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At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2017, which finished today in Los Angeles, US games publisher Bethesda is betting big on virtual reality (VR).
The company announced plans to remake some of its biggest titles for the new technology, in a move to persuade players to move to the new hardware platform.
A gamer tests the Bethesda VR game at E3 2017. /VCG Photo
But are these updated games attractive enough to make gamers invest in expensive new tech?
Remakes
Bethesda's strategy to tap into VR is to port their recent successful games onto the new platform.
Post-nuclear open-world game Fallout 4, first-person shooter Doom and role-playing fantasy Elder Scroll V are among the first batch to be re-purposed for VR.
Vault Boy bobblehead figurines from the 'Fallout' video games by Bethesda sit on display for sale during the E3. /VCG Photo
No new titles have been included for the first VR releases, instead Bethesda is hoping to cash in on the popularity of existing games.
But is the announcement that some of Bethesda's titles are to be re-purposed for VR more exciting than some of the company's standard upcoming releases?
"I felt dizzy even looking at those trailers," said one gamer on Weibo.
"The VR version of Fallout 4 could be so cool," said another fan whose comment attracted hundreds of likes.
Chinese comments on Bethesda's upcoming VR remakes. /Weibo Screenshot
Lack of AAA titles
VR has been a popular trend for a number of years but mainstream video game publishers have been cautious about investing in it. Therefore, VR software often lags behind hardware.
The first prototype of Valve's Oculus Rift VR system was built in 2010 while HTC's Vive is already two years old. Among the famous hardware brands, only Sony's PS VR is new, being released in December last year.
For players, the term "AAA" is often used to describe a high quality game, similar to the film industry's term "blockbuster". An "AAA" game generally represents "a lot of time, a lot of resources and a lot of money."
Vice president of PR and marketing for Bethesda, Pete Hines, speaks on stage as the company shows off its new video game experiences at E3. /VCG Photo
Zombie survival game Resident Evil 7: Biohazard bills itself as the first "AAA" game for VR.
It has been hailed on tech blog Engadget as the "most terrifying VR game on the market", but was criticized by another blog, The Verge, as "a scary but compromised experience".
China's VR market is expected to be worth 65 million US dollars this year and is set to grow at a speed of more than 100 percent over the next five years, said PwC in a report.
But judging from the cautious response from gamers on social media, to what extent the VR gamble will pay off for Bethesda among Chinese gamers remains to be seen.
(CGTN)
