Pico Finds its Legs
and the rest of your body, too
“Legs when?” has lived somewhere between a joke and a genuine frustration for VR owners since the first Oculus development kit rolled off the factory floor. But while it would be nice to walk around on our own two feet in a virtual world, legs are a significant challenge from a hardware standpoint:
Inside-out tracking dominates today’s headset market, but lacks a clear line of sight to track the lower half of the body
Full-body suits with tracking could solve the issue, but would also take away from the convenience of quickly popping into a game — and they’ve generally cost as much as a Honda Civic
Wearable motion trackers? I mean …yeah, that would be great, but most efforts on this front either require base stations connected to PC VR or end up costing as much as a PS5, neither of which are great for consumer adoption
I don’t want to jinx it, but there’s a chance that Pico has found the formula that can overcome these challenges. They’ve recently announced Pico Motion Trackers which can be attached to everything from legs to torsos to objects, and will support Pico devices all the way back to the Neo 3.
Here’s why I think the Pico Motion Trackers might stand a chance of bringing the full-body tracking conversation to the forefront:
Duck Hunt Approach: Pre-orders for the Pico 4 Ultra kicked off today in the EU and select territories in Asia, and those pre-orders come bundled with motion trackers at no additional cost. Pre-orders also come with four titles, three of which (Blade & Sorcery: Nomad, Let’s Get Fit VR and Footpool) will take advantage of these new motion tracking capabilities.
The Price is Right: While it’s not quite the same as getting them free with a pre-order, a pair of trackers after that time will only set players back €90 — a totally reasonable price that’s in line with frequently purchased first-party accessories from other manufacturers.
Developers are Buying In: Whether we’re talking headset or accessory, no hardware is worth a hot damn without the software to back it up. Pico seems ready to counter that concern with 20 titles already “Foot Ready,” as their branding proudly boasts. And there are some great games in there! Racket Club, VR Chat, and Drunken Bar Fight will all support Pico Motion Trackers.
Everything’s Better with SkyNet: AI is great at connecting the dots, and in this case that means connecting the dots between your headset, your controllers, and your trackers to flawlessly (🤞) deliver full body tracking across 24 skeleton points (which, if my math is correct, is enough points of articulation to qualify you as a Marvel Legends action figure!)
But while this really does seems like the best chance yet to bring motion tracking into the XR mainstream, I find myself wrestling with a few questions. Why are they limiting the Duck Hunt approach to just pre-orders instead of getting these in the hands of every new headset owner? Is it an easy lift / will there be clear ROI for developers to add this functionality to their games? And what about America? (I know that’s the forever question around Pico, but it must feel a bit lopsided to be able to beat Meta at the legs game, but not use those same legs to walk into Meta’s main market).
I’ve shared these questions with some of the fine folks over at Pico, and will be sure to provide an update in next week’s newsletter if I hear back.
What Else Happened This Week?
Hitman 3: VR Reloaded landed with a resounding *thud* — I’m a big believer that recognizable IP will play an essential role in increasing headset adoption going forward, but if the reviews at Road to VR and Upload are anything to go by, Hitman isn’t going to be a recognizable IP that helps. Heck, Rhys Da King called it “the worst VR game I have played this year,” and I’m honestly having a hard time finding anyone who disagrees with this sentiment. My condolences to Agent 47’s family. We all wanted better for him.😔
Meta snuffs out its Spark — Snapchat has always been the king of AR features for mobile social, and maybe Meta finally agrees? The company will be ending its Spark API next January, and all AR effects that were created and deployed on Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook will be removed along with it. My gut says this is to double down on Meta’s efforts to build a new AR infrastructure for their oft-rumored immersive glasses. For the sake of Spark creators who feel like they just had the rug pulled out from under them, I hope they reveal something new for them to build in real soon. (TechCrunch)
SURPRISE! Eminem in Beat Saber — Few things are quite as fun in gaming as when something gets a simultaneous reveal and release. The Beat Saber team clearly agrees with me on this on as they’ve just started a new “Shock Drops” section of tracks that you can play the minute they’re announced — and they’ve kicked things off with the infinitely hummable Houdini by the ever-maturing Marshall Mathers. (Mixed)
Play These Games Next
Chernobyl Again puts players in the moments before 1986’s nuclear disaster, challenging them to prevent the inevitable through adventure puzzling (Sept 12 on Meta Quest, Pico, PS VR2 and Steam VR)
Following a brief early access period, Mannequin’s PropHunt-inspired game of hide-and-seek get a full release next week — along with visual enhancements on the Quest 3 (Sept 12 on Meta Quest and Steam VR)
Want to smash stuff up just because you can? Following a 2020 release on Steam and the OG PS VR, Hotel R’n’R brings it’s belligerent rock star simulator to the Horizon Store next week (Sept 12 on Meta Quest)
Are you still reading this? FANTASTIC! I need a favor. Give me five dollars your XR predictions for Meta Connect and maybe they’ll be included in next week’s newsletter. Hit me up at jim@jimsquires.ca.
Faithfully yours in every reality,
Jim