Sony, please don't nuke PSVR2
A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a promotion selling a PSVR2 headset at a very enticing discount, and decided to go ahead and get it. Mind you, I've been skeptical about VR for a good while due to how pricey it is for what it delivers, and I've been more interested in the AR potential that's yet to properly hit mainstream (Apple, valiant attempt there, but it missed the mark).
When I bit the bullet and made my wallet cry (just a bit, compared with today's alternatives), I imagined myself using it mainly for Gran Turismo 7, the occasional Beat Saber, and messing around in PCVR, whatever that would mean down the line (using it for Elite: Dangerous was in my sights). Once it arrived, GT7 blew me away, so I ordered some prescription lenses and kept digging through the PS5's VR library: Beat Saber was indeed fun, but Synth Riders, which was included in PlayStation Plus at the time, totally conquered me; it's one of those games that can pack quite the cardio workout if you let it.
I need to thank Synth Riders for being there for me during my weight loss adventure whenever the weather, or the time, didn't pull me towards going outside to touch grass. As someone who'd been quite sedentary for decades, I found it rough to follow what was going on in the initial sessions, but I kept enduring them and got my hand-eye coordination going. Today, around 15kg lighter, off hypertension meds and tens of hours into it, I can probably go through the whole official song library on the hardest difficulty for a couple of hours without dying, if time allows it. I'm so grateful for the game helping me through my journey that I ended up buying another license on Steam, which also allows me to get some unofficial tracks going; however, I don't use it as often since switching back and forth between PS5 and PC has some friction (which is clearly a skill issue on my part; I need to spend some time investigating how to improve that situation).
In hindsight, my "hopefully" twice-a-week VR workout has already paid for itself, considering what it cost me (~350€ for the headset, plus ~50€ for the prescription lenses, and an extra ~150€ for the game and its DLCs). Granted, it's far from a perfect piece of hardware (Fresnel lenses, tethered, black and white passthrough, flaky movement tracking, etc.), but it surely packs a punch positioned as entry level, especially when bundled with a racing game, or a rhythm game. What's not cool is how this headset's ecosystem is being mismanaged, and I feel that we might not get to read more stories like mine because of that.
It's clear that Sony Interactive Entertainment doesn't know how to properly manage their VR ecosystem, and that sucks for VR as a whole, and for keeping this market competitive. Soon after I bought my VR headset, they launched their PC adapter along with Steam support, which gave me enough hope that they'd keep investing in this platform. The latest news, that Sony has been selling VR patents to Meta and that the headset is sold out in some regions, does not bode well.
They have missed the mark on porting their PSVR1 games, they've missed the mark on pushing the envelope on novel VR experiences, but they especially missed the mark on promoting what this headset is capable of, and on enticing customers through its added value and support. Instead, they're now pursuing Nintendo's mindset of keeping their ecosystem closed and anti-consumer, without also mimicking Nintendo's knack for innovation; Sony keeps shrugging off the very areas where it had the edge. No other console maker had VR support, and I'm sure Sony saw that as an opportunity; they've just been squandering it ever since.
GT7 is what sold me on the headset in the first place, so I can't help wondering what all this means for the next Gran Turismo. If it ships without VR support, a lot of folks will be disappointed, and it'll be an obvious downgrade from GT7.
So, Sony: I'm one of the stories you could be telling. Please don't nuke it.