When it was announced that the virtual reality (VR) functionality in upcoming title Gran Turismo Sport would be limited to 1 vs 1 races in PlayStation VR mode, many people were disappointed. Polyphony Digital CEO Kazunori Yamauchi talks about the reasons for this, and what the developer hopes to accomplish in the future.
Polyphony Digital is legendary among the videogaming community for its perfectionism, and the studio has shown no qualms with delaying titles until they had everything spot-on. Did this tendency limit what the studio felt they could do with VR? Speaking with Finder.Com.AU, Yamauchi says: “With VR, we’ve done everything with the current console to make Gran Turismo VR the best it can be. There was a lot of very hard development, and as a result of all the efforts that were made, the VR mode in Gran Turismo Sport is at the very top of the industry. I don’t think you will find any VR racing experience out there [as good].”
Nonetheless, Yamauchi indicates some disappointment with the current state of VR technology: “Still, it’s not like we’ve reached our goal. Obviously, the hardware and devices need to evolve more, and I think VR is something we will need to look at in the long-term to see what it ultimately achieves. But in terms of the current VR, I think the best experience you will get is with the PS4 Pro and the PSVR system.”
Yamauchi is far from alone among developers who are waiting for the next generation of VR hardware to push the boundaries further. Tameem Antoniades of Ninja Theory believes that the much anticipated 3rd generation of VR hardware will be what truly cements VR into the mainstream, while celebrity developer Cliff ‘Cliffy B’ Bleszinski believes that VR is still searching for its ‘Killer App’.
VRFocus will continue to provide news and developments within the VR industry.