VR is a massive movement in the video game industry right now. There are several manufacturers already selling their VR dedicated headsets along with other companies working on the evolution of this new technology. Since Sony and the PC platforms have a VR option, it’s a wonder as to where Microsoft stands with virtual reality and their latest generation of consoles.
Recently the topic came up between Gamasutra and the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer. Phil spoke of an interest in VR and that he believes the technology is still in the very early stages. With that said, there are plans to bring VR to the Project Scorpio console.
“So we will support VR on Scorpio. We said that onstage. We will support VR on Scorpio, we’re going to do that, I think it’s important, I think there’s some great immersive VR experiences.”
Unfortunately, there’s no information yet as to when gamers can expect a dedicated gaming VR headset for the Project Scorpio console or Xbox One. Although, interestingly enough, the community for VR technology is open with Sony and Microsoft sharing their products and ideas.
“Well, we built Minecraft in VR to learn. It’s on Oculus, it’s on Gear, we kind of watch and we iterate and we kind of figure out what works and what makes people sick, what doesn’t make people sick. Like a lot of creators, as an organization we mess around with VR all the time. And learn.
And the VR community itself is actually really open. The Sony guys have been great, they’ve had our teams down, we’ve had them up to look at HoloLens and stuff that’s been going on. Obviously Valve’s about a stone’s throw from here. So the VR community itself is actually very collaborative because I think everybody realizes how early we are in the evolution of what this thing is about.”
It’s interesting to see competitors working together in order to fully grasp such new technology that is taking the world by storm. We’re nearly there before we see what virtual reality can really do, though for now, we’ll simply have to wait.