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 across the world . Microsoft has shown us what the immersive world looks like in virtual real-world.

Microsoft bought the block-building phenomenon in 2014 for $2.5bn (PS1.8bn) This was a huge deal that had fans of the game worried about its future.

The US firm has promised not to ruin its popular formula and instead will invest in bringing Minecraft to the next level.

The Xbox division presented the first virtual reality version Minecraft at a San Francisco event.

Palmer Luckey, creator and designer of the Oculus Rift VR headset, said that it makes you feel as if you are in Minecraft.

It's like many VR experiences. It's completely absorbing. It's a great opportunity to experience the thrilling construction process on a virtual screen.

For a game that's played by youngsters, there's a price that parents might be concerned about 1500 dollars.

That's the amount they'll need if they want to buy an Oculus Rift headset, as well as a computer that is powerful enough to run it.

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

He said, "It isn’t."

"I I mean, it's expensive in comparison to other devices out in the world however, if you look at it as compared to television or a mobile phone you're getting more technology.

"It's not as if this is simple hardware, and the price is likely to decrease over time."

It'll need to be taken down fairly quickly in order to be adopted by mainstream audiences in the near future.

I expect a slight revival of the arcade games. This is a place where people can play video games of the highest quality that they cannot afford to buy for themselves.

Big titles

Oculus Minecraft was one of several games that were on display at Xbox Spring Showcase. This allowed journalists (and a few YouTube stars) the chance to play some of the upcoming blockbusters.

Quantum Break was a fascinating world that caused me to lose an hour. It's a game in which you play Jack Joyce, an unwilling action hero who gains the ability to alter time following an experiment gone badly.

It may sound like a similar game scenario, but the title's mechanics are what make it different.

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

Many of the games included on the show were also promoted as great for PC use via Microsoft's Windows 10 operating systems.

"If you take a look at the numbers, PC gaming is the fastest-growing segment of gaming available," said head of Xbox Phil Spencer.

"It's normal to focus 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-focused Hololens. Instead it is working to make it compatible with the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive.

Concerning the price debate On the price debate, Mr Spencer stated that he believed that virtual reality would follow the same path of high-definition TVs as a luxury product to start with, but hard to resist once you've had the experience.

He added, "The early adopters of VR will be there to help propel the industry."

Given that Sony's PlayStation 4 will be getting its own VR headset, I asked whether Microsoft too might consider making its own gear.

He said, "I believe it could be something we'll be able to incorporate into our roadmap." He also said that Windows 10 was now fully compatible with VR games however, he did not mention this.

'Not hacked'

Of course, new games aren't worth anything unless players can get online to play them. As of late it's been quite a challenge.

Poor reliability on Xbox Live - the service Xbox gamers use to play each other on the internet has resulted in the stressing of thousands.

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

Mr. Spencer apologized for the issue.

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

"This outage was a cause for concern. We learned from it. We knew exactly what was causing the issue but it took a little more time that we would have liked."

He denied that the company had been the victim of a hacking attack, claiming that although its network was constantly under attack, it wasn't, as had been claimed, wiped out by an orchestrated effort to block gamers.

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

"I am able to understand when people are angry. It's a sign people care and are committed to our mission as a gaming platform.
Fela

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