No Point Separating the Virtual From The Real, Father Of Playstation Criticizes Metaverse Push

The creator of PlayStation is unimpressed by the metaverse.

Ken Kutaragi, the father of Sony’s Playstation, has shared his thoughts on the metaverse narrative that is gaining traction. The former Sony executive believes the metaverse concept of dividing the real and virtual worlds is pointless.

Playstation Inventor Unimpressed With The Metaverse

In an interview with Bloomberg, Ken Kutaragi, a former Sony executive known as the “Father of PlayStation” stated that he does not see much value in the metaverse.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the “Father of the Playstation” didn’t hold back when asked about his thoughts on the Metaverse, repeating what many skeptics have been saying since it became the phrase du jour in the gaming industry.

He noted in the interview:

“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. You would rather be a polished avatar instead of your real self? That’s essentially no different from anonymous message board sites.”

Those who are betting on the metaverse will find it difficult to sell the concept to some users. While the popularity of virtual reality (VR) has surged in recent years, the headsets can be uncomfortable and can cause nausea for some users.

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

Sony Trades at $112. Source: TradingView

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Kutagari, on the other hand, sees a different future. According to Bloomberg, Kutagari’s start-up Ascent believes sophisticated robotics will be able to “blend the real world with cyberspace in a seamless, gadget-less fashion akin to Star Wars holograms.”

For the uninitiated, the Metaverse as it is now understood requires you to put on a Virtual Reality (VR) headset of some kind and enter a virtual world where your avatar may do everything you do in the real world, whether at home or at work.

Since the launch of the PSVR in 2017, Sony has struggled with VR headset sales, selling about 5 million headsets, or a 4% attachment rate to the PlayStation 4, indicating that console gamers are indifferent to the idea of VR.

Meta, formerly Facebook, has been one of the most vocal proponents of metaverse technology. With its acquisition of game publisher Activision, Microsoft, Sony’s video game console rival and producer of the Xbox, announced this week that it will focus on establishing metaverse platforms.

Metaverse Is Just A Buzzword

Sony revealed the development of a VR headset for the PS5 at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Microsoft, on the other hand, has stated that “VR for console is not a focus for us at this time,” dismissing the possibility of an Xbox VR headset.

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In an interview, Evernote founder Phil Libin noted that the excitement surrounding metaverse technology reminded him of communist propaganda he saw as a child in the old Soviet Union.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has also expressed his dissatisfaction with the metaverse. He noted that metaverse is simply a buzzword right now. He’s enthusiastic about the future and what firms can bring to the table in a few years.

John Carmack, the developer of Doom and the CTO of virtual reality headset firm Oculus (which was bought by Meta, then Facebook, in 2014), is a skeptic of the contemporary metaverse.

“I have pretty good reasons to believe that setting out to build the metaverse is not actually the best way to wind up with the metaverse,” he said in an October keynote, adding that he doesn’t believe there will be a totally open crypto economy in Meta’s version of it.

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