Virtual reality, like most budding technologies, comes with its fair share of critics. In a recent interview with Gamespot, Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey says he acklowdges VR is still “pretty expensive” and “relatively primitive.” However, much like Counter Logic Gaming fans, he still has faith in VR’s potential.
Lucky started the interview by addressing the critics of virtual reality. “”First, I would have to ask them, ‘Have you tried it?’ If they haven’t tried it, the only response would be, ‘OK, we can’t have meaningful discussion until you’ve tried it,” he says. “Then we are both on the same playing field. We both understand what we’re talking about.”
For those who have tried virtual reality and still doubt it, Lucky says that “it’s just a matter of time, quality, and cost.”
“Eventually, the cost will be so low and the quality will be so high, and the breadth of content will be so wide that it’s almost impossible to imagine anyone but the most diehard luddite saying, ‘I have no use for virtual reality.'”
Lucky continued to address critics, saying “I find it hard to believe that there will be meaningful critics that actually say, seriously, that this technology will never be interesting,”
“Now, they could argue that, ‘I don’t believe there would be a breadth of content because it won’t take off.’ Or, ‘I don’t believe that the cost will go down because nobody is going to care about it and you’ll stop innovating,'” he continued. “And they might be right about that in the short term. I don’t believe they will be right. But I’ll concede that they could be right. But in the long-run, it’s impossible to stop [VR]. At some point, technology will advance to the point where VR comes along for free.”
The first model of the Oculus Rift available for consumers will launch some time in early 2016. While the specifics of pricing have not been revealed, Oculus has said you can expect to shell out $1500 for a complete setup.