Why PlayStation will never succeed with VR.webp

Why PlayStation will never succeed with VR

The PlayStation VR would take the world by storm. At least that’s what this bigwig at Sony thought. He is backtracking on his optimism because the VR is not getting off the ground.

A few years back, VR was presented as the future of the gaming world. PlayStation was also on board and they released both the PlayStation VR and the recent VR2. The CEOs proudly beat their chests thanks to this futuristic gaming accessory

Meanwhile, we are a few years down the road and it turns out the PlayStation VR’s sales figures are not at all something you should be proudly beating your chest for. A senior PlayStation executive revisits his statement and apologizes. Why did the PS-VR never really take off?

PlayStation says sorry for VR

One of the top PlayStation bosses, Shuhei Yoshida, was extremely optimistic about the technological revolution called Virtual Reality. Fueled by favorable dystopian imagery such as we only saw in Ready Player One, Yoshida thought he had gold in his hands with the PlayStation VR.

Why PlayStation will never succeed with VR (image: Sony)

The extremely expensive device did mediocre in terms of sales on the PlayStation 4. With the technological advances of the PlayStation 5, VR couldn’t be left behind and a VR2 appeared. Again, Yoshida was very enthusiastic, “the hype just needed to land before sales figures would rise.

For a few months now, Yoshida has been retired. In an interview with the Kinda Funny Gamescast, the pensionado returned to his chest-beating surrounding VR. “Sorry,” Yoshida said about the VR just not getting off the ground. Whether you accept his excuse or not, why did VR just not break through?

The price was too high for the ‘regular’ gamer

In the interview with Kinda Funny Gamescast, Yoshida cites his first experience with the VR concept. He got the glasses shoved on his head with a test game where you play as Kratos from God of War. “That really surprised me. So that led to the idea: The PS4 generation, we can make a real VR.”

VR had been around for a while, but it was still only available for PC. And with that came a lot of tricky applications and settings before you could play your favorite games at all with the VR glasses. Consoles have always had the so-called plug-and-play convenience.

Sony slams down price for PlayStation 5, controllers and PS VRThe PlayStation VR2. (Image: Sony)

The PlayStation VR brought this technological revolution in somewhat plug-and-play friendly packaging. Compared to VR glasses on the PC, plugging them in and doing some calibration did get you there quickly. The joke did cost you over 450 euros with all the supplies, almost more than the price of the console itself. Few people were keen on that.

No AAA games for the VR 2

Those who did purchase a PlayStation VR were able to play some really cool games. Of course, the offerings did not compare to the PS4’s catalog, but there were a few well-developed VR games. At the launch of the PS-VR2, that was not the case.

Moreover, the price tag had risen to a fat 500 euros. There were not even AAA games in return, so the VR was now truly elevated to a luxury product. A shame, because the technology behind the Virtual Reality glasses was praised at first sight.

Certainly the VR2 put Sony in the spotlight for a while. Unfortunately, the praise has waned considerably since it became clear that there are so few well-produced games in return. That leaves the VR for the enthusiast, and they actually have a lot of better choices.

Why PlayStation will never succeed with VR (image: Sony)

PlayStation VR lags behind the competition

Those really keen on VR gaming are not likely to choose the PlayStation. The VR world is a hobby an sich with a lot of choices in terms of glasses, setup and games. PlayStation just can’t compete with the competition of, say, Meta Quest.

Moreover, the VR world is geared more toward use with a PC. PlayStation’s VR may be relatively easy to use, but it is nothing compared to the amount of content, programs and extras that the PC offers this technology.

Therefore, the true VR fanatic will not bother putting Sony’s glasses on his nose when he has dozens of alternatives that are not only better quality, but also a lot more affordable. So for Sony, the VR adventure seems to be slowly bleeding to death.

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