I guess I was asked to talk about the business model for that new VR headset thing that was in last weeks pic, but fuuck that. There is no real business model for that thing yet. It's a lie to imply there is one. Real talk, here is it's closest current business model, "Build, it release it, people will go crazy and buy it because it is awesome technology. And don't let it become the Virtual Boy." Yeah, ok. And this is why you keep engineers off the phones.
I used to think that the makers of the things were just naive in the ways of what people truly want. But now I think it is bordering on delusion. They just want to make stuff, they really don't care how it will sell or if it will sell or who they would be selling to. They sit there and watch the Ouya's sink and say to themselves, "Glad I'm not that guy, now lets get back to this cumbersome headset that makes people throw up after thirty minutes of play but we would like to be a fixture in every home.
I'm overselling the bad stuff though. It can sell, I want it to sell, so I can ride it's wave and sell other stuff. Sooner or later, VR will sell. But it has enemies, and most of it's enemies are of its own DNA.
Here is one:
A kid and a mom wandering around a store, lost in the flashing lights and end caps. Enter a sales associate right out of Beaver high and not worth half a shit. "Tell me about this eye thing," Says the mom. "Uhhh, well..." The mom waves off the question and says, "Just show me something I know."
Here is another:
[Insert Mainstream media Journo outlet here] Runs a page one above the fold pic of a single white male, alone, on a couch, head down, drooling, attached to some matrix ass face apparatus, bathed in the pale light of a flickering, screaming, synapse experience. Headline reads "THE FUTURE OF VIDEO GAMES," Question mark.
The only thing the public rejects faster than violence (against themselves) is the threat of loneliness.
Here is another:
No video game company in their right mind are investing on unsure AAA games, even on consoles.
There are more, but whatever. These will get me yelled at just fine. But I don't just want to shit in the poop and walk away.
Here is a possible happy ending:
A group of human beings walk into a movie theater or general/Pizza/Beer/Games type establishment. The humans see this new type of game that seems out of their technological comfort zone, but fuck it, they are out and they are buzzed and they want to take chances. They dare each other to try it, the bravest of them steps into the platform and straps it on. They laugh, and yell, and engage while their friends watch, now brimming with want to be next. It looks fun. They acclimate to the tech, walk away impressed and with stories to tell.
A year later the humans see a home model in a retail outlet, they have played it before, the price point is sorta high, but worth it for the fun it would be at the [Insert human party] next week. They choose a couple social titles. They are not intimidated. They pick it up. Wash and repeat.
So to answer your question, jerk, I don't have an answer to your question. I do think they are rolling the dice instead of taking the temperature of the industry. I do believe they are trying really hard to make "Fetch" happen. But I won't say it is going to fail. I can't, because I don't know the metrics for success. The makers and the market decide those things.
Anyway, Apostle got me into Star Conflict and it is the truth. But the Days of Fitzgerald the space trucker are long past. I hope information gets that I'm not shooting at their wagon. It's just that all jobs I've ever had have been about the end user. A hard habit to break. Speaking of wagons, Banner Saga... Well done. Also Jerbz.
The Protoculture Mixtape v.179 Issue : People : Optics
