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VR will remain a niche market, say industry veterans.

Mark Avatar 2026
By
Mark Tomson
Managing Director of PlayFront. Mark Tomson shapes the vision of independent PlayStation reporting. His focus: technical analysis, hardware evolution, and the strategic positioning of the gaming industry. He stands for...

Despite all the efforts of Sony and Oculus to bring VR to the mass market, industry veterans assume that VR will remain a niche product. It lacks the compelling content that would be necessary for that.

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This is what former Nintendo boss Reggie Fils-Aime says, and the Gears of War-Creator Cliff Bleszinski, who cite statistics on industry growth to support this claim. The global VR adoption rate is currently only 0.4 percent, while video games in general have a rate 100 times higher. Even with the expected growth of the industry, it will not exceed 2 percent in the coming years.

We need must-have experiences.

The ongoing problem with VR is the lack of major, or very few, must-play blockbuster titles. Even platform manufacturers like Sony aren't doing enough to change that.

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Bleszinski and Fils-Aime comment on this point:

“Until there’s a ‘must-play’ experience, this will be true,” says Fils-Aime. “Half the problem is that those who own the platforms don’t fund big games (more than $3-$5 million),” adds Bleszinski. “The friction point of putting on the headset is significant. They need a compelling experience to sell it. Silly roller coaster experiences don’t count.”

Twitter
https://twitter.com/Reggie/status/1630662522016772096

Looking at the PlayStation VR2 launch so far, while there may be plenty of games available, most of them are just quick ports of other headsets that don't really utilize PS VR2 or have been tailored to the platform.

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This is hardly convincing for users, especially since Sony hasn't announced its next plans for PS VR2. (Recent) According to reports The company is relying on third-party developers, which Bleszinski considers a flawed approach. While these developers can also create fantastic gaming experiences, the responsibility for that lies primarily with Sony.

Let's hope that something more actually comes of this and we're not just fobbed off with the occasional VR highlight. Because PlayStation VR2 is simply too expensive for that.

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Patrick Späth
3. March 2023 09: 13

I can only laugh at such statements.

At the beginning of the 20th century, people said computers were useless.
In the 80s, Bill Gates claimed that nobody needed more than 640 kilobytes of RAM.
In the 90s, people said the internet would never catch on.
In 2010, it was said that in 5 years no one would be using Facebook anymore.
In 2015, it was said that Apple was going under.

Sorry, but anyone who puts even the slightest stock in such predictions has lost control.

Last edited 3 years ago by Patrick Späth
Crydog
3. March 2023 09: 09

Steam Deck and mobile devices with the power of a PS4/5 are experiencing more growth than bridge technology for cloud gaming.

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