Imax is Shutting Down Its VR Business, Closing Remaining Three VR Centers in Q1 (variety.com) 75
Imax is making its exit from virtual reality (VR) official: The company notified shareholders with a SEC filing this week that it will close down its remaining three VR centers, and write off "certain VR content investments." From a report: A company spokesperson confirmed the planned closures and shared the following statement with Variety: "With the launch of the IMAX VR centre pilot program our intention was to test a variety of different concepts and locations to determine which approaches work well. After a trial period with VR centres in multiplexes, we have decided to conclude the IMAX VR centre pilot program and close the remaining three locations in Q1 2019."
The company previously closed four of its seven VR centers, including most recently its sole European outpost in Manchester. Imax launched Imax VR in early 2017 with a flagship location adjacent to the Grove mall in Los Angeles. At the time, the expansion into VR was billed as an experiment, and a way for Imax to determine whether VR could be the next big thing for the company. [...] Imax also set up a $50 million VR content fund, and got CAA, China Media Capital, and the Raine Group to co-produce VR experiences. Further reading: The virtual reality dream is dying.
The company previously closed four of its seven VR centers, including most recently its sole European outpost in Manchester. Imax launched Imax VR in early 2017 with a flagship location adjacent to the Grove mall in Los Angeles. At the time, the expansion into VR was billed as an experiment, and a way for Imax to determine whether VR could be the next big thing for the company. [...] Imax also set up a $50 million VR content fund, and got CAA, China Media Capital, and the Raine Group to co-produce VR experiences. Further reading: The virtual reality dream is dying.
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VR is like 3DTV. Overhyped shit that no one wants.
BS. I have an Oculus Rift and the experience is amazeballs. The problem is that its too complex and the apps are half-baked.
1. We need a device that doesn't require a $2000 gaming PC to run and an octopus of cables. That's what the companies left are trying to achieve at this point. It's the only way it will get adopted by the majority.
2. On the flip side the software is just crap. Most of the games are half baked and are frankenstein version adapted for VR. VR needs real games written for the platform wi
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We have a device that doesn't need a $2000 PC. It's called Playstation VR (PSVR).
Same problem guy. It's got to be tether-less and cost less. And quite honestly the PSVR experience sucks from a resolution and responsiveness perspective compared to Rift and Vive.
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*Anything* is going to suck compared to $2500+ PC-based VR system (except a $100,000+ industrial VR system). When the PS6 has performance to kick the ass of today's $2000PC, it will still be getting its ass kicked by the $2000 PCs on the market then.
The question isn't how it compares to the top-of-the-line. It's how good the experience is judged on its own merits.
We've got the Oculus Quest probably coming out soon, which will eliminate the need for external hardware, ditch the wires, and greatly simplify
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Not surprising since they've only sold about 3 million units worldwide. Which even with such pathetic sales still makes it more popular than Rift and Vive.
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Have you ever tried a real VR system? There's a reason Daydream and other phone-based VR experiences suck - the same reason they're so inexpensive: they're a cheap novelty, nothing more. The hardware is totally unsuited to VR. Fundamentally flawed rotation-only approximate head tracking is no substitute for real positional tracking. The frame rate sucks. The resolution probably sucks (depending on your phone). The lag sucks. The controller sucks. And the software mostly sucks - because anyone with r
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And I can point to billions who don't own anything VR. You could find people saying the same thing about 3DTV yet that's a dead technology. The market has clearly spoken.
Check out this graph for the adoption of the cell phone... LOL. It took decades to happen and then it took off like wildfire.
https://d33wubrfki0l68.cloudfr... [cloudfront.net]
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Cell phones provided something that consumers didn't have; portable connections. The sudden takeoff in adoption corresponds to the introduction smaller, non-brick style cell phones with better battery life and price tags under $1000.
3D is just an enhancement over the 2D things consumers already have. Most people aren't willing to pay a huge premium for an enhancement to what they already have as long as they feel that what they have works well enough.
Re: Not unforseen (Score:2)
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If it was actually special, some inconvenience wouldn't stop people from buying.
It isn't. It's a lame gimmick that's slightly impressive for about 15 minutes.
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You keep coming up with excuses as to why it won't sell, but maybe you should come to terms with the fact that VR just isn't that special.
Mark my words and make fun of me all you want with your straw man arguments. Apple or some company who has the tech (think A10X line of processors in the iPad) will create a VR experience in a tiny form factor with a purpose built development environment. VR will go ape shit at that point.
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Vive runs well on a 1k-ish PC, and has a wireless adapter if you want to pay for convenience. The problem that remains is the lack of software.
Re: Not unforseen (Score:2)
I think the hardware is less of a problem than software / media. I tried the Oculus once. First thing they showed me was Google Earth. The fact that you got low quality textures that would then be visibly replaced by higher quality ones destroyed the experience for me. Then I was shown a game which seemed boring and with unimpressive graphics. I thought VR is not for me.
Then I bought a $15 Xiaomi VR headset for my phone for taking cardboard photos since that seemed like a cool application - and indeed it is
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BS. I have an Oculus Rift and the experience is amazeballs.
Most people do not want the inconvenience or encumbrance of wearing an uncomfortable, eye straining device on their heads. That's why VR is failing.....
Do me a favor next time and actually read my post before you reply. I said the same fucking thing. Facepalm.
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VR in movie format is something no one wants. Functional VR everyone wants, it is just very limited in authenticity due to the fact that we still exist in the physical world, and falling down the stairs breaks actual bones.
The space in between is unfortunately mostly limited to simulators and fixed shooters.
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Functional VR everyone wants,
So you've interviewed every person on earth? I think you meant to say "everyone in my niche bubble wants VR."
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Don't be a douche. Reasonable people would want functional VR if it existed. It does not. What has been released is visually amazing, but not very functional.
You don't want what's out there right now. I get it. Now crawl back in your hole.
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If "VR" was a round movie, they'd be right to shut it down.
It might not actually be VR though. But it is a round movie.
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There's a few billion VR headsets being used right now.
Just not on this planet.
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4. The vast majority of consumers have zero interest in VR.
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And yet TV took off nearly immediately even when TV sets were way more expensive than VR even without accounting for inflation.
Re: Obvious issues with the business plan (Score:2)
TV took off because of content, BE lacks content to drive it into millions of homes.
Cellphones provided wireless communications, and the ability to stay in touch anywhere you were without carrying a roll of quarters for pay phones.
Augmented Reality has found a home in certain industries, Virtual Reality is still looking for purpose.
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wrong
most people hate watching VR in theaters. They try it and don't like it. They go back to superior 2D movies. I don't know anyone who likes it.
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maybe you live in your mom's basement, anon?
my friends, relatives and coworkers are all very aware of VR and tried it. no one liked it.
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Yep. I tried it multiples even with the highest-end hardware. It was mostly a bore.
...see you in 10 years! (Score:2)
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I keep wondering if it is marketing that makes these cycles or some new guy gets eureka moment - "VR that is the future!"
Both. It's the same thing with stereoscopic movies, then 3D movies in various lens colours and so on. The whole big VR craze just smelled like the stuff back in the 90's, with all the same talking points. "It's the future, it's great, you'll love it." Followed by the various shilling of it and attacking detractors because of the continuing flaws.
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I think there are real technical advancement that create these cycles. Current generation is driven by high resolution OLED panels and MEMS sensors coming from smartphones as well as powerful GPUs. If another cycle happens it will likely be the result of some advancement: maybe improved optics, new rendering techniques, etc...
Hopefully, the cycles will become shorter and shorter and it will finally become mainstream.
The same can be said of electric cars. These are far from new, and each time an electric car
Family Entertainment Centers (Score:4)
What this was was yet another stab at the consistently failing Family Entertainment Center. Chuck E Cheese, Showbiz Pizza, Discovery Zone, GameWorks, etc, etc.
This isn't any argument about the merits of VR.
It's notoriously difficult to run an FEC as it requires a substantial investment and does not lend itself well to franchising. People just generally don't care to spend hundreds of dollars to get their family into a place for a few hours that isn't substantial. While Disneyland seems expensive, it's 16 hours of entertainment which works out to $10-20 per hour per person which isn't unreasonable compared to other family entertainment options.
Disney tried the small model FEC and failed as well. You just can't really do it on a small scale. You have to go big out of the gate.
The companies that would be more likely to succeed are the ones that have substantial IP to capitalize on and can keep the place afloat long enough to realize the full profit potential. You just can't half-butt it and that requires substantial cash flow.
The VOID seems to be doing pretty well over at Downtown Disney. It's a Star Wars themed social experience in VR in a prime location. It wouldn't surprise me if Disney eventually found a way to incorporate it directly into an experience in the Star Wars area of the park opening next summer.
In short, there are too many variables to say anything about VR in particular. The tech is vastly improving, opportunities do exist, but you have to get all the factors in place.
I think the bigger problem with FECs (Score:2)
FECs need a vibrant middle class with a ton of disposable income, and, well, tha
Even large FEC failed for Disney (Score:2)
Disney tried the small model FEC and failed as well.
I'm not sure if maybe you mean what I am thinking of, but at Downtown Disney in Disneyworld they had a great FEC called DisneyQuest - I thought of it as pretty large, I thought they had a really good variety of very fun attractions, way more than any other FEC I've ever been to... yet even that shut down a few years ago. If even Disney can't make a large really well done FEC work right in the heart of DisneyWorld, who can I wonder?
The most fun there there
You know who has real VR? The Void. (Score:2)
I don't know what the Imax experiences were like, but they were probably standard VR headset kinds of things...
The only VR "experience" I've had that I thought was really magically immersive, was at the Void [thevoid.com].
They just sue an oculus headset, but what really makes it work is it's totally contained on you - backpack to power and drive the headset, along with a series of walls around you that mesh nearly perfectly with the VR view you see. You see your own arms and hands, you see your partner next to you. You
Re: You know who has real VR? The Void. (Score:2)
The Void was stunning. I expected it as a âoeeh, who knowsâ and I was blown away. Being able to look at your hand, turn it over, see details and reflections (faked, obviously, but immersive enough), move your fingers - amazing. Look at people and judge relative heights! Feel the heat against the back of your neck!
Yes, the core of it was a shooting gallery. But the immersion made it stunning.
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I did the Star Wars experience which was great (something not known to me beforehand, is that K2-SO would be there - a nice bonus). Supposedly the new Wreck-It Ralph experience is even better, which would make sense as it's the latest version... so you might want to look for that if you are in one of the cities it's offered or are traveling.
I sadly never did Ghostbusters while it was in NYC, now it's only in the UAE which means I won't be seeing it anytime soon...
Like you say, the core of the Void was a s
I think you misspelled... (Score:1)
That "further reading" should probably be: "The VR dream is dying again". This is the third time at least.
VR tech was not ready. (Score:2)
If the industry wants people adopt and enjoy VR they need to refine the tech to a point where it's seamless. A VR headset needs to be no bulkier than a pair of sunglasses with earbuds attached and a small wire down to a walkman sized device or smartphone (if necessary,
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A VR headset needs to be no bulkier than a pair of sunglasses with earbuds attached
It is also going to have to accommodate people who wear prescription glasses, both nearsighted and farsighted. I think you'll find that the people who are the most rah-rah about VR do not wear glasses.
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If they can manage that, then a device like this might even be able to replace prescription glasses someday. For instance, smart glasse
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Why do people who have no experience with VR feel the need to constantly chime in on its supposed failings?
Wrong supposition mate. I own both a PSVR and a Daydream headset. Just because you don't find it to be a nuisance, doesn't mean it's the same for everyone else.
Holodeck! (Score:2)
I am waiting for that technology. No need to wear the annoying goggles. ;)