Should I get the vive?

[Lawrence Banks]

I just wanted to get some peoples opinions on wether I should buy the vive or not.
Just so everyone is clear - I am not strapped for cash. Spending £800 on this is not a problem , however I am not rich either and I would not want to spent £800 on this just to get bored after 5 minutes.

I ordered the vive from Scan and it's due delivery today. I cancelled it because I read some reviews saying it gets boring and the games are basic. Now, I read more reviews, and after seeing some better games I am questioning wether I should contact Scan and cancel my cancellation so I can still get it delivered today.

I am looking for a new game to play. I typically play League, sometimes WoW, Hearthstone, H1Z1 and rarely Garry's Mod. I don't find simple, singleplayer games that fun. Usually if I am playing a paticularly grindy game, like WoW, I will be watching netflix or something to stop myself getting bored. I have a very high tolerance for games and I get bored much faster then anyone I know.

So does this mean i'm not suited for the vive? What attracts me to the vive is that I have never seen anyone say anything other then " It was completely mind-blowing " when they try it. Many people say that even after months of owning it they still crave more of it, and that sounds like something I would be interested in. Then again, the gaming community seems to overhype things far, far too much.
No man's sky, Fallout 4, The Divison, The Witcher 3, Starwars Battlefront, all of these games I knew were overhyped and would die out quickly. Is this the case with the Vive? Will it die out and be forgottten about?

All the titles for the vive are expensive, offer no trials, and as far as i know, are extremely simple games where there is often only 1 thing to do - shoot waves of AI enemies. I noticed games like Hover Junkers and that one war game look quite good - but are they things I can play every day? I wouldn't be buying this if it was just something i'd pick up every now and then. The vive to me needs to offer to fill the hour long gap I have when I am wasting time browsing Reddit. Are there games available that are beyond shooting AI's ?

The last thing that concerns me is the actual tech in this thing. While it's advertised as groundbreaking - is it? To me, it seems like it's a decent res screen glued onto some motion sensors with camera tracking. Haven't we been able to make that for... 10 years? Why is the vive so " ground breaking? Will this technology be succeeded? Like I said, it doesn't seem particularly ground breaking technology - this is displayed paticularly with Samsung's VR - most phones already have many of the sensors in the Vive - so next year will a new headset that costs half the price be released that has a much better platform? Is the current vive worthwile? Futureproof? Can the technology support triple A?


So, yeah!

TL;DR
On one end, I want the vive because everyone says it is truly groundbreaking and immersive , and even the most simple of games are lots of fun. I get bored fast.
On the other end, games look shit and boring. No triple A's. Technology doesn't seem that immersive - what makes it so " immersive " ?

 

[ajpaolello]

My advice is this: see if some store near you is demoing the Vive. Give it a try and see what it's like. Then decide if that is something you really want or is just fun for 5 minutes. I love VR and really want to get the vive as well but everyone enjoys VR differently.

 

[sam53sam]

How can you spend so much on something without trying it? No amount of articles, forum opinions, adverts or youtube videos is ever going to come close to describing what it's like.

You just need to try it and if you don't get the buzz don't bother with it. It's not cheap.

 

[Tri23]

>> How can you spend so much on something without trying it?

For me, it was all the videos of people screaming / crying, and the owners of the device laughing maniacally. Because I looked at those laughing people and said.. I want to live that lifestyle. Subjecting my friends and family to traumatizing experiences.

And let me state... I have not regretted it. Everybody i have placed in the HTC went, "WOW!", and the best reaction recently was my sister teleporting outside the Portal Demo. She fell against the window and just started screaming, and her legs buckled.


>> It's not cheap.

Relative to income level. For the experience you are getting, it is pretty dang cheap. This is a luxury item.
I think you could make an argument that this is very affordable, depending the primary use.