Q.
It’s been a huge 12 months for XR hardware, with incremental models from Sony and Meta and Apple’s Vision Pro joining the throng. Which in your opinion will prove to be the most significant in terms of evolving creativity and which will drive the most growth before the next generation kicks in?
Henry Stockdale: I believe Apple Vision Pro will be the biggest driver for evolving creativity. While Vision Pro’s cost makes it prohibitive for most, I strongly believe Apple’s approach will directly inspire competitors like Meta and Google’s upcoming Android XR platform. That said, I believe Quest 3 is currently doing the most to drive growth in the mid-term. Gaming remains the biggest use case for consumer VR, the hardware is considerably better than Quest 2 and Meta’s continued investment in VR gaming cannot be understated.
Patrick O’Luanaigh: As a new entrant, the terms of what it signals for a company like Apple to be entering the XR space with its big bet versions of new Apple products are rarely the mass-market ones, but Apple clearly believes this is a growth area.
Bobby Thandi: The Vision Pro targets developers and early adopters, laying the groundwork for future innovation. A more consumer-friendly priced version could drive compelling content, particularly games, as these drive consumer interest and showcase new technology.
Ben Clements: In terms of evolving creativity I think the Apple Vision Pro, and any subsequent iterations that Apple might decide to release, will move the needle the most but in terms of sheer growth for the XR industry I don’t think anyone comes close to Meta right now in that regard.
“The Meta
Quest series has outperformed iconic consoles like the Nintendo 64 and currently surpasses Xbox sales”
Bobby Thandi, XR Games
Bobby Thandi: In terms of growth potential, the Meta Quest series has outperformed iconic consoles like the Nintendo 64 and currently surpasses Xbox sales. During the last holiday season, for every Quest 3 ($499) sold, three Quest 2 units ($299) were sold, indicating a price-sensitive market. This suggests that the rumoured Quest 3s, potentially releasing in 2024 at a lower price, could continue to drive Meta Quest’s dominance.
Hilmar Veigar Pétursson: While the Apple Vision Pro is an impressive feat of engineering, I’m not entirely convinced it will be the game- changer for XR creativity and experiences that some are predicting, at least not yet. The high adoption and while extremely impressive it does take a discerning person to truly appreciate the
Meta released the Quest 3 headset in 2023
with new technologies, as we did with our early VR titles. But for XR to truly evolve, it needs to be accessible to a broad audience. I think the Quest and PSVR2 will continue to drive the most growth in the near term due to their more ecosystems.
Patrick O’Luanaigh: XR wouldn’t be where it is today without the commitment of Meta and Sony over the past few years, each bringing millions of players into the fold with their respective visions for VR and forging that path to mass-market adoption. PS VR2 and Meta Quest 3 are both incredible headsets and we’ve never been more blessed in terms of hardware to support amazing VR and MR games.
Jörg Tittel: I don’t really see hardware or platforms in general as driving creativity - that’s on us, the developers - but Meta and PlayStation have been the most proactive in supporting developers over the last couple of years and I’m grateful for it. Apple Vision Pro has given its competition a healthy kick in the rear, with Meta quickly improving its UI, hand tracking and adding matching features such as the travel Ben Clements: Vision Pro is a technical marvel time I used one I was stunned, it’s beyond intuitive and the clarity of that screen is unlike any HMD I’ve seen. However, that price point how we work and interact socially on a deeper cheaper before we see that impact on a wide scale. I think they’ll get there eventually. That’s where Meta wins out right now, they’ve nailed the price point and brought XR to the masses, it can do a lot of what Vision Pro can do, albeit audiences in at an early age who will no doubt grow up attached to this kind of tech. That impact is potentially huge.
June/July 2024 MCV/DEVELOP | 21
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