Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan says that VR is still unproven territory, but the company is “really intrigued” as to where it could go.
Ryan said as much in From Bedrooms To Billions: The PlayStation Revolution, a recently-released documentary chronicling the rise of the PlayStation brand. “[VR is], as yet, an unproven space but we’re really intrigued and really excited by it,” Ryan said. “I think developers are still continuing to come to terms with that makes a great virtual reality gaming experience.”
PlayStation CEO On VR
There’s been a lot of speculation as to if Sony will continue working in the VR space as it transitions to its next-generation PS5 console this November. It’s not clear when this interview was conducted, but Ryan’s words make it seem like Sony is optimistic about the future. “And I think the distinction between what’s a gaming experience and a non-gaming experience which, hitherto, has been really clear, really binary,” Ryan continued, “I think those lines will start to blur and you’ll have VR experiences with a certain sort of light touch of interactivity but which still technically might be games. Some of those could be the finest virtual reality entertainment experiences you will ever have, but they will be very simple to enjoy.”
PS5 will support Sony’s first headset, PSVR, when it launches in a few months’ time, letting players access their old PS4 VR games through backward compatibility. However Sony is yet to announce a true successor headset or confirm if new PS5 games will feature VR support for the original device. You can follow up with everything we know about PSVR 2 right here.
Former PlayStation executive Mike Denny – who left the company in early 2020 after a 25-year tenure – also offered up encouraging words for the future: “I’ve not yet anybody yet who’s experienced VR who’s not been blown away by it,” he said. “I think people get the excitement of it, they get what they see now but they also get where it can go in the future.”
What do you think the future holds for PSVR? Let us know in the comments below!
