PlayStation creator ‘can’t see the point’ in PSVR 2 or the metaverse

techradar.com:

Sony’s PSVR 2 headset certainly sounds promising based on its impressive technical specifications, but PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi has dismissed the Japanese company’s second foray into virtual reality – and he doesn’t like the sound of the metaverse either.

In an interview with Bloomberg, 71-year-old Kutaragi said that the biggest issue with virtual reality headsets is the fact the devices stop you from being in the real world.

“Headsets would isolate you from the real world, and I can’t agree with that,” Kutaragi said. “Headsets are simply annoying.”

For similar reasons, Kutaragi isn’t a fan of the metaverse and likened the idea of interacting as a virtual avatar to being the same as posting anonymously on the internet.

“Being in the real world is very important, but the metaverse is about making quasi-real in the virtual world, and I can’t see the point of doing it,” Kutaragi told Bloomberg News. “You would rather be a polished avatar instead of your real self? That’s essentially no different from anonymous messageboard sites."

It might be easy to dismiss Kutargi’s opinions based on his age, but there’s certainly an argument to be made that VR is a rather solitary and restrictive experience. Wearing a VR headset does indeed isolate you from the real world, and isn’t exactly a device that will appeal to those who have family, pets, or who can’t comfortably block out their surroundings for long periods of time.

The metaverse is also rather unappealing for the same reasons. While the potential for remote working and more social-driven experiences is certainly there, we’ve already seen companies experimenting with making day-to-day activities like shopping into a virtual experience, and they honestly look worse than their