Microsoft Revealed The Xbox One X, But What Of VR?

Last year at E3, Microsoft’s Xbox division announced that a new, more powerful Xbox One console would see the light of day in 2017. The company said the upcoming console, then known as Project Scorpio, would be the most powerful living room gaming console ever made, and it would support native 4K and “high-fidelity VR.”

During Microsoft’s E3 press conference on Saturday, the company revealed the Xbox One X and mentioned its specs, the price, and a bit about what the console can do, but curiously, Microsoft had nothing at all to say about VR.

The Long Game

Microsoft seems to be playing the long game with immersive technology. The company staked a claim in XR when it debuted the HoloLens in January 2015. Later that year, Microsoft revealed a partnership with Oculus to bundle Xbox One controllers with every Oculus Rift headset. At that point, Microsoft was established as a key player in AR (and/or mixed reality, however you want to slice it), but in VR it seemed to be trying to catch the wave however it could.

Then we had E3 2016 and the promise of VR support on a new Xbox console, and many presumed that "support" meant "support for the Rift," because of the two companies' existing relationship. But Microsoft said nothing about the VR hardware that would pair with Project Scorpio. (Now that Oculus has the Touch controllers, and they work with Rift games that don’t offer motion control support, Oculus has little need for the Xbox One gamepad that comes bundled with each headset anyway.)

Between then and now, Microsoft blew open the next phase of its XR endeavors with a curious spate of announcements from WinHEC, followed by details about maintream-level VR HMDs and the PC specs needed to support them. Then came the official debut of the Acer "mixed reality HMD, more details about other HMD hardware, and the promise of a set of motion controllers for the platform.

At that point, it seemed a matter of arithmetic: Surely the mixed reality HMDs would be the hardware supported by the new console, and we assumed that Microsoft would spill the beans when it announced the next Xbox console at E3 2017—and we were right. Mostly.

Microsoft opened its 2017 E3 press conference with the reveal of the Xbox One X (the official name for the console formerly known a Scorpio). During the presentation, Microsoft revealed the detailed specifications of its upcoming console. The company talked about the price of the new hardware. And it revealed that more than 30 partners have signed on to build experiences that take advantage of the console’s beastly performance numbers.

But there was nothing about VR, or AR, or Windows Mixed Reality on the Xbox One X.

The Missed Next Step

We find that puzzling. Microsoft and Sony are usually at each other heels with new hardware innovations. The fact that Microsoft is letting Sony have such a lead with VR is confusing. It’s true that Sony had a major head start with VR technology. The company started developing the PSVR hardware in 2010--shortly after it invented the PlayStation Move controllers. That’s two years before Palmer Luckey landed in the public spotlight with his Oculus Rift prototype and Kickstarter campaign.

Microsoft got into VR late in that respect, but the company has had plenty of time to catch up, and it has on multiple fronts, but it hasn’t bothered on the console. Sony sold nearly 1 million PSVR units in its first four months, so there’s clearly a market and a hunger for this technology. So what gives?

Following the Xbox E3 press conference, Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s head of Xbox, spoke with The BBC, and his answers left much to be desired. His tone somewhat alluded to the idea that VR on Xbox One is still on the distant horizon.

“This show right here was about consoles. It’s about great games. That’s what’s important to us. But we are believers in mixed reality!” said Spencer. “Mixed reality on the PC is something that we’re focused on. We’re building first party games, and our Mixed Reality platform with our OEM partners continues to roll out. We’ll have more to talk about in the future.”

Spencer went on to say that he doesn’t get many questions about mixed reality “in the living room,” and he offered some speculation as to why. His answer might also be a subtle hint that the Mixed Reality headset for Xbox One X would ultimately be wireless.

“There are just issues with, ‘My TV is across the room, there’s cables hanging out.’ When I do this on my PC, I’m closer to my PC, and that seems to be a much more user-friendly scenario,” said Spencer. “But, I will say we’re all learning. The work that Sony is doing is great. The work that Oculus and HTC are doing; it’s all about learning what mixed reality can be.”

Microsoft is setting itself up to embrace mixed reality on the Xbox platform, but it’s also taking a cautious approach to the concept. Whether this is a wise wait-and-see move, or an indication that Microsoft just hasn't been able to figure our VR and MR on the Xbox yet, or something else, the news from E3 is that there is no VR-on-the-Xbox news.

 Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years. 

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  • Jeff Fx
    They may just be waiting for Hololens to be ready for the public. The new Xbox could handle running VR games on the Oculus Rift or the Vive out of the box if MS wanted it to.

    The ideal AR console would support multiple AR headsets rendered from their own POV in a common scene. This would allow groups to play animated games on their living-room table.
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    I am not sure how much it matters when the majority of people doing VR are probably going to opt for the PC experience. Better hardware, better visuals and more to the games makes it a better choice.

    I mean it is not like the GearVR is a major threat to the Rift or Vive.

    That said, it is still 5 months out. I wonder if the system will work with the Rift or Vive since Microsoft seems to be trying to push One OS for PCs, mobile and consoles. Maybe it will be a normal 10 kernel and the apps will be ported for easy support. Hard to say.
    Reply
  • scolaner
    19808503 said:
    They may just be waiting for Hololens to be ready for the public. The new Xbox could handle running VR games on the Oculus Rift or the Vive out of the box if MS wanted it to.

    The ideal AR console would support multiple AR headsets rendered from their own POV in a common scene. This would allow groups to play animated games on their living-room table.

    I don't know what the HoloLens has to do with it. That's a completely self-contained, decidedly non-VR device. We're a little surprised that, for example, the spate of Windows Mixed Reality HMDs aren't (apparently?) going to run on the Xbox One X. There's just nothing there yet. Which, considering the buildup, is kind of bizarre.
    Reply
  • scolaner
    19808507 said:
    I wonder if the system will work with the Rift or Vive since Microsoft seems to be trying to push One OS for PCs, mobile and consoles. Maybe it will be a normal 10 kernel and the apps will be ported for easy support. Hard to say.

    I've been stewing over this very thing. It's a HUGE question. Is the Xbox One X, because of Windows 10, capable of supporting Windows Mixed Reality? If so, all those HMDs should run on it.

    If it runs Windows 10, and Rift and Vive ALSO run on Windows 10, then...could you run Rift/Vive experiences on the Xbox One X?

    Not that it matters at the moment, because Microsoft announced a big fat nothing regarding VR and the new console.
    Reply
  • Sharpkac
    2 versions of xobox VR headsets were announced to be released early 2018. They arent ready for the Xbox S X release so it wasnt included in E3 presentation.
    Reply
  • braitBR
    Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One (not to be confused with the Xbox 1, a.k.a. the original Xbox), Xbox One S, Xbox One X... when they reach the Xbox X-One X-BBQ FX-720 TX they might as well just switch the name to whatever is written in the mainboard and call it a day.
    Reply
  • Kunra Zether
    I think if it was able to support the rift they definitely would have announced it. Unfortunately for Microsoft even with the more powerful council the PS 4 Pro and PS4 both have there own VR experience designed for them while not as good as the rift it's cheaper and for early adopters especially council players price is a factor as well as ease of set up. I feel like honestly this Xbox one X is the worst thing that they could have done. While the Xbox one was not as successful as the PS4 it didn't fail by any stretch. There best move would have been to focus on the next generation and beat Sony to the release date then drop price when they launched their council. I have a feeling that Microsoft's next system will be very similar to the steam machine.
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    19808641 said:
    19808507 said:
    I wonder if the system will work with the Rift or Vive since Microsoft seems to be trying to push One OS for PCs, mobile and consoles. Maybe it will be a normal 10 kernel and the apps will be ported for easy support. Hard to say.

    I've been stewing over this very thing. It's a HUGE question. Is the Xbox One X, because of Windows 10, capable of supporting Windows Mixed Reality? If so, all those HMDs should run on it.

    If it runs Windows 10, and Rift and Vive ALSO run on Windows 10, then...could you run Rift/Vive experiences on the Xbox One X?

    Not that it matters at the moment, because Microsoft announced a big fat nothing regarding VR and the new console.

    Well to be fair the Xbox One is running a Windows 10 kernel just customized with custom APIs and a custom GUI but a lot of rumors have been pointing to the Scorpio, as it was known, to possibly having a normal 10 kernel with a custom GUI.

    19809304 said:
    I think if it was able to support the rift they definitely would have announced it. Unfortunately for Microsoft even with the more powerful council the PS 4 Pro and PS4 both have there own VR experience designed for them while not as good as the rift it's cheaper and for early adopters especially council players price is a factor as well as ease of set up. I feel like honestly this Xbox one X is the worst thing that they could have done. While the Xbox one was not as successful as the PS4 it didn't fail by any stretch. There best move would have been to focus on the next generation and beat Sony to the release date then drop price when they launched their council. I have a feeling that Microsoft's next system will be very similar to the steam machine.

    I don't think the PS4s VR is anything of a major advantage for them. If I were to buy a console I would have gone with the PS4 only for the few possible exclusives they have that I might be interested in, although they lost Final Fantasy which was one of the only ones. Other than that a Xbox One has a better focus on being a living room entertainment system. The One X will have vastly better performance.

    However I am a PC gamer so I care not. I am just interested in where Microsoft is going as things that happen for the Xbox can translate to the PC gaming community.
    Reply