Filmmaker James Cameron doesn’t seem particularly impressed with virtual reality, based on comments made during a recent Wall Street Journal-hosted panel he sat on (via The Hollywood Reporter).
“There seems to be a lot of excitement around something that, to me, is a yawn, frankly,” Cameron said when asked about the rapidly growing VR space. “The question that always occurred to me is, when is it going to be mature, when is it going to be accepted by the public at large, when are people going to start authoring in VR and what will that be?”
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The hardware is still in its infancy, and Cameron — a filmmaker known for exploring the intersection between storytelling and the cutting edge of technology — hasn’t seen anything yet that trumps existing forms of expression, such as video games. He asked, “What will the level of interactivity with the user be other than just ‘I can stand and look around’?”
“If you want to move through a virtual reality it’s called a video game, it’s been around forever.”
Cameron has thrown down the gauntlet: He wants to see some breakout work for VR that justifies its place in our already-crowded mediasphere. So say we all.
