Microsoft Will Not Show Off Xbox VR at E3

Microsoft Will Not Show Off Xbox VR at E3

We already knew that Xbox “Project Scorpio” wasn’t getting any VR capabilities in 2017, but now we also know that Microsoft won’t be previewing its VR work at E3 next week either.

“Our primary focus [now] is making our mixed reality experiences a success on Windows 10 PCs,” Microsoft’s Alex Kipman told the website Polygon. “We believe that right now a Windows PC is the best platform for mixed reality as its open ecosystem and enormous installed base offer the best opportunity for developers, and Windows offers the most choices for consumers.”

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Microsoft had previously stated that it would bring its Windows Mixed Reality technologies to the Xbox One platform, including Scorpio, in 2018, about one year after its debut on Windows. But with the software giant set to formally launch Xbox “Project Scorpio,” its coming 4K-capable Xbox One console, next week, many were speculating that we might at least get a demo.

Nope. And Kipman let loose with another interesting tidbit about how this might work differently on Xbox.

“Windows has been the birthplace of a variety of technologies, and we believe this will hold for mixed reality too,” Kipman continued. “Given the efforts we have underway on Windows for Mixed Reality, and our belief that console VR should be wireless, right now we are focused on developing mixed reality experiences for the PC, not on the console.”

So the Xbox-based VR experiences will be wireless, and not tethered by cables as they will be on the PC. That certainly makes sense.

But now I’m wondering if Microsoft will create its own VR headset for Xbox, or go the partner route as it does with Windows 10. I had assumed the latter, but now I’m wondering if a single device, developed in-house, doesn’t make more sense for the consoles.

 

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Conversation 15 comments

  • Kevin

    07 June, 2017 - 8:44 am

    <p>I'm actually OK with this and am hoping that MS and its partners have the rumored wireless headsets for MR/VR or even MR/VR/AR ready for holiday 2018. It gets them time to build a solution that can potentially work on both MR Windows 10 capable PCs and possibly that long rumored Surface Phone. I know it's merely a wish, and may never come to reality, but I'd much prefer a single head unit that works across all of my Windows devices than a single tether unit that only works on my Xbox Scorpio. Either way Scorpio has enough horsepower to run MR and I'm hoping that it will have enough under the hood to offer shared MR experiences for collaboration. It's something that their competitors will most likely not be able to do in the near future. Sony won't be able to do it until at least PS5 and Apple and Google are still a ways off from their solutions. </p><p><br></p>

  • Angusmatheson

    07 June, 2017 - 9:56 am

    <p>It's funny, we own PlayStation VR, but never use it. I think it looks really cool, but I am an old man with no time to play. My son, plays Overwatch – now entirely on his gaming PC. For him, gaming is social. He is on with "friends" – people he met on line from all over the country – who he plays and chats with. Because for him, his friends aren't on VR he doesn't want to be there. My imagine if video games is from the 80s and 90s – when I played regularly – and in that world better graphics was always a better thing.so I assumed VR would be better still…but I think he is looking for something different when he plays. </p>

    • Ugur

      07 June, 2017 - 10:50 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#123314"><em>In reply to Angusmatheson:</em></a><em> I'm not into trying to cinvince you or your son to play more VR or not, i have VR headsets but play more often on regular screen than in VR, too myself =)</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>But yeah, for the times you/your son wants to play and play MP, maybe try one of the MP games like Star Trek Bridge Crew =)</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

  • Tunrip

    07 June, 2017 - 9:57 am

    <p>It's interesting when you consider this with the leaked XBox One information that <a href="http://winsupersite.com/article/xbox-360/generation-xbox-preview-143462&quot; target="_blank">you wrote about back in 2012</a>, Paul:</p><p><br></p><p class="ql-indent-1"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Microsoft will augment the next Xbox with a glasses accessory that’s codenamed “Fortaleza.” (Fortaleza is a city in Brazil near Natal; Natal was the codename of the original Kinect.) This peripheral will provide a “breakthrough heads-up and hands-free device experience,” and will ship first in a Wi-Fi only version.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="ql-cursor"></span></span></p>

  • mjw149

    07 June, 2017 - 10:14 am

    <p>I'm sure if they jump to wireless, they'll be fine, but the delay on xbox vr is certainly something. I don't think they have anything to worry about, at least, with the competition still being so expensive. Certainly Apple didn't show anything this week except how far behind they are and how rare a decent Mac is.</p>

    • Daniel D

      07 June, 2017 - 5:31 pm

      <p><a href="#123330"><em>In reply to mjw149:</em></a><em> Apple was never Microsofts competition in the gaming console space. Sony is.</em></p><p><br></p>

    • rbgaynor

      07 June, 2017 - 8:39 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#123330"><em>In reply to mjw149:</em></a></blockquote><p>I actually thought Apple's demo, running live on an iPad, was pretty impressive. Add to that the fact that come September they will have hundreds of millions of compatible devices in consumer's hands and developers selling apps. Plus mobile seems like a great fit for AR.</p>

  • BoItmanLives

    07 June, 2017 - 10:56 am

    <p>Marketingspeak to English translation: "We have no VR plans for Xbox. We probably shouldn't have put all our eggs in the AR basket."</p><p>Speaking of, what did ever happen to Hololens Hololens Hololens? For years it was keyword spammed in every MS press release about anything. Then, poof.</p>

    • Ugur

      07 June, 2017 - 10:46 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#123351"><em>In reply to BoItmanLives:</em></a><em> MS made it very public that they are basically so confident of their lead with hololens that they will skip one hardware update iteration, so basically no proper hardware update for a year and then come out with an in return more advanced bigger leap update.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>They seem to not have realized that in tech when there is no updated hardware iteration or other big news about a product for a year, that is not seen as a positive by many.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>Also while MS did in fact have a lead there in tracking precision/responsiveness for inside out tracking and some other aspects, others are not sleeping and now other headsets like meta 2 and others are making big steps while Apple gets lots of news for just getting on the AR bandwagon initially by just using the iOS devices.</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

  • kshsystems

    Premium Member
    07 June, 2017 - 11:07 am

    <p>Wasn't the creators update supposed to include some AR / MR infrastructure? I don't see any AR / MR additions at all. Has that been postponed to the fall creators update? Or is there never going to be UI added?</p>

  • Jules Wombat

    07 June, 2017 - 12:43 pm

    <p>So Scorpio is going to be at least a year late in catching up with VR, and Hololens is pretty well dead. </p><p>Typical Microsoft disappointing yet again,</p>

  • glenn8878

    07 June, 2017 - 2:43 pm

    <p>What's the hang up? We know what basic VR capability is. Just do something, anything.</p>

  • Ugur

    07 June, 2017 - 10:36 pm

    <p>I wonder why MS is insisting to have VR on xbox (scorpio) to have to be wireless. I mean wireless is nice of course in general, but when one knows one will have the console sitting there, and so the user will be using it locally at his home, then it could be with wire, too, no?</p>

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