Should Valve have given us a few more VR games with the Valve Index?

[temps]

So personally, I got the Valve Index... and I had a great time playing Half-Life: Alyx and other VR games, including some of the many great Half-Life: Alyx mods created by the Steam community; but there seems to be so many people here who want to play Half-Life: Alyx but don't want to buy a VR headset just for one game, and even a lot of people say a measly $250 for the Quest 2 to play HL:A is too much.
Should players have expected Valve to offer more VR games in order to make the VR headset purchase "worth it" for the typical person on Steam?
I thought I recall Valve saying three VR games were being developed, so personally, I thought we'd see another two VR games released from them after HL:A like maybe Counter-Strike VR, Left 4 Dead VR, or whatever... but of course we never got any such thing.

I think Valve should have given us three different VR games, maybe something like the Orange Box but with an assortment of VR games. Am I asking too much? Maybe developing three big VR games is too much for them or isn't worth doing but idk.

I mean, when they were launching Steam think about all the games that were released between like 2002 and 2007ish. HL2, two HL2 expansion packs, Portal, and TF2. There was a heck of a lot of content there to justify installing Steam.

Personally, I think asking people to drop $1000 on a VR headset (or even $250 on a VR headset) is a bigger request than asking them to install Steam on their PCs. I think there would have been a lot less backlash at HL:A being a VR game if Valve had two other VR games they launched along with HL:A.

I mean I know we have a lot of HL:A mods that have full stories and everything that you may as well consider free expansion packs because the Steam modding community rocks, but the average customer might not be aware of how much additional free content you get when you buy HL:A and a VR headset... so from their perspective if they don't want any other VR games it is buying a VR headset "just for one game."

Personally I was excited to hear Valve games coming to VR but I'm a sci-fi nerd so development of VR itself even without a Half-Life game probably would have been exciting to me, but when they released Half-Life: Alyx that's what really pushed me to spend $1000 on the Valve Index, which I probably wasn't going to do otherwise.

[LemonyNebula]

The mention of three games probably shifted quite a few headsets. I would go as far as to say it ended up being a little bit dishonest due to the time between that statement and the silence of any news. But it skirts false advertising because there was no official advert for them, nor a date of arrival.
But had anyone bought it expecting three VR games and receiving one is still probably going to be a little bit peeved.

I had the headset regardless, as I jumped on during the Vive days. So it doesn't bother me too much, I got a whole lot of usage. But yes, I definitely don't think it's too much to have asked for more than one game.
With the joint development of the HTC Vive, then the index, and now people even talking about the possible Deckard, I do think support in terms of gaming software is worryingly thin.

They have invested so much and constantly update the technical end for all the current headsets, but tend to ignore their own. There appears to be a favouring towards getting players to use their store and relying on Meta sales to bring users in, than there is their own Index user base.
It feels like they stopped competing as others picked up some slack yet they still benefit. However I think PCVR specifically has been hit so hard with the lack of content in comparison to something like Meta's extreme marketing powerhouse that Valve easily could have made a massive difference against which would benefit them more.

It's a huge shame as I believe even simple official conversions of their existing titles like left 4 dead would go far, let alone two new games we have not yet seen.

I believe Valve seems to have a problem with jumping from project to project too easily so it doesn't look good to potential buyers of the index or valve VR family. Nobody wants to feel abandoned.

Luckily there is still so much in VR outside of Valve specifically. So that with Alyx still adds its worth and more.
I just wish Valve would show off some more VR stuff. Anything really.

I bought the Vive 7 years ago knowing Valves involvement...
One real game.

Thank god it is one helluva game.

[Chrille 🎃]

"Personally, I think asking people to drop $1000 on a VR headset (or even $250 on a VR headset) is a bigger request than asking them to install Steam on their PCs. I think there would have been a lot less backlash at HL:A being a VR game if Valve had two other VR games they launched along with HL:A."

Lol, it wouldn't have mattered. The backlash was mainly due to HLA being VR exclusive, gatekeeping it from a huge majority of Half Life fans.

Valve making two more VR exclusive games would just add to the backlash.

[LemonyNebula]

Originally posted by Chrille:

Lol, it wouldn't have mattered. The backlash was mainly due to HLA being VR exclusive, gatekeeping it from a huge majority of Half Life fans.

Valve making two more VR exclusive games would just add to the backlash.

That is not what gatekeeping means.

Valve made a VR game because they wanted to make a VR game. Your decision or position to not buy into VR is not Valves fault.

Claiming they can't design whatever games they want how they want because of your own preference is also a little bit entitled.

For example, I wouldn't be angry if they made Half Life 3 flat, because it would be their own choice as the developers on how they want to design it.

If I didn't have a computer strong enough to run it, I also wouldn't claim it to be gatekeeping by Valve due to not making it run on the original HL2 hardware simply because it is what it used to run on.

[temps]

Originally posted by LemonyNebula:

Originally posted by Chrille:

Lol, it wouldn't have mattered. The backlash was mainly due to HLA being VR exclusive, gatekeeping it from a huge majority of Half Life fans.

Valve making two more VR exclusive games would just add to the backlash.

Claiming they can't design whatever games they want how they want because of your own preference is also a little bit entitled.

It's also pretty awful for overall tech progress in the gaming industry because the attitudes of those anti-VR people are holding back progress in developing new kinds of games. And in the long run, that hurts everyone.

Originally posted by LemonyNebula:

For example, I wouldn't be angry if they made Half Life 3 flat, because it would be their own choice as the developers on how they want to design it.

I wouldn't be angry either... but I would reduce my game purchasing on Steam, I'd buy a Meta VR headset, and go buy VR games on Meta's VR gaming platform.

Originally posted by LemonyNebula:

If I didn't have a computer strong enough to run it, I also wouldn't claim it to be gatekeeping by Valve due to not making it run on the original HL2 hardware simply because it is what it used to run on.

Yes, why is it "gatekeeping" to make Half-Life: Alyx a VR game (since most people don't have VR headsets), but it isn't "gatekeeping" to make Half-Life: Alyx require some other piece of hardware like a GTX 1070 level graphics card or whatever?

Sure, not everone has a VR headset. But not everyone has a GTX 1070 (or better) graphics card either.

[Chrille 🎃]

Originally posted by LemonyNebula:

Originally posted by Chrille:

Lol, it wouldn't have mattered. The backlash was mainly due to HLA being VR exclusive, gatekeeping it from a huge majority of Half Life fans.

Valve making two more VR exclusive games would just add to the backlash.

That is not what gatekeeping means.

Valve made a VR game because they wanted to make a VR game. Your decision or position to not buy into VR is not Valves fault.

Claiming they can't design whatever games they want how they want because of your own preference is also a little bit entitled.

For example, I wouldn't be angry if they made Half Life 3 flat, because it would be their own choice as the developers on how they want to design it.

If I didn't have a computer strong enough to run it, I also wouldn't claim it to be gatekeeping by Valve due to not making it run on the original HL2 hardware simply because it is what it used to run on.

I think you misunderstood what I wrote.

[Chrille 🎃]

Originally posted by temps:

Originally posted by LemonyNebula:

Claiming they can't design whatever games they want how they want because of your own preference is also a little bit entitled.

It's also pretty awful for overall tech progress in the gaming industry because the attitudes of those anti-VR people are holding back progress in developing new kinds of games. And in the long run, that hurts everyone.

Originally posted by LemonyNebula:

For example, I wouldn't be angry if they made Half Life 3 flat, because it would be their own choice as the developers on how they want to design it.

I wouldn't be angry either... but I would reduce my game purchasing on Steam, I'd buy a Meta VR headset, and go buy VR games on Meta's VR gaming platform.

Originally posted by LemonyNebula:

If I didn't have a computer strong enough to run it, I also wouldn't claim it to be gatekeeping by Valve due to not making it run on the original HL2 hardware simply because it is what it used to run on.

Yes, why is it "gatekeeping" to make Half-Life: Alyx a VR game (since most people don't have VR headsets), but it isn't "gatekeeping" to make Half-Life: Alyx require some other piece of hardware like a GTX 1070 level graphics card or whatever?

Sure, not everone has a VR headset. But not everyone has a GTX 1070 (or better) graphics card either.

"I wouldn't be angry either... but I would reduce my game purchasing on Steam, I'd buy a Meta VR headset, and go buy VR games on Meta's VR gaming platform."

Hahahaha telling you would be dissatisfied without telling youwould be dissatisfied.

[SilentCaay]

You can play HLA on any headset and you can use the Index to play any VR game that's not exclusive to the Quest Store. HLA and the Index are completely separate products. Also, Valve has made/outsourced multiple games for VR: The Lab, Moondust and Aperture Hand Lab.

More VR games would always be great but watching and waiting for Valve to make a game is a bit like watching and waiting for a rock to turn into sand. It will happen but not on a timescale that's healthy for your sanity. Go play something else in the meantime. There are tons of great VR games.

[гОРЖ.]

гОРЖ.

[LemonyNebula]

Originally posted by Chrille:

I think you misunderstood what I wrote.

Apologies if that's the case but what did you mean otherwise?

[LemonyNebula]

Originally posted by Chrille:

"I wouldn't be angry either... but I would reduce my game purchasing on Steam, I'd buy a Meta VR headset, and go buy VR games on Meta's VR gaming platform."

Hahahaha telling you would be dissatisfied without telling youwould be dissatisfied.

I mean being dissatisfied is fine. There is certainly a difference between getting angry and blaming Valve for a decision as "gatekeeping" or giving backlash, and just choosing to shop elsewhere that caters to you.

[buttmunch]

I think PCVR would be in a better place had valve released atleast 1 more new VR game. In addition, porting over some of thier older source1 games to VR. Doing this around the release of the index would have driven more sales.

Instead they relied on indie devs and more recently quest ports to provide all the VR content on thier platform. This is fine if all they care about are game sales. If they want to sell headsets though they should have been more involved in developing games.

This is why I'm not convinced they actually have plans to release another headset.

[temps]

Originally posted by buttmunch:

I think PCVR would be in a better place had valve released [...] In addition, porting over some of thier older source1 games to VR. Doing this around the release of the index would have driven more sales.

That work was already done by the modding community:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/658920/HalfLife_2_VR_Mod/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2177750/HalfLife_2_VR_Mod__Episode_One/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2177760/HalfLife_2_VR_Mod__Episode_Two/

Great reviews for those too by the players. "Overwhelmingly positive"

I don't think this does much to bring people into VR though, as you seem to suggest. Nobody buys a VR headset to play games with graphics from 2004. It is merely supplemental entertainment people who already have VR headsets they bought for Half-Life: Alyx might consider.

If you really want to drive VR adoption, you need multiple AAA games that are VR exclusive and from franchises that flatscreen players know and love. And there has to be a large enough number of those games that people say "okay, a $500 VR headset is worth buying to play these."

Personally, I think there's enough indie VR games already available that are sufficiently high quality to justify a VR headset purchase, but the average flatscreen player thinks otherwise.

[SilentCaay]

Originally posted by temps:

That work was already done by the modding community:

Those mods are very recent and they're just mods. Valve could have made something much better and released it years earlier. Just sayin'.

[buttmunch]

Originally posted by SilentCaay:

Originally posted by temps:

That work was already done by the modding community:

Those mods are very recent and they're just mods. Valve could have made something much better and released it years earlier. Just sayin'.

Exactly my point.

Imagine 2019 the index is released.
Alyx
L4D2VR (crossplay)
TFVR
CSVR
HL2VR

Maybe another new VR game in 2021-22.

Instead we just got Alyx. Something most players will spend 15ish hours in. Nothing multiplayer, nothing competitive, nothing with high replay value.

Maybe Valve made the right decision? Maybe VR is dead end money pit.