Ken Kutaragi, the creator of PlayStation, has openly criticised VR headsets and the obsession with the Metaverse. Speaking in a recent interview, Kutaragi addressed his dislike for virtual reality, calling it “simply annoying”, while also saying the Metaverse is pointless in what it’s trying to achieve.
Bloomberg recently interviewed Ken Kutaragi and managed to get his opinions on VR headsets, particularly Sony’s recent announcement of the PlayStation VR2, as well as the rising popularity of the Metaverse. “Headsets would isolate you from the real world, and I can’t agree with that. Headsets are simply annoying,” Kutaragi said in response to his thoughts on VR.
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Kutaragi also went into detail about the Metaverse, citing it as pointless in trying to create a ‘quasi-real’ virtual world where people will choose to be avatars in a digital realm as opposed to existing in real life. His full statement reads:
“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.
Current robots do not have software and sensors that can match humans in understanding the real world and reacting to things they see for the first time, and our short-term goal is to offer a solution to that. Because you want robots to be able to create a variety of things, not just countless units of the same thing.”
Kutaragi does have a point about the Metaverse, especially it being a virtual playground for what is essentially just an anonymous message board site. Microsoft have announced their plans to lean into the Metaverse in some capacity in the future, but Kutaragi’s distaste certainly says a lot about how times have changed and how quickly technology has evolved over the years.
Kutaragi departed Sony to become the CEO of Ascent Robotics, who are currently working on their own technology that will turn real-life objects into computerized data for the benefit of retail and logistics consumers.
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Source: Bloomberg (via PlayStation Universe)
