Notes

First Look at Virtual Reality Minecraft At Xbox Showcase

First look at virtual reality Minecraft at Xbox showcase Dave Lee North America technology reporter



1 March 2016



Millions of gamers love Minecraft. Microsoft now shows us how virtual reality can be created.



Microsoft purchased the block-building phenomenon in 2014 at $2.5bn (PS1.8bn), an enormous sum that left many lovers of the game anxious about its future.



The US firm promised not to alter its well-known formula, and instead said it would invest in the development of Minecraft to the next level.



The Xbox division launched the first virtual reality version of Minecraft at an event in San Francisco event.



"It makes it feel like you're in the world of Minecraft," said Palmer Luckey who is the creator of the Oculus Rift VR headset.



It's like other VR experiences. It's a complete immersion. It is a great opportunity to experience the engaging creation process on a VR screen.



However, for a game that is played by youngsters, there's a price that could be a concern for parents: $1,500.



That's the suggested amount they'll have to pay for an Oculus Rift headset, as well as a computer that is powerful enough to power it.



It's certainly too expensive, so I suggested to Mr. Luckey.



"It isn't," he said.



"I mean, it's expensive relative to everything else out there however, if you look at it in comparison to television or a mobile phone you're getting more technology.



"It's not as straightforward hardware and the cost is going down in the coming years."



It'll need to be taken down fairly quickly in order to be accepted by the mass media in the near future.



As of now, I'd like to see a minor resurgence of the games arcade, a place where people go to play high-end games that they are unable to afford to purchase for their homes.



Big titles



Minecraft on Oculus was one of several games on display at Xbox's Spring Showcase, a chance for journalists - and some influential YouTube gamers, naturally - to be involved with the latest blockbusters.



Quantum Break was a fascinating world that caused me to lose an hour. It's a video game in which you play as Jack Joyce, an unwilling action hero who develops the ability to alter time following an experiment that went wrong.



It may sound like a similar game however the game's mechanics make it unique.



Also, make sure to check out Tom Clancy's The Division -- set in a highly accurate and authentic Manhattan.



A number of the titles featured on the show were also marketed as games that are great to play on PC, via Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system.



"If you look at the numbers, PC gaming has the fastest-growing segment of gaming," stated Phil Spencer, head of Xbox.



"It's normal to focus on gaming on Windows."



Virtual plans



Microsoft has decided not to create its own headset for virtual reality. However it is still working on the Hololens-specific Hololens. Instead, it is working to make it compatible with Oculus Rift or HTC Vive.



In the debate over price, Spencer stated that he believes that virtual reality will follow the path set by high definition TVs. It is a luxury product at first, but it becomes hard to resist once you have had the experience.



"The early adopters will be there to spur the VR industry," he said.



Given that Sony's PlayStation 4 will be getting its own VR headset, I wondered if Microsoft too might consider making its own VR headset.



He added, "I believe it could be something that's part of our roadmap." But he said the focus now was entirely on making Windows 10 fully-compatible with high-end VR titles.



'Not hacked'



The latest games are useless in the absence of players who can play them online. This has been a challenge.
Minecraft


Insufficient reliability on Xbox Live, the online gaming platform used by Xbox gamers, has led to thousands of issues.



Snoop Dogg is one of the disgruntled fans. He has pleaded with Bill Gates to fix the problem, or he would defect to PlayStation.



Mr Spencer apologized for the issue.



He said, "It's evidently always regretful."



"This outage was a concern. We learned from it. It took us a little longer to comprehend the issue, but it was clear.



He denied that the company was the victim of hacking, and said that even though its network was constantly under attack it wasn't, as was claimed, destroyed by an orchestrated effort to cause gamers to be shut off.



Snoop Dogg is at risk of being lost: "Snoop has been a long-time Xbox gamer and supporter for a long time.



"I can understand when people are unhappy. I see it as a sign of the love and dedication people have for what we are as a game platform."



Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC and on Facebook.



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