PlayStation still believes VR will be ‘a meaningful part of games at some stage’

Sony still “believes in VR” but has acknowledged the technology is a long way off fulfilling its potential in the world of interactive entertainment.

That’s according to PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, who was somewhat non-committal about the platform holder’s future intentions in the VR space during an interview with The Washington Post.

PlayStation launched Its console VR hardware four years ago in October 2016. It said in January 2020 that PlayStation VR sales had topped five million units to date.

There are currently no public plans for a next-gen VR headset, Ryan said, although PS5 is backward compatible with PS4’s VR headset via an adaptor.

“I think we’re more than a few minutes from the future of VR,” Ryan said. “PlayStation believes in VR. Sony believes in VR, and we definitely believe at some point in the future, VR will represent a meaningful component of interactive entertainment.

“Will it be this year? No. Will it be next year? No. But will it come at some stage? We believe that. And we’re very pleased with all the experience that we’ve gained with PlayStation VR, and we look forwarding to seeing where that takes us in the future.”

A Sony patent published in October 2019 suggested the company was exploring plans for a next-gen PlayStation VR headset. And in February 2020, plans for a PlayStation VR motion controller were revealed in another patent.

Xbox head Phil Spencer has said on several occasions that the platform holder has no intention of entering the virtual reality space.

In November last year, Spencer attracted criticism with comments he made about VR, which some perceived as being dismissive of the technology. He called it a relatively niche and “isolating” format that doesn’t fit with his vision of gaming as a “communal” pastime.

Spencer later clarified his comments, stating that he loves that the games industry is pioneering in different fields. He also said he hopes one day the VR space will become “so important that it would be a no-brainer” for Xbox to support it.

Further Reading

PlayStation VR patent hints at potential next-gen headset plans

New PS VR headset could operate wirelessly