PlayStation Creator Calls VR Headsets ‘Annoying’, and ‘Can’t See the Point’ of the Metaverse

PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi has said that he finds VR headsets “annoying” and that he “can’t see the point” of the metaverse during a recent interview.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Kutaragi seemingly took aim at a number of technology companies that are currently ramping up their efforts to develop new virtual reality headsets in a bid to champion the metaverse.

“Headsets would isolate you from the real world, and I can’t agree with that,” Kutaragi said while sharing his thoughts on VR headsets and why he isn’t a fan of using them to tap into a potential metaverse. “Headsets are simply annoying.”

While Kutaragi’s comments question whether or not VR headsets are the best way to enter the metaverse, the PlayStation inventor also criticised the ideas behind the concept more generally. “Being in the real world is very important, but the metaverse is about making quasi-real in the virtual world,” he said.

“I can’t see the point of doing it,” the 71-year-old continued. “You would rather be a polished avatar instead of your real self? That’s essentially no different from anonymous messageboard sites.”

Despite criticising the concepts behind the modern-day notion of a metaverse, Kutaragi is currently working on his own projects that could help to push the boundaries of digital communication as we know it.

Following his departure from Sony, Kutaragi has since become the CEO of Ascent Robotics and is currently working on a number of projects that transform real-world objects into computerized data in order to benefit retail and logistics customers.

Among a number of lines of work, Kutaragi wants to harness the digital data curated by the company’s robots to reproduce digital holographic images in the real-world similar to those depicted in scenes from Star Wars. Unlike Princess Leia’s distress call to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kutagari hopes that the technology could be used to revolutionize e-commerce platforms and shopping experiences as well as for social gatherings that could be made possible without the use of any headsets.

For more similar news, make sure to check out Second Life creator Philip Rosedale revealing his doubts over Facebook’s plans to create its own metaverse.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.