It took a lot of time from the moment when Microsoft officially announced the native support of Windows VR headsets by its partners Dell, Lenovo and HP. Almost a year later, the headsets are finally ready to go on retail sale in a set with the new VR-controllers. But can the Redmond giant to grab a piece of the already divided between Oculus, HTC and Sony market or their cause, like many others, will be all forgotten after some time?
Something tells us that this time Microsoft can make this work. Moreover, through the efforts of this company and the integration of VR into the operating system Windows 10 (support will be introduced in the major fall update), virtual reality can be truly of mainstream. Think for yourself. A set of headset and two controllers the Oculus costs $ 500, the HTC – 600, and Microsoft offer their own versions (developed by the partners, of course) for only $ 400. It does not matter who produces the hardware. The software will be distributed and to work exclusively within Windows 10.
Another key difference headsets Microsoft from the competition is the fact that they do not need an external camera and laser sensors. The camera is built into the headset and see the world, including glowing marks on controllers directly from it. This greatly simplifies setup and allows the user to become more mobile. If you believe the eyewitnesses, which has already tested these headsets, setup takes no more than 15 minutes, and the thrill of VR for quite a decent level, though the picture quality is not up to the “top” of the headset Vive.
VR-helmets Microsoft is not so demanding PC as headset competitors. Moreover, initially, we can expect that these devices will be compatible and the main apps and even entire software packages developed for Windows 10. No, I’m not talking about MS Office for the virtual space, but I hope you understand me. Well, the last nail in the coffins of the competitors can be a recently announced device compatibility Microsoft’s ecosystem Steam VR. And this, for a moment, hundreds of different video games and apps. It turns out that Microsoft could eventually open up the door to affordable and comfortable VR.
Microsoft seriously intends to make VR mainstream
Sergey Grey