2 and all you had was from up above vision then Driver 2 came out and it was a big deal that you can be behind the car view perspective while driving through the city and also exit the vehicle.

 

[jclardy]

Jeptack Joyride just crashes after the splash screen for me. A lot of these I wouldn't really call "spatial gaming" - they are just games in a window with some 3d elements drawn around you.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Apple will never make it big in gaming or VR because they’ve poisoned the well. Whether it’s developer relations or the continual trashing of old APIs, developers and users are rightly suspicious of going all-in, or even anywhere near, Apple’s watering hole.

Apple is a bully, and like the old story, they seem to be the only ones who don’t realize they have no clothes.

I'm afraid you're correct.

Also very uncool to ever pretend they were moving in that direction at all when they're not persistent or willing to go all out.

I guess all Apple ever wanted from AAA gaming titles/studios is to have some recognizable franchises and impressive footage to add to the latest Mac and iPhone ads whenever one of the key selling points of the new hardware is increased GPU performance.

I wish they'd just stop with AAA gaming altogether instead of teasing it perpetually.

 

[crsh1976]

If y’all only knew what was coming….😂.

You’re delusional if you think Apple doesn’t have the big boys waiting to come to the platform.

Must be the same big boys the Mac is still waiting for, year after year.

 

[nfl46]

Must be the same big boys the Mac is still waiting for, year after year.

You shall see.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I’m excited for this. Got to build on to the platform from somewhere even if it means basic games.

That sentence could have been uttered just about anytime in the last 20 years re: "Apple" and "gaming"

 

[sunny5]

This is why AVP will fail in gaming market. It lacks both hardware controller and PCVR which is very critical for gaming. Beside, who really buy AVP for just playing mobile games? What a joke.

 

[akac]

I'm a simple guy. I have a Quest 2. For the gaming I do, it's good enough. I've also got a few apps on it to watch movies and stuff - and frankly it's decent for that. But I can't download movies for airplanes, so … I don't have the AVP, but I'm interested in it. I see the two as different devices. Quest for gaming. AVP for media/computing.

If I end up being on an airplane a lot, I might get an AVP.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The thing that Meta gets with the Quest is that you won't get a great software ecosystem if the install base isn't large and with a chance for lots of growth.

i.e. The lone product entry can't be nearly $4000 because nobody (effectively) will buy it and thus developers won't target it.

 

[GrayFlannel]

So the point of Apple’s Vision all long is a toy? So much for the productivity charade.

 

[Dremmel]

I remember when the App Store first opened on the iPhone and there were hardly any games on it... anyways, I hope this means that within the next couple of years, there will soon be thousands (tens of thousands?) of cool apps and games for the Apple Vision Pro. 🤞

Within months there were tales of a gold rush and developers making millions ...
How do you make millions off 20,000 units? Or even 200,000 units?

 

[techfreak23]

They need to stop talking about gaming until they release motion controllers or add support for existing ones. It's a joke otherwise.

 

[turbineseaplane]

So the point of Apple’s Vision all long is a toy? So much for the productivity charade.

Apple doesn't really know what the thing is for

The bull case here is that it's like the first Apple Watch, where they were still trying to figure out who and what it's for.

But I'm in no way bullish about something so expensive, isolating and subjectively comfortable and enjoyable to use for extended periods of time.