More and more gamers are becoming interested in the PC gaming world, but there’s a general knowledge barrier keeping them from taking the leap. When making that transition, “build your own” is the general consensus but how much you save building your own gaming rig has gotten significantly smaller with more custom build options around and the convenience of just clicking a few options to get what you want is more appealing. NZXT, a computer manufacturer, has launched a new program called BLD that allows consumers to shape a gaming computer by specifying the game they want to play. Sadly, VR options are currently lacking.
On the BLD website, your computer purchase experience is ultimately spread across three parts: Select the games you want to play, specify your price range, and customize the suggested computer with final tweaks. We noticed quickly that there are no VR options on BLD at this current moment so we reached out to see if there were any plans to change this in the near future. NZXT’s Associate Public Relations Manager Wesley Ruscher responded to our email inquiry with this message:
“Regarding BLD and VR options, that is indeed a feature we plan to add to the service. Currently, we are working on a way of showing that a build is VR ready during the BLD customizing experience. Our S340 Elite, one of the case options offered on BLD, was designed to make a VR experience more user-friendly, as it offers an HDMI pass through on the top of the case and the NZXT puck (designed to hold headsets when not in use). So adding this information for BLD customers is important.
To when this feature will be implemented, I do not have a confirmed date, but it is in the pipeline of enhancements to come soon.
As for incorporating VR games into the BLD prediction formula, that will be a much harder task given the current population of PC gamers using VR. Not impossible, but this most likely won’t be a feature until there is a more mainstream adoption of VR.”
It goes without saying that the more accessibility around VR, the better. Tethered VR headsets provide the most engrossing experience at this current time, but having to consider PC composition in addition to how to set up VR hardware and tracking will turn away the average consumer. BLD is a great concept with a lot of potential and this is a solid opportunity to get a leg up on the competition by providing a welcoming tool that includes a growing medium. Hopefully, they’ll jump on this sooner rather than later.
