It feel like big over engineering BS, sport is one of such a basic thing.
Just buy a pair of shoes and go for a run. Buy a bike and go for a ride. Practice any sport in a club, take a gym membership and go deadlifting.
Why do they need to spend billion of dollars en VR development and then the user will have to spend hundred (thousand ?) of dollars to buy the VR headset, expensive computer just to have an activity that will be worse than a jog.
The activity is absolutely not worse than a jog. It's easier on my knees (less impact), more fun (as in I'll actually do it), uses more of my body (things like dodging objects requiring engaging a lot more muscles than the few ones I use over and over when biking or jogging), isn't hampered by the weather (as in I'll actually do it in the winter), and has the potential to be more social.
It's like sports in a lot of ways, except cheaper, easier to organize, and not requiring commuting to a shared facility to play them.
All your criticisms could apply to any exercise equipment, not just VR. Your gym membership almost certainly costs more than VR, and at least speaking for myself, I would make a lot less use out of it.
VR training is amazing and after one year I'm still excited for every workout. The recent development in apps such as FitXR shows that we've just seen the start of this movement. In my opinion fitness is the killer app for VR.
VR has evolved since then since now. For example, you can connect it to stationary bikes, rowing machines, etc., compete with others, adding a whole new dimension.
Video games and fitness are multi-hundred billion-dollar industries. So why not combine the two? As someone who used to be an avid gamer but no longer has the time, I would love a way to combine my favorite hobby (gaming) with fitness, especially during the winter or other times when exercising outside is inconvenient.
But the boxing adjusts to your strength level, so it gets quite challenging the further you go requiring a strategy to manage your stamina, or you flame out swinging hard for a knock-out early on. It's exhausting.
Mostly just a game of Pistol Whip but also the noted Supernatural app helps a lot. I also put on 360 1st person biking videos on YouTube while I ride my exercise bike and the whole range of options expands my desire to work out exponentially...
Does the sweat mess with the gear? How is the weight of the equipment?
Also if you are prone to motion sickness in VR you might not like it. You're always at the position of the cameras of whoever was filming so that's a bit odd - but I find it's good enough for me to get into it.
Any 180 video is probably fine too, but I like turning fully around like I'm on a real bike, seeing what was behind behind cyclist.
The weight of the Quest 2 doesn't bother me as long as it's adjusted properly on my head and yeah it gets sweaty but I don't personally care much as long as I take breaks.
[1] https://quest.vrworkout.at [2] https://github.com/mgschwan/VRWorkout
It's a gateway "drug" into fitness. You just played a game, then you increased the intensity and did it a bit longer and suddenly you did a 30 minute cardio workout sweating like mad and most importantly the endorphins your body releases during exercise are real as well. So you are very likely to do it again, and again. And that's the important part, sticking with it.
The second thing is that in the headset time feels different so you are more likely to workout for longer than you would have while doing crunches staring at your living room wall.
And there are already several multiplayer experiences that can be counted as a workout (Blaston, FitXR, VZFit, Holodia and also our game VRWorkout) which adds a whole different level of exercising together.
I can’t run, my knees are too bad. I can’t to the gym easily, since it’s hard to find someone to care for my young kids (my other half works crazy lawyer hours). But I can do an hour of exercise before the kids wake up, and the Quest 2 is much more enjoyable than doing a set of regular exercises (though I do mix those in too). I get a good workout from doing a mix of shadow boxing with FitXR (or the Thrill of the Fight if I have enough space), Beat Saber and Pistol Whip, and it barely feels like exercise while I’m doing it. It’s been particularly helpful during the recent lockdowns.
For better or worse, most athletes even at the college level are more interested in doing entertaining workouts than actually getting better at their sports. And among non-athletes who just want to stay in shape, it's even worse.
I personally agree with you, but at the same time this kind of thing is clearly what people want and are willing to pay for.
It depends where you live, sadly. In some places it can be downright dangerous to exercise outside.
> Why do they need to spend billion of dollars en VR
It's a very fresh market and early investors will dominate it. They're probably just trying everything, because even if most of these investments fail, the few that work out may have enormous ROI, I think.
Where is it so dangerous(or really bad weather) than you can go for a run or to any gym/club ? (and add to that you can still do burpees or jump rope in an appartment)
I don't think they are developing VR fitness for people living in the middle of Sahara desert or Himalaya.
Gyms are expensive, and there is a pandemic.
If you cannot imagine where exercising outside is very hard in some parts of the world, watch some travel shows or something. There are many parts of Istanbul where density is so high and safe places to run are so sparse that indoors VR could be preferable for many if their living spaces can accommodate it.
Also, many VR fitness apps are quite engaging and appealing in their own right. Supernatural in particular has nice scenery, music, a huge variety of challenge types and levels, dynamic full-body exercise, and a general game-like feel that many enjoy.
People have all sorts of concerns, strengths, and preferences. Dismissing or trivializing them with "just do what I find comfortable" is an attitude that practically never serves anyone - including the speaker - very well. In fact, any sentence beginning with "just" is a bit of a red flag.