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Former PlayStation VR veteran Dr David Ranyard says that the excitement around VR is ‘slightly over-heated’.
Speaking during the MCV and Develop Podcast, Ranyard, who has worked at Sony London on a string of VR projects and has just set-up his own VR studio, believes that some companies might find VR’s initial few months anti-climatic.
“It feels, in all honestly, slightly over-heated,” he told us during the 30-minute chat, which you can listen to below or download via iTunes.
“I am super into VR, so I’m very excited about it. But everybody is chasing it at the moment, so there might be an anti-climax for some people who perhaps don’t have quite the right skill that is needed at the moment, and it doesn’t quite work about it. But it is still super-exciting to see everybody talking about it.
He adds: “My view is that there is a lot of anticipation and a lot of demand as a result of that. It will be exciting, we’ve experienced some great stuff [during GDC], so it is a big step-change in the kinds of the experience you can have, but in terms of the business-side, my personal view is that there will be a boom, particularly towards the end of the year, I think the PlayStation one will do very well because the price is very good and it is very entertainment focused.
"This time next year, it might be a bit of an anti-climax. But actually after that, I think it will build slow and steady. I do see that VR will impact our lives in a number of different ways. Entertainment and gaming will push forward, as it has done in other spaces, but what you can do with it in health, education and business-to-business communication are incredibly valuable and productive things.
"As people learn more about it and the costs go down, I think it will impact our lives. I don’t think it will replace anything, but it will positively impact our lives… it will just take a little while to get there.”
Do check out the MCV & Develop Podcast, the first of new audio shows. It’s on iTunes, YouTube as well as Android apps Pocket Casts and Player FM (amongst others).
