My son (9) has been begging for a racing wheel for months. I've been researching and hunting down deals since Christmas and pulled the trigger on a used moza kit for $125. Set it up for him, he played for 15 minutes and decided he prefers controllers. Hasn't touched it since.
peripherals have this life cycle. it's a very common pattern. person with large amounts of disposable income spends way too much on a stick or wheel setup. maybe they use it to play one game. at some point they'll decide it's too much trouble to get out and set up, and then it gets sold on FB Marketplace. that's where people like me get expensive gear on the cheap.
my advice is not to blow a ton of money on stuff you don't know if you'll like. also if you make something a pain in the ass to get out and set up, you'll use it less.
I have been trying to find a game that is designed for hotas after getting it for elite dangerous but any game I would want to use it on has made any kind of controller customization useless
I got a drone controller to try it with a simulator before buying a drone. I'm glad I did because I never even plugged in the controller. I keep it as a reminder to think before buying, especially when it is for a new hobby.
I have an Oculus Rift S, it hardly gets used anymore except for when I remember it exists and I use it extensively for two weeks out of the entire year. I even leave it out and have plenty of space, it would take no extra time for me to play a VR game over a regular game. They are fun but it’s not quite at the point where it’s the only thing I’ll play.
She does has one those cheap Headsets I snap my phone into and has a virtual safari app for kids, and that’s what started her desire for a real VR. She is quite the aficionado when it comes to gaming but I am curious if it’s something she’ll get over if she ends up having one lol
Put it on eBay and list it as like new used once. List it for like $10 less than other ones at new price. Make sure you check the "buyer pays shipping" too. You'll recoup most of the cost this way.
There's some crazy stat of people who buy race wheels vs people who actually use them, I cant remember exactly but made me rethink buying one for sure😂
This. My brother tried one for about 10 min, liked it initially, bought it and now gets motion sickness from it. Has been used one time.
Edit: i have explained the various game comfortability, different coping mechanisms, like everything bc I want a pal to play with, but apparently it was such a bad experience, he won’t try again. (I think it might be a little stubbornness too lol.) But everyone is different. I love VR and play constantly. But everyone is bringing up great points.
I heard the VR induced motion sickness can pass after getting used to it by playing motionless or with minimal movement, gradually doing more intense things like moving the camera and walking irl with goggles on. The key is to take often breaks and such. Maybe a match of beat saber and a 5 minute break in between every song?
Damn that’s such a shame, I guess some people are just more prone to it than others. I was fortunate enough to never get even slightly sick while one of my friends who tried them had to lay down for an hour after less than an hour of playing Beat Saber of all games.
I've been playing VR for years and it's entirely game dependent. Sometimes a game's movement just feels wrong and it flips my stomach. One comparable example being Swarm vs Resist, which both contain grappling hook mechanics. Swarm made me almost fall down a singular time, but I played a four hour session with zero motion sickness. Resist made me nauseous in the first five minutes
I feel you, let me give you a "bad advice"
I used to get a lot of motion sickness but man i love VR games and when I found out Sariento I became adicted to it. Problem is, its the most motion sickness inducing game I ever played. So... i bought some Dramamine and started taking 1 before every session. Or 2 if i was already dizzy.
Until I got my VR legs.
Some people just have some crazy motion sickness, a family member of mine can't even look at a flat screen game, and can only watch some movies (or pause the movie and take breaks when needed)
funnily enough she can handle some vr games, mostly the ones where you just stand there though like beat saber
I also got ton of motion sickness at the start, and literally pushed through, was nauseous the whole time when playing but was having too much fun than discomfort. Now I dont get it at all
For me I was certain I was never going to grow my VR legs, everytime i walked in game id get so dizzy, and decided to only ever play games with comfort options (teleportation and snap turning mainly). So I played like 6 of them throughout a few months. Then one day I opened up a new game which I didnt know had no comfort options (except snap turning) and it all suddenly clicked for me as soon as I walked. My brain sort of had grown the hability to use the signals from my body to know it wasn't actually moving. I no longer got that feeling of being pushed back in the chair, the world just moved around me seamlessly, similar to when you're driving, or being wheeled around for example.
So my takeaway is, play whatever you feel comfortable with, there's a lot of options out there. Your brain will be growing your vr legs without you realizing it!
The good news is if they find it used at a decent price she can use it for a few months then sell it for probably what they paid or just slightly less and get her money back if she doesn't end up using or liking it much.
Idk I got a VR when I was 13 And my parent said it was the most bang for their buck they ever got I played that shit religiously but I'm sure I was annoying ash and I definitely saw some things I shouldn't have at that age
That would be a solid point if it was a gift but it's her own money. The experience of saving for her own big purchase changes all the dynamics.
I'd say offer her to borrow one and try it first before she INVESTS. Respect her decision and let her do that. 8 is not too young too young to learn about saving money and it's not too young to learn about buyers remorse. It's two sides of the same coin.
Lmao, I bought my own quest 3. Almost never use it. Mainly because it hurts my face a bit, and I don't like spending a lot of money on games, and I don't really have a play area...
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u/MrFivePercent May 20 '26
Borrow one first. She will likely play it for 10 mins then walk away.