The Geordi LaForge future in gaming is now
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Feb 17th 2007 at 10:30PM }
Spray paint the VR920 gold and you too can be the Geordi LaForge of gaming. Icuiti's VR920 was apparently the winner of the 2007 CES innovations award. The headset gives the feeling of watching a 62 inch screen from 9 feet away. It displays in 640x480, includes a built in microphone and head tracker. Whether you think it's cool or an absolute waste, it sure beats the heck out of the old-school VR sets that made you look like your grandparents returning from the eye doctor. The VR920 is not yet available.[Via TheElectricSistahood]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sub @ Feb 17th 2007 10:35PM
Wow. I can only imagine what that thing must do to your eyesight.
NukeAssault @ Feb 17th 2007 10:42PM
Its like Virtual Boy x10.
Hannibal @ Feb 17th 2007 10:45PM
One of the reasons the virtual boy failed was because it took away social aspects of gaming by allowing it to be viewed by only one person.
That's not to say there weren't a host of other reasons it failed.
jharr @ Feb 17th 2007 10:57PM
I saw this 5 or more years ago at the dentist's office. While I was having some work done my dentist asked me if I wanted to watch a movie and then put a thing on my head that made it seem like I was in a movie theater. You could tell it was a small screen and every time I moved my head it would make me sick because it follows your movements.
Daniel @ Feb 17th 2007 11:30PM
I did a degree in Cybernetics and Virtual Worlds so this sort of thing is nothing new to me, but at that price (guessing comparable to the $499 DV920) and those specs, its definately something I'd get if I had a little more disposable income. Think what games like Oblivion or Crysis would look like in that.
Still, now its a toss up between that and a projector.
supremespleen @ Feb 17th 2007 11:38PM
Geordi is so badass.
HoodOrnament @ Feb 17th 2007 11:42PM
Interesting idea but this thing would be completely useless anymore even if it were running at 1024x768 resolution. 640x480 makes me shudder, it may be fine for SD TV and such signals, but beyond that it is dated. Computer gaming would be absolute garbage at resolutions that low.
Matt @ Feb 17th 2007 11:53PM
What is today, reference Star Trek in your post names day?
BPM @ Feb 18th 2007 12:14AM
Hood, it accepts VGA resolutions up to 1024x768.
FSK405K @ Feb 18th 2007 12:15AM
Can I input my eyeglass prescription before putting it on?
Gott @ Feb 18th 2007 12:21AM
Pretty soon 62 inch lcds will be 500 bucks...how sweet it will be.
Nathan M @ Feb 18th 2007 12:27AM
Joystiq, why do you assume we're all trekkies? Some of us aren't nerds you know. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a 24 hour Babylon 5 marathon to attend to.
thunderleg @ Feb 18th 2007 12:37AM
It may accept resolutions that high, but they're still 640x480 screens.
Squeek @ Feb 18th 2007 12:58AM
Problem #1: No peripheral vision. Unable to see what is happening in the real world.
Problem #2: No quick-change. Playing a game while chatting / reading an FAQ? Whoops, gotta take it off every time you want to switch back.
Problem #3: Single player only.
Problem #4, as FSK405K pointed out: Glasses.
These things will never take off as the new television. They'd have to be translucent and unblocking of side vision, and even then, there's another problem with focus. And they'd have to make it not look like you're a nerd for wearing it.
harvsorrow @ Feb 18th 2007 1:08AM
I vote absolute waste, esp at those resolutions. What's the use of gaming when others can't make fun of you...I mean marvel at your superior gaming skillz?
BTW, the virtualboy link is down
Sir Josh @ Feb 18th 2007 1:57AM
man playing oblivion in that thing would be so bad ass
J7 @ Feb 18th 2007 3:07PM
Who cares if you can't see your surroundings, it's meant to make the game experience more immersive. If you want to see your family or wife in your peripheral vision while playing a game, I don't know why you'd be gaming in the first place.
This thing rules & it's not single player only... online play. Movie Theater like experience, no outside distractions. That brings you so much more into the game. Pretty soon these will have a native 720P display & I'll be picking one up even if it costs more than a PC.
TopaZ @ Feb 18th 2007 3:06AM
I saw this at CES and the technology has come a LONG way in the past few years, it's actually quite comfortable on the corneas and the image quality is lovely. $500 is about right, remember these used to be $2000 and look like s***?
samfish @ Feb 18th 2007 3:24AM
I bet I know what Nintendo's next console is going to look liiiiiike....
Mr. Clownn @ Feb 18th 2007 3:52AM
Christ that chick has huge gums.
Megaqwerty @ Feb 18th 2007 3:55AM
The Z800 (www.3dvisor.com) has been out for some time and offers higher resolutions at 800x600. But with that being too low for modern gaming, I refuse to play at 640x480.
Fatass of Kickassness @ Feb 18th 2007 3:56AM
Hahaha, I like how they describe it as seeing a '62 inch tv from 9 feet away' when from that distance it can be compared to a 15-inch tv from the normal 3-4 feet away.
Steve @ Feb 18th 2007 4:31AM
Christ, when I saw the VFX-1 like 10 or 12 years ago I had hope. I thought, "man, wait and see this stuff in a decade...". Are you telling me that the tech STILL isn't there to bring high quality VR video with head tracking to the masses yet? Flight Simulator would be epic with a decent hmd. Back then the VFX gear could play Mechwarrior 2 at 320X240 with tracking or 640X480 without tracking. Sombody PLEASE put some effort into VR.
noizbot @ Feb 18th 2007 8:30AM
I'd be all over HMDs+headtracking if they were unobtrusive and high resolution. I'm a bit of an oldschool cyberpunk nerd so even the bulky HMDs are pretty sexy to me, but in terms of aesthetics rather than in practice.
The real key will be retinal projections -- essentially they clip to the sides of your head and project variably focused images directly to your eyes. You can also vary the transparency of the image, so that you can see through the images or get overlays for augmented reality functions (like seeing information over people like in an MMO, or reviews/menus of restaurants, etc)
Jojo @ Feb 18th 2007 8:34AM
Although I'm not impressed with the specs of these glasses, I think VR is really the only place gaming can go. TV screens can only get so big, resolutions can only get so high. Sound can only get so good. Give me the ability to look around and be immersed in a virtual world like oblivion, without causing my eys/head to explode, and at a decent resoultion.
Icupnimpn2 @ Feb 18th 2007 2:30PM
Oh man I can't wait to see into the electromagnetic spectrum!
Anonymous Rep @ Feb 18th 2007 10:35AM
@ #21 - Hahaha, I like how they describe it as seeing a '62 inch tv from 9 feet away' when from that distance it can be compared to a 15-inch tv from the normal 3-4 feet away.
Hmmm - I happen to have a 60" TV that I sit and game on from 9 feet. It's a 5 year old standard def projection - looks fine. Actually, the 17" LCD flat screen that I'm typing this on - from 3' away - hurts my eyes worse, and I have more issues gaming here on this screen than I do on my TV.
As for the glasses thing - if you're nearsighted, then it's not going to make much of a difference. 2" from your eyes is still 2" from your eyes. Someone who is farsighted would have issues, but I also suspect that there will be some corrective abilities of the screen itself, just as you can change the focus of binoculars so that you can see through them without glasses.
And Squeek - your problem #3 isn't a problem, it's a feature - these are PERSONAL gaming glasses. You could probably hook them up into something multi-player, just as you can play over multiple TV's using Xbox Live.
Zaidyn @ Feb 18th 2007 11:35AM
@25: They won't fit over some prescription glasses, which is problematic.
Ben Heckendorn @ Feb 18th 2007 12:42PM
I want one! Can't imagine why...
Mr Khan @ Feb 18th 2007 11:41AM
I always said the Virtual Boy failed because it was ahead of its time
(not that it didn't suck, it did, but another reason was because the very concept was ahead of its time)
luke @ Feb 18th 2007 12:00PM
yeah VB was about 10 years to soon and the tech. wasnt that great yet, well that and it cost to much and was hard to find.
Valatar @ Feb 18th 2007 1:12PM
Farsighted people are screwed with these headsets, yeah, but nearsighted people should be fine without their glasses on. The display is only an inch away from the eyes, after all.
J @ Feb 18th 2007 1:48PM
When it can do 480P then I'd get one. You want nintendo on? Then you can have it with something like this. I'd get this for the wii if it can handle 480P. Its not like the wii can have a higher resolution. It would be fun and even more immersive.
dmbrandon @ Feb 18th 2007 2:35PM
@clown
You know, I really thought no one would notice.
That tooth to gum ratio is all funky.
Fatass of Kickassness @ Feb 18th 2007 4:17PM
Give me something with at least 1024x768 or 720p/i resolution and I'll buy it in a heartbeat.
Virtua Fanboy @ Feb 18th 2007 5:00PM
I would totally w/people that were wearing or playing w/those in my house. Push them into walls and stuff, pour coke and shit on them, wet willies, slaps to the face, ect... So I'm totally for these coming out. LOL
Anonymous Rep @ Feb 18th 2007 5:31PM
Zaidyn - And your point is? I wear prescription glasses, and have for years (decades, actually, but that's because I'm older than many of the posters here). However, I don't have a problem seeing things that are 2" from my face - it's the stuff that's 10' out that I can't see without my glasses. That's called nearsighted.
I do realize that there are people who can't wear contact lenses for whatever reason (mine is due to the strength of my prescription), but that IS an option for some people.
You know, those newfangled automobiles are going to be the ruin of us all - the human body just isn't designed to go faster than 30 mph. That's what some of these comments on here sound like.
I've seen the old style VR games in arcades before, and they were way too ahead of their time. Too much point and movement controls weren't quite right. Throw in some good Wii controllers type scheme, and let your head motion control some of the direction (the weight was one of the main issues before with old stuff) and I could see some really interesting games coming out of that.
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Feb 18th 2007 7:06PM
Sony Glasstron. Same thing, only 5 years ago.
This will almost certainly meet with the same results.
http://www.vrealities.com/sony.html
Don-Don @ Feb 19th 2007 9:35AM
I always wanted a pair of Virtual I/O i-Glasses when I was young, and I even almost bought a pair for the even-still crazy $750 pricetag (keep in mind, I was still in grade school). Needless to say, I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger.
cybereality @ Feb 22nd 2007 1:14AM
This glasses look awesome. I really don't care if I look like Geordi LaForge. You have to admit he still looked badass in ST:TNG. And for $500 this visor is a steal with headtracking, mic and headphones included. The resolution could be better, but they are stereo 3d glasses. Your mind will process the image and make it appear higher resolution. These aren't a total replacement for a real LCD monitor. They just augment the peripherals for your PC. Same reason you might have an Xbox360 controller for the PC, it doesn't mean you try to type on IM with it.
Another thing people don't realize is that you can't run crazy resolutions with 3d monitors and get good framerates. For example, if you get 100FPS in HalfLife2 on a 2D monitor, you will only get something like 40FPS if running in true 3D. So, realistically, you're not going to be running games in anything higher than 1024x768 anyway. And if they were ultra high-res they would be close to $2000 and all you people would complain that they were too expensive. Icuiti is trying to target the consumer market and they needed to cut costs. If you support the company maybe they will release upgraded versions in the future.
Anyway, this headset looks sick, I'm going to order one the first day they ship. If you are in any way interested in VR or true 3D gaming, I suggest you pick one of these up. The aftermarket on gear like this is very good. If you don't like them you can easily sell them on eBay for only like $50 less than retail. Its definitely worth it to me to get the latest bleeding edge tech. The future is now! Jump in.
diev @ Feb 23rd 2007 12:13AM
They just updated it. It's now like seeing a 256 inch screen from 50 feet!