Virtual Reality

Last week Sony PlayStation released their virtual reality (VR) hardware. I ordered one for myself and finally got it set up today. Being in the video game industry I have seen countless VR demos and had the chance to share some of them with my family members today. If you haven't had a demo yet, I understand you can get them at Gamestop and several other retailers. I highly suggest seeing them first-hand as there is no way to do VR justice without a live demo.

It has been interesting to watch VR games evolve over the past several years. A few months ago I participated in a demo and it amazed me how immersive the experience is. I wondered if a game that might be rated for teens (T) suddenly becomes a mature (M) game because you feel so much more a part of the game. Specifically I am thinking about violence. When you have a first person shooter or action adventure where you shoot people but there is not graphic blood, you can get away with a T rating. Take that same game, put it in a VR environment, and suddenly certain elements deserve a much more adult rating.

I know that the adult entertainment industry is eager to adopt VR which is why I opted for the PlayStation VR over the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. Sony can exercise some element of control over what content appears on their platform. While they do allow nudity in their games, they would never allow and adults-only (AO) title to appear on their console. However, this does bring up a good point. God of War, The Order 1886, and several other games from Sony studios do contain nudity. While that has only earned a mature rating in the past, will it now deserve an AO in VR?