Sony: For VR to make progress people who make content have to make money

Interview with Shuhei Yoshida on topics such as Morpheus and the future of VR.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

Good games will sell but high priced peripherals won't unless they are extremely good and not priced too high. But without selling a lot of the hardware regardless of a good game it won't sell either. If this is priced over $300 it will never be a platform to make a lot of money on.

[ps360s]

True in some aspects but let's not forget this Morpheus is probably set for the techy in mind (the ones that owns new phones every new release like myself lol) and not to the "consumer" in reality

[LordMaim]

In reality you have to have both. Unless you have good content, the hardware won't sell, and if you can't sell the hardware you're not going to see developers invest in making good content. That's why the launch window is so important while developers will gamble on the hardware based on specs alone, and having a platform that can finally offer a reasonably equivalent PC experience allows for some of the VR PC content in development to be ported to PS4 certainly doesn't hurt either.

[LordMaim]

Duplicate post.

[Eonjay]

Well obviously it has to sell headsets to sell software, but I think what they mean is the content creators themselves. And specifically, I think he means big publishers like EA and Activision. Because: even if VR is really cheap, there will be no content if people can't make good gamer worth buying in the first place or if big developers can't make enough money to support development.

[AudioEppa]

This is why VR needs very slow build to mass consumers, because if they are expecting to make a lot of money right off the rip, it's already failed.

For success like all these companies and some consumers are hoping for, VR has to appeal outside of their bubble that others are going to willing to pay high price for it, because they're not. It needs to be cheap and that's all there is to it.

Yeah we live in a world where we pay for things that are too expensive all the time, but there's just certain things that don't feel necessary to buy, if they could get Virtual Reality out of that area, they have a big chance of finding success.

[Rookie_Monster]

I think a VR headset with its own CPU and hardware inside the headset is the only way for VR to adopt mass appeal. Selling a $300 headset with a system that already costing $350-$400 is too much to ask and many developers will not attempt to develop for it due to cost and profit margin. I really don't see VR take off until another 8-10 years when the technology is cheaper and better refine tbh. Even Sony know it that is why they spent less than 3 min at E3 talking about it.

[Angeljuice]

Of course YOU don't think VR will be viable for a few years yet, because Nintendo expressed that standpoint a few days ago.
You have to remember that the PS4 user base is already large and growing fast.

Sony aren't having to persuade people to buy a console and Morpheus, they just need to persuade a significant number of PS4 owners to jump on board.
They will doubtless pick up some console sales, but those aren't necessary.

Those with no interest in PlayStation can get involved Rift, and those whith no interest in exciting tech can stick with Nintendo. Everyone's happy.

[Godz Kastro]

In order to live humans must breathe oxygen.

[Ark_]

Not prenatal.
Those small humans need oxygen, but don't breath it.
Just sayin'.

Btw: That the VR content makers need to make money, was Yoshidas answer to the question, if sony will produce exclusive video content for morpheus. He answered, that sony won't produce such exclusive video content and added that the business modell of many producers is cross VR platform, which he understands and supports: those companies need to make money and VR will only thrive this way.

[Officialxandr]

Project Morpheus has me, it's a day one purchase, well depending on the price.

[danny818]

just wait till it drops in price like the psvita, and PStv