What you need to know
- Phil Spencer says that VR is not a focus of the Xbox team right now.
- Spencer adds that he thinks VR is "isolating" and that he views games as communal.
- Spencer also states that "nobody's asking for VR."
Xbox head Phil Spencer shared that virtual reality is not a focus of the Xbox team in a recent interview with Stevivor. In the interview, Spencer discussed how people don't associate the Xbox brand with VR and that "nobody's asking for VR" on the Xbox. The main takeaway is that Spencer indicates that Project Scarlett will not have a VR focus.
Spencer believes that gaming is communal and that VR doesn't help people game together. "I have some issues with VR — it's isolating and I think of games as a communal, kind of together experience," he said.
Spencer emphasized that the Xbox team is responding to customer feedback, which at this time doesn't seem interested in VR. "We're responding to what our customers are asking for and… nobody's asking for VR." He later added, "The vast majority of our customers know if they want a VR experience, there's places to go get those. We see the volumes of those on PC and other places."
VR isn't isolating, and it could be a perfect fit for the Xbox ecosystem
Spencer also alluded to the fact that finances are a factor, stating that "nobody's selling millions and millions" of VR units. Sony's PSVR is one of the top VR platforms, and Sony revealed that 4.2 million PSCVR headsets were sold as of March 2019.
