Matt Booty, the man behind Xbox Studios, detailed his position on VR/AR in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. For the Microsoft executive, the demand is not yet great enough for Xbox to launch into virtual reality.
For a few years now, many manufacturers have embarked on virtual/augmented reality. Recently, a new candidate entered the race and not least: Apple.
Indeed, the apple brand presented at the beginning of June 2023 the Vision Pro, a revolutionary mixed reality headset. Like the iPhone 15 years ago, the Cupertino company is visibly determined to upset the VR market (which can still hardly be called mainstream).
In a completely different field, namely video games, Sony has obviously launched its PS VR2, the virtual reality headset for the PS5. And while one would expect a gasp from Microsoft in the face of these competing proposals, it is not so.
VR is not Xbox’s priority according to Matt Booty
Indeed, our colleagues from HollywoodReporter were able to speak with Matt Booty, the man behind Xbox Game Studios. During this interview, the manager spoke of Hollywood’s renewed interest in video game adaptations, as evidenced by the success of The Last Of Us series.
Most importantly, the executive gave his thoughts on the current expansion of VR/AR within the industry. According to him, it is still too early for Xbox and Microsoft to throw themselves headlong into these new technologies.
“I think for us it’s just about waiting for an audience. We are fortunate to have these great intellectual properties that have become permanent franchises with great communities. We have 10 games that have passed 10 million players so far which is a great achievement but that’s the kind of scale we need to see game success and it’s not yet the case with augmented reality and virtual reality”, he declares in the columns of the American media.
For Matt Booty, VR still represents this niche market which struggles to mobilize the crowds. On this point, it is difficult to prove him wrong. With 600,000 copies sold in the six weeks following its launch, the PS VR2 can hardly be called a resounding commercial success. The fault in particular with a high price of 600 €, which is 50 € more than the PS5. And what about Apple’s Vision Pro, which is absolutely not intended for the general public, with a starting price set at $3,499 at launch in early 2024.
