Chapter 96: The Flaws of VR Games
The settings in the game were all strictly based on reality. If you violated traffic rules while driving, you’d get a ticket; if you didn’t use the crosswalk, you’d be fined; and if you accidentally got injured, you’d have to pay for hospital treatment. Of course, the only good news was that no one could die in this game. Given the current level of technology, it was impossible to completely replace PC games.
For this world, VR games had indeed caused a sensation when they first came out, but after a while, they were just okay. It was like when the first AAA title appeared—players were thrilled. But as more AAA titles came out, players just got used to them.
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According to Chen Mo’s research, the impact of VR games on PC games in this world was mainly in the following genres.
First, action games (ACT), first-person shooters (FPS), and fighting games (FTG). These games emphasized realistic experiences and had basically disappeared on PC, completely dominated by VR games. After all, shooting a gun on a computer and shooting a gun in a VR game were completely different concepts—the gap was too vast.
Second, adventure games (AVG). This one didn’t need much explanation either. The scenery seen on a computer and the scenery seen in VR, or rock climbing and surfing on a computer versus in VR, were fundamentally different concepts.
Third, role-playing games (RPG). These had also taken a hit, but not as much as the first two. Because RPGs didn’t rely entirely on immersive experiences; elements like social interaction and world-building were also very important. The focus of role-playing games was on “playing a role,” so world-building was crucial. VR games consumed a lot of resources, and with the same resources, you could create a game world ten times larger on PC. In terms of richness, VR games couldn’t completely crush PC.
Moreover, many game companies would first develop a PC version to test the waters before investing in a large-scale VR RPG. If it did well, they’d decide to develop the VR version. Many RPGs were also dual-platform, playable on both PC and VR. So there were still plenty of RPGs on PC, and they were doing just fine.
Fourth, strategy games and simulation management games. These were barely affected by VR. Because in these games, players had too many things to control and had to play from a god’s-eye perspective the whole time. Making a VR version would only make it more enjoyable to take in the full view, unlike the previous genres, which could bring a huge leap in gameplay experience. Also, the investment for VR games was too high. If you were going to make a VR game, it was better to focus on the earlier genres; making strategy or management games was just too wasteful.
So, although PC games had suffered a serious blow, they were still alive, and they weren’t going to die off anytime soon.
Genius remembers this site’s address in one second: