Notes

First Look at Virtual Reality Minecraft At Xbox Showcase

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



1 March 2016



Minecraft is already adored by millions of gamers around the world - now Microsoft has shown us what the real world is like in virtual reality.



Microsoft bought the block-building game in 2014 at $2.5bn (PS1.8bn) This was which was a massive purchase that left many fans of the game worried about its future.



The US firm promised not to ruin its popular formula, and instead said it will invest in the development of Minecraft to the next level.



At a party in San Francisco's trendy Mission District, its Xbox division demonstrated the virtual reality version of Minecraft for the first time.



"It makes you feel like you're inside the world of Minecraft," said Palmer Luckey who invented the Oculus Rift VR headset.



It's like other VR experiences. It's completely absorbing. It is a great way to experience Minecraft's addictive building process on a VR screen.



For a game that's loved by children, there's a figure that might worry parents: $1,500.



That's the suggested amount they'll need to spend in order to purchase an Oculus Rift headset and a computer that is powerful enough to power it.



It's definitely too expensive, and I suggested to Mr. Luckey.



"It isn't," he said.



It is expensive, but it offers many more features than a mobile phone.



"It's not as simple as hardware and the price is decreasing as time passes."



It'll need to go down pretty sharp-ish for it to be adopted by the mass media in the near future.



In the meantime, I'd expect that there will be a slight revival of the arcade games which is a place where people go to play games of a high-end quality that they can't feasibly 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 a few influential YouTube gamers, naturally - to get hands-on with the upcoming blockbusters of the future.



I spent an hour in the gripping world of Quantum Break. It's a game where you play as Jack Joyce, an unwilling action hero who acquires the ability to manipulate time following an experiment gone badly.



This may sound like another game scenario However, the game's mechanics make it unique.



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



Many of the titles on show were also marketed as great to play on PC, via Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system.



"If you look at the figures, PC gaming is the fastest-growing gaming segment out there," said head of Xbox Phil Spencer.



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



Virtual plans



Microsoft has decided not to develop its own headset for virtual reality. However, it is still developing 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 virtual reality will follow the model set by high definition TVs. It's a high-end item at first, but it becomes hard to resist once you have had the experience.



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



With the news that Sony's PlayStation 4 will soon get its own VR headset, I asked whether Microsoft might consider creating its own gear.



He added, "I believe it could be something on our roadmap." He also said that Windows 10 was now fully compatible with VR titles however he didn't mention this.



'Not hacked'



Of course, the newest games aren't worth anything unless players can get online to play them. This has been a problem.



The low reliability of Xbox Live, the online gaming platform used by Xbox gamers, has caused thousands of problems.
B2p connections


The most disgruntled fans are rapper Snoop Dogg, who - in a video that's too vulgar to link to here - demanded Bill Gates to fix the issue or he'd switch to PlayStation.



Mr. Spencer apologized for the issues.



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



"This outage was a concern. We learned from it. It took us a bit longer to understand the issue however, it was apparent.



He denied that the company had been the victim of a hack, saying that while its network was constantly under attack, it wasn't, as had been claimed, wiped out by an organized attempt to block gamers.



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



"I am able to understand when people get unhappy. It is a sign that people love and are committed to what we do as a game platform.



Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC and on Facebook.



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