Xbox co-creator says VR hasn’t taken off as it doesn’t have a ‘killer app’

Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley thinks virtual reality hasn’t hit the mainstream yet because the platform doesn’t have a “killer app”.

Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley thinks virtual reality (VR) hasn’t taken off yet because the platform doesn’t have a “killer app”.

The platform has been supported by the likes of Sony and their PlayStation VR headset, but Blackley – who co-created the original Xbox console – believes VR hasn’t won over mainstream consumers yet because it is missing a game or feature that has mass appeal.

Speaking on the ‘VideoGamer Podcast’, he said: “We’ve seen VR and AR not really take off, and if you’re a big fan, I’m sorry, but it’s just the f****** fact. There is no killer app and nobody can put their finger on what a killer app could be.

“Everybody has a different kind of personal fantasy and then, at least in my experience, when you are given the environment that you sort of fantasised about you’re like, ‘Ok’ and you just want to take the headset off, because it’s this hot, heavy thing. It’s weird and disappointing.”

Blackley added one of the major issues with VR is that it offers “too much freedom” to users, which undermines the developers’ need for narrative control when it comes to games.

He explained: “When you lower the structure so much for the player that they are in the headset and they look around everywhere, in principle as an elevator pitch that sounds great.

“In practice, when we want to be entertained, we want a storyteller to control the narrative and to entertain us.”