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Ken Kutaragi, the creator of the PlayStation, derided the metaverse as the next big thing in technology and head-mounted displays as the portal to that destination. He portrayed them as dividing rather than uniting the real and virtual worlds.
“Being in the actual world is really important,” the 71-year-old entrepreneur said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “But the metaverse is about making it quasi-real in the virtual world,”, “And I don’t see the sense of doing that”. Furthermore, “do you prefer to be a polished avatar to your true self? It’s practically the same as anonymous texting services.”
Kutaragi, who started Sony Group Corp.’s video game division in 1993, is currently CEO of Ascent Robotics Inc. It is a Tokyo-based artificial intelligence startup that just raised 1 billion yen ($8.7 million) in funding from Sony and SBI Holdings Inc.
Ascent’s goal, which Kutaragi sees as his life’s work, is to seamlessly blend the actual world with cyberspace. Apple Inc, Meta Platforms Inc, and Sony’s PlayStation division are expediting the development of virtual reality headsets. Indeed, there is currently a race to what they anticipate would be a windfall for the metaverse. Kutaragi, on the other hand, is not a fan.
Converting real-world items into computer-readable data
Ascent is creating technologies for its robotic systems that will convert real-world items into computer-readable data. The goal is to develop smarter, more adaptable robots capable of performing a wide range of jobs and producing a wide range of products. The gear developed by Ascent is aimed towards retail and logistics customers. Hence, to free up human labor for simple activities.
The new financing will help hasten the development of a robotics platform, which will include software, sensors, and devices built entirely in-house by Kutaragi’s team. Indeed, using off-the-shelf hardware, according to the PlayStation pioneer, would not result in a substantial breakthrough. Therefore, he went back to the method he used to build Sony’s first video game system from the ground up.
Source: https://metanews.com/metaverse-sony-playstation-founder-is-not-a-great-vr-supporter/