Is The Xbox Series X VR Ready?
Gaming consoles are becoming quite diverse machines.
Gone are the days of consoles being reserved exclusively for gaming.
There are apps to watch movies, watch television shows, listen to music, and even chat with friends and family. VR is becoming a huge aspect of gaming too.
In recent years, VR headsets for PlayStation and PC have been developed.
A lot of people are curious if there is a VR product available for the Xbox.
Is The Xbox Series X VR Ready?
Unfortunately, there is no VR support for any version of the Xbox. This means PlayStation has firm control of the VR market when it comes to consoles. However, this doesn’t mean that Microsoft won’t one day bring a VR product to their home consoles.
No one knows for sure what Microsoft has planned, but as of right now, Microsoft has no plans to bring any type of VR support to their newest console.
Many believe that Microsoft doesn’t have faith in the VR market.
It may be difficult for the tech giant to turn a profit with a VR project.
After all, Microsoft is no stranger to virtual reality and augmented reality. Microsoft dabbled with releasing an augmented reality set in 2017 called the HoloLens.
The entire project ultimately failed, but Microsoft hasn’t accepted defeat.
Rumors of a HoloLens 2 have begun to surface in recent months.
There are even reports of Microsoft working with the military to create a useful augmented reality headset for soldiers to make us of.
If the HoloLens is a success, whether it be in the military industry or the consumer market, it isn’t too big of a stretch to assume Microsoft will create some sort of headset to work with the Xbox Series X or a future console.
Can you connect Oculus to Xbox Series X
Gamers are likely familiar with Oculus – the VR system now owned by Meta Platforms.
With origins as a PC addon that would connect directly to a computer’s graphics card, the Oculus can now be purchased as a standalone device, requiring no extra hardware to play games.
However, there’s no possible way to use any of the Oculus hardware with an Xbox Series X.
Microsoft could possibly partner with Meta in the future, allowing the use of Oculus headsets alongside Xbox.
This would give Xbox and other publishers an opportunity to create games for the Series X without spending valuable research and development time on their own hardware.
Teasers from Microsoft
Shortly after the launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S, an exciting message appeared on the Xbox.
The message simply said, “Update VR headset.” The message got everyone’s hopes up, expecting Microsoft to make an announcement concerning VR.
However, gamers were torn away from their dreams when Microsoft officially responded.
A representative released a statement saying that Microsoft is not focusing on VR.
The statement parroted an earlier message from Xbox’s Phil Spencer when he said that Xbox is focusing on what gamers are asking for, and no one is asking for VR.
It’s no secret that Phil Spencer and his team over at Xbox consider VR to be a niche product.
He even went as far as to say that VR does not fit with his vision of gaming.
The good news is, Spencer didn’t completely rule out the possibility of VR on the Xbox Series X.
He said the future is unpredictable and that VR might skyrocket in popularity and become a mainstream entertainment option.
This would surely persuade Microsoft to develop their own VR experiences.
Microsoft Mixed Reality was another teaser for Xbox fans when it was announced.
Mixed Reality is an ecosystem of headsets and gadgets that work alongside each other to provide PC gamers with virtual reality and augmented reality experience.
While not all the components were created by Microsoft, companies like Valve were working on their own devices to work within the Microsoft ecosystem.
HP even entered the mix when it released its Reverb G2 headset.
While Microsoft moved forward with its own VR ecosystem, the entire project never really took off with consumers, leading many to believe that it didn’t launch at all.
In fact, Windows Mixed Reality is still something that Microsoft is working on.
Given Microsoft’s past projects like HoloLens and Mixed Reality, it’s highly unlikely that plans to implement VR into the Xbox Series X will ever come to fruition, but gamers can keep dreaming.
PlayStation is Dominating the Market
Console gamers are not left without options when it comes to virtual reality.
PSVR has been considered a success by Sony’s standards, moving over five-million units since its release.
It has even spawned a yet-to-be-released sequel called the PSVR 2.
While five-million units is relatively small in comparison to the number of consoles Sony sells, Sony has shown nothing but confidence in the product, releasing dozens of titles for PSVR each year since its release.
VR versions of popular triple-A titles, such as Resident Evil 7 and Skyrim, have even been released.