Games Inbox: Is VR gaming officially dead now?

The Friday letters page asks how the changes at Lucasfilm will affect future Star Wars games, as one reader considers the difficulties of making a new Mortal Kombat game.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Reality collapse
So I guess with all the closures at Meta, including all their best developers, that means that VR gaming is officially dead. It’s been a zombie almost since the beginning, but Meta did put a lot of money into it and we got some great games, like Asgard’s Wrath and Batman: Arkham Shadow. But there just isn’t the audience and it was only a matter of time until something like this happened.

The point at which I already knew VR gaming was dead is when the PlayStation VR2 launched with just one Sony game and then they literally never mentioned it again. I don’t know how or why they ever bothered to release it, but they shouldn’t of really. Don’t get me wrong, I bought it and I love what it can do, but the support has been abysmal.

The support for Meta Quest has been really good though and that never helped it. I think the whole concept is just too expensive and too niche and it’s really only weirdos like me that have any lasting interest in it. I really don’t see anyone bothering again until headsets are the size of glasses and a lot cheaper than they are now.
Glover82

Secret distractions
I’m sure some crusty old judge doesn’t realise, but the idea of pretending that GTA 6 having 32 person online lobbies is some massive secret that Rockstar had no choice but to sack 30 people for is just ridiculous. I can’t think of any more unimportant bit of information, that not only would you guess anyway but if you knew for a fact you wouldn’t care anyway.

I hope this sort of nonsense is not something that’s going to distract Rockstar from finishing the game this year. Morale has got to be rock bottom with all this going on, with developers worrying they’re going to be next and that they’ll be sacked for no reason in an instant, like an American company.

I never liked how secretive Rockstar is and I don’t see the reason for it. I’d like to know who makes my favourite games, especially because then I’d know when they’re gone.
Fenton

Wild revelation
That Monster Hunter Wilds explanation is really shocking to me. It’s not even some terrible secret about Capcom being greedy or doing something shady, it’s just straight-up, ordinary stupidity.

I don’t get how the game shipped like that, but I definitely don’t get how it can be almost a year old at this point and nobody at Capcom figured out what this fan did. Maybe when Capcom play the game they always have all the DLC installed? But I doubt it, that sounds like a lot of faff for something they don’t need.

It’s a shame because I don’t like Monster Hunter, but I wanted it to be bringing in the cash for Capcom so they could make other, more interesting games. I hope these problems are not going to prevent that. Because if there’s one thing that Code Violet makes clear, it’s that we need a new Dino Crisis.
Cramer

Rebooting reboots
Thinking about the Warner Bros. sales trouble and the failure of Mortal Kombat 1 made me wonder what they’re going to do with the next one. It’s obvious it’s going to be some kind of, reboot but they’ve already had a bunch of those already, including Mortal Kombat 1 kind of.

The obvious thing to do, to me, is remake the original, but they’ve kind of already done that with the 2011 reboot so I’m not really sure. As a fan I’d be happy with a straightforward sequel that undoes all the story stuff from Mortal Kombat 1 but they need something that’s a big sales draw and I’m not sure what that would be.

To me they’ve kind of painted themselves into a corner because the games have got so bloody and gory now they’re putting ordinary people off. But if they backtrack and make them less gory then that’s going to upset fans, who are already pretty riled. If I was Ed Boon I’d retire now and let someone else sort the problem out, because I sure wouldn’t want to.
Badgerman

481 hours
My most played Switch game last year was Hogwarts Legacy at 112 hours, which I thoroughly enjoyed even though I am not a Harry Potter fan.

That’s followed by Donkey Kong Bananza, which is a staggering 86 hours and I haven’t even finished that yet. No idea where 86 hours playtime for that came from, but that’s what it says. Then 46 hours on Zelda: The Wind Waker before I accidentally deleted my save file, d’oh.
woz _007 (NN ID)

Day one purchase
So, to respond to the question of if the upgrade to PlayStation 5 is worth it, it’s been a mixed bag for me personally. I got my system on day one, so I’ve had it from the minute of release day five years ago, in November. On one hand, the gaming selection has been very great for the most part. But on the other hand, it’s been a lukewarm generation.

I’ve been able to enjoy some great games, such as Ghost Of Yōtei, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Demon’s Souls remake. But I’ve felt, personally, the focus on live service games and the disappointing release periods in between titles, when compared to the PlayStation 4, has affected the satisfaction of consumers.

We’ve really had duds like Concord, when we’ve yet to see nothing on Bloodborne and titles like Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet are a long while away. There’s also less exclusives that aren’t also released on PC. So it’s essentially seeing PlayStation games go multi-platform.

On a brighter note, 2026 looks fantastic, as the line-up includes Marvel’s Wolverine and Phantom Blade 0. So I’d say it’s definitely worth upgrading to the PlayStation 5. At least for the many titles that have passed you by. If you’d like my recommendation on where to begin, I’d recommend Demon’s Souls remake, since it’s only on PlayStation 5.
Shahzaib Sadiq
PS: Finally bought Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, with all the DLC. Where will I get the time to play it? Ask me later.

Tingle, Tingle! Kooloo-Limpah!
In reply to Gauntlett and his important question about Zelda, will Tingle be in the movie and who will play him?

Obviously, there’s only one person who can. Peter Tinglage. Although, Danny DeVito would be the superior choice.
Anon

Changing of the guard
Just seen the news that Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down as being in charge of Star Wars, with Dave Filoni and some suit I’ve never heard of replacing them. That might not mean much to ordinary people but if you’re a Star Wars fan these people are basically the Disney equivalents of George Lucas.

I don’t think many people think Disney has been good for Star Wars so far and while Filoni is popular with some fans I thought the Ahsoka series was pretty terrible and I hate the way he always goes for nostalgia bait.

What I’m not sure on though, and the reason I write, is his opinion on video games. I’m not sure I’ve ever really heard him speak about them. I remember hearing that he based the clonetroopers in Clone Wars on how they were portrayed in Republic Commando, so I guess he must play games to some degree, but that is literally the only time I’ve heard him connected with them.

Games with Disney have had a much better hit rate than movies or shows and I’m one of those that liked Outlaws. I do think that giving EA the exclusive licence at first was a mistake though, that led to a lot of wasted years.

I would be very interested in hearing him talk about his vision for Star Wars games in the future though, as long as it’s not just as an excuse to shove in a bunch of cameos.
Fischer

Inbox also-rans
I predict that Forza Horizon 6 is going to be one of the biggest games of the year, up there with Call Of Duty and EA Sports FC, or at least not far behind. It’s going to be so weird to see Xbox have their biggest hit ever thanks to PlayStation 5.
Ludwig

I really never liked Wolverine and the X-Men but didn’t EA’s Iron Man and Black Panther games get cancelled? Hopefully Insomniac can get the licence for them and do them instead. I’d much rather that or a Hulk game.
Qburt

GC: The Black Panther one did but the Iron Man one is supposedly still in development. Although nothing’s ever been seen of it and it was a while ago now that it was first announced.

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