Will Valve’s VR Headset Make a Splash?
Plus a new EU law could restrict some video games for children
Valve started taking preorders for their Steam Frame VR headsets last week. Between the price and game catalog, what will the demand be like? Also, a new law proposed in the EU could restrict access to some games for kids. All this and the latest news. Let’s go.
Valve launches the Steam Frame
Valve’s virtual reality (VR) headset, the Steam Frame, launched last week and is available for preorder. Despite great reviews, many are asking who this product is for.
The Steam Frame costs $1,059 for the 256 GB model and $1,299 for the 1 TB model and comes with a copy of the game Half-Life: Alyx. Reviewers note that the Frame is the most comfortable VR headset, excels at streaming games from a PC and is generally considered one of the best VR headsets.
The timing and cost of the Frame are somewhat questionable. By comparison, the Meta Quest 3 costs $600, with the less powerful Quest 3S starting at $350. For those looking to try VR, these units are a much better value. Also, with Facebook cutting back on VR spending and game developer Polyarc (makers of the Moss games) shutting down, there are less companies making games and content for VR. Add in that VR headset shipments are down 18% from a year ago, and it might not be a great time for Steam to launch the Frame.
Valve says they are hoping to “rekindle the excitement” for VR. Valve engineer Jeremy Selan says the company sees VR as a broadening and maturing market, an “opening of the tent to more potential customers, more potential gamers.”
How the EU Kids Act affects games
A proposed European Union law would restrict access to online games for children.
The EU Kids Act mostly covers access to social media for children under 13 and 15, but if approved it would also pertain to all online games sold in the EU. GameIndustry.biz broke down the proposed law, showing some of the changes that would be required:
Providers of online games shall, in particular, ensure that excessive use by minors is not encouraged. This means that, for example, login bonuses or loss of benefits when not playing for a certain time will often be prohibited – it's possible that there may prove to be a compliant way to incorporate such features, but it's clear that they are viewed unfavourably no matter what…
The draft Act also states that contact between minors and other users must be restricted. In order to fulfil the new obligations, parental controls and age assurance solutions must generally be implemented by providers of online games.
Epic head Tim Sweeney weighed in on the legislation, saying it would be “terrible for the next generation of humanity.” Of note, Epic owns Fortnite.
Side Quests (more stories worth reading)
👽 We received a preview copy of the upcoming board game Not Alone Remastered. Check out our breakdown and thoughts.
🚗 Twitch’s CEO Dan Clancy says Grand Theft Auto 6’s multiplayer mode will launch next year.
🐜 The board game Ants won the Jogo do Ano, Portugal’s game of the year.
📰 Reminiscent of his split with Konami, game director Hideo Kojima discusses Sony’s decision to dump his upcoming game, Physint. Related: actor Bill Skarsgård will play the lead role in the game.
🌀 A typhoon forced the Tokyo Game Show to shut down a day early.
😢 Hyper Light Drifter developer Heart Machine laid off "nearly everyone" after a publisher pulled funding for an unannounced title.
🅾️ The studio behind Lies of P has filed a trademark for Wonders of O, an apparent Wizard of Oz themed sequel.
🗝️ Kingdom Hearts characters are now in Fortnite.
🌍 The maker of the Nex Playground console received $150 million to expand globally, and apparently publishers of Kinect and Wii games are excited to jump on the system.
‼️ According to director Naoki Hamaguchi, Final Fantasy VII Revelation is "probably going to be around 200GB of game."
💿 Grand Theft Auto 6 is getting a physical soundtrack on CD and vinyl featuring 34 original tracks.
🏃🏾 Marathon is ending its seasonal content update schedule, but says big changes are coming in December.
🤖 The publisher of Genshin Impact was awarded $112,000 by a Chinese court from an AI service that reproduced and sold voices from the game.
📖 Author Ava Reid’s new dystopian young adult series Winterveil was reportedly inspired by Pokémon.
😢 MindsEye’s studio Build a Rocket Boy is shutting down.
Jason Dean
New Releases this week:
Check out our article on 11 new games to play in September.
9/22: Rivage (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
9/23: Nomori (Xbox and PC)
9/24: Control Resonant (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
9/24: Garfield: Escape from Monday (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
9/24: Silent Hill: Townfall (PlayStation and PC)
9/25: EA Sports FC 27 (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
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