Add PlayStation inventor Ken Kutaragi to the list of tech industry heavy-hitters who aren’t quite sold on the idea of a metaverse, as the former CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment recently compared a virtual metaverse existence to anonymous message boards and labeled VR headsets as annoying. Despite all the hype generated by Facebook overlord Mark Zuckerberg and ambitious stakeholders like Microsoft and Nvidia, the metaverse remains a divisive topic among experts, as well as early adopters. The idea of an immersive internet fueled by AR and VR experiences definitely sounds appealing and futuristic, but there are too many hurdles in its path.
The existing problems of the internet such as harassment and misinformation haven’t been solved yet, and tech execs are already gunning for a more immersive version of it. The computing and internet infrastructure needs a massive, massive upgrade to realize those lofty ‘metaverse life’ dreams. Plus, accessibility to hardware that provides an entry into the metaverse remains a key concern. Not everyone can afford a $500 VR headset or expensive data, which is why a lot of influential figures appear skeptical about the metaverse hype. Kutaragi, who is nothing short of a legendary figure in the industry, is one among them.
Talking to Bloomberg, Kutaragi stressed that the metaverse will only create a rift between the real and virtual worlds, instead of serving as a unifying bridge. “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.” Kutaragi is not the only one who appears skeptical about the reality-conflicting face of the metaverse. Louis Rosenberg — the brains behind the world’s first functional augmented reality system — recently claimed that the metaverse might alter the very sense of reality for people and that it will be changing many aspects of society in a not necessarily good way.
Headsets Are Annoying
“You would rather be a polished avatar instead of your real self?” Kutaragi asked, making his stance clear on the metaverse hype. He further likened the idea of the metaverses and virtual avatars to anonymous messageboard sites, where an individual can create an altogether different personality for themselves, distancing them from the real world. The PlayStation creator also shared his opinion about the gateway to the metaverse — XR headsets. Kutaragi opined that headsets isolate a person from the real world and that they are annoying. There is a practical truth to Kutaragi’s opinion, and even Apple appears to harbor similar ideas. Per Bloomberg’s PowerOn newsletter penned by Mark Gurman, Apple thinks of VR/AR headsets as something people won’t be wearing all day, and will only don for them for short bursts of entertainment.
As for Kuturagi’s viewpoint that headsets will isolate people from the real world, it falls along the lines of what Microsoft President Brad Smith recently said about the whole metaverse idea and its underlying idea. Smith noted that people will continue to live in the real world, and that entering a metaverse “is not like dying and going to heaven.” More importantly, he stressed that before everyone gets occupied building their own metaverses, the existing problems of the internet must be solved before users are pushed into the more immersive internet 2.0 phase. The concerns are legit, and even in its nascent, sexual harassment problems have already been documented in the metaverse.
