Last week during GDC 2014, companies like Oculus Rift and Sony unveiled their new virtual reality efforts. It certainly seems like exciting times are ahead of us because based on the prototypes alone, many seem to be reacting positively to the concept of virtual reality gaming, so we can only imagine what the final product could be like.
However it seems that Ubisoft expressed a bit of reservation about such technology, with their vice president, Lionel Raynaud, stating that only if 1 million units of VR technology was sold then can it only be considered a viable piece of technology. Ubisoft has since released a statement clarifying what Raynaud really meant when he said that.
According to Ubisoft, the “1 million” figure was simply an expression and wasn’t meant to be taken literally. “Ubisoft is always excited about new hardware and platforms and creating innovative experiences. Lionel did mention a number at the GDC dinner, however, it was not a literal number that Ubisoft takes into consideration when looking at delivering game experiences and content for new platforms.”
Ubisoft later adds that by expressing such a huge number, Raynaud really means that it shows that the technology has grown and has had a big impact and could then be well-received and adopted by the development community. “In fact, the point he was making was that a number like that would be a leading indicator for growth and impact that could lead to success and adoption from the development community.”
They later add that they have new to share regarding VR opportunities, but basically from what we gather from Ubisoft’s statement is that they are not in a rush to adopt VR technology just yet. It’s not to say that they won’t, it’s just that they are waiting to see a bigger response before diving in, which we guess is fair.
Filed in . Read more about Ubisoft, Virtual Reality (VR) and Wearable Tech.