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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 are addicted to Minecraft. Microsoft now shows us how virtual reality can be developed.



Microsoft purchased the block-building phenomenon in 2014 for $2.5bn (PS1.8bn) which was an enormous sum that left gamers worried about its future.



The US firm has promised not to ruin its popular formula and instead would invest in taking Minecraft to the next level.



At an event in San Francisco's fashionable Mission District, its Xbox division showed off the virtual real-world version of Minecraft for the first time.



"It makes you feel like you're inside 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 completely immersive. For those who are obsessed with Minecraft's addictive build process, it's a significant step up from playing it on a standard screen.



Parents may be concerned about $1,500 that is the price of a popular game for children.



This is the amount to purchase an Oculus headset and an efficient PC to power it.



That's surely too expensive, and I suggested to Mr. Luckey.



"It isn't," he said.



It's costly however, it has much more technology than a TV or mobile phone.



"It's not as simple as hardware, and the price is going down over time."



If it is to be accepted by mainstream audiences it must be eliminated very quickly.



As of now, I'd like to see a minor resurgence of the arcade game that is a place where players go to play top-quality games that they are unable to afford to buy for their homes.



Big titles



Minecraft on Oculus was one of the many games displayed at Xbox's Spring Showcase, a chance for journalists - and a few influential YouTube gamers, naturally - to get hands-on with the latest blockbusters.



I spent an hour in the enthralling world of Quantum Break. It's a game in which you take on the role of Jack Joyce, an unwilling action hero who develops the ability to alter time following an experiment gone wrong.



If this sounds like another scenario that is predictable for a game, you'd be right - but the title's mechanics (think "bullet time", only better) create something unique.



Also, be sure to check out Tom Clancy's The Division -- set in a meticulously faithful-to-life Manhattan.



A number of the titles featured on the show were also promoted as being great for play on PC, via Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system.



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



"It's normal that we'd concentrate on gaming on Windows."



Virtual plans



When it comes to virtual reality, Microsoft has opted not to develop its own headset - although it is developing the virtual reality-focused Hololens however, it is trying to make it compatible with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.



In the debate over price On the price debate, Mr Spencer declared that he believed virtual reality would follow the path of high definition TVs as a luxury product to start with however, it is a challenge to resist once you've had the experience.



He said, "The early adopters of VR will be there to help propel the industry."



With the news that Sony's PlayStation 4 will soon get its own VR headset, I asked whether Microsoft might also think about making its own equipment.



He said, "I believe it could be something on our roadmap." However, he said that the current focus was on creating Windows 10 fully-compatible with high-end VR titles.



'Not hacked'



The latest games are useless when players can't play them online. In recent times it's been quite an issue.



Insufficient reliability on Xbox Live - the service Xbox gamers utilize to play against each other on the internet - has stressed out thousands.



The most disgruntled fans are rapper Snoop Dogg, who - in a video too profane to include here requested Bill Gates to fix the issue or he'd switch to PlayStation.



Mr Spencer apologized for the issues.



"It's obviously always regrettable," he said.



"This last outage was a problem, we learned from it. It took us a bit longer to understand the issue, but it was clear.



He denied that the company was the victim of a hacking attack, claiming that although its network was constantly under attack, it wasn't like it was claimed, wiped out by an orchestrated attempt to block gamers.



And on the possibility of losing Snoop Dogg: "Snoop's been an avid player for a long time, and a loyal patron of Xbox.



"I can understand when people become upset. I view it as an expression of the love and devotion people have to what we offer as a gaming platform."
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