Niantic: Virtual reality is a problem for society

The CEO of the studio that developed Pokémon GO considers VR games to be a threat to modern society.

“We are human beings and there is a huge amount of research demonstrating that we are much happier when we exercise, when we walk,” John Hanke said at the London Games Festival 2017. – “And I think it will be a problem for us as a society if we abandon this in favor of a VR universe, like described in the novel “The First player to get ready”” (a work in the genre of cyberpunk by Ernest Klein, – approx.editorial offices).

“The bottom line is that I’m afraid that VR will be too good in terms of experience, that people will want to spend a lot of time in virtual reality,” Hanke reveals. – “I’m already afraid for my children, who spend a lot of time in Minecraft, and this is a great game.”

At the same time, Hanke defends AR, which, from his point of view, has a positive effect on people. As an example, he cites Pokémon GO, which brought thousands of people to the streets.

Hanke also admits that VR and AR will not be separated. The experience of both formats can be implemented within the same product.

Source: Games Industry