The Deus Ex series is one of the go-to examples of a fantastic and deep speculative video game world. The franchise has done an amazing job of creating a believable future, where bionic implants have been developed to grant users with breath-taking – and dangerous – abilities. Delving in to the darker side of technology, as well as what it means to be human, the original games developed a strong following before Square Enix brought the series back with a bang through Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

There is more Deus Ex on the horizon, too, with the upcoming Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. The game has already impressed hardcore fans of the series, after developer Eidos Montreal revealed that the title would return to the original’s roots by allowing players to complete the game without killing anyone. Meanwhile, a first gameplay trailer was unveiled during Square Enix’s E3 2015 press conference, giving fans a brief glimpse at the game in action.

It looks like Deus Ex director Warren Spector was not exactly enthralled by some of the other properties that were showcased during this year’s E3 gaming expo, however. In particular, it seems that Spector does not have much time for virtual reality gaming devices such as the Oculus Rift. Speaking in an interview with Games Industry, Spector described the new VR technology as “a fad.”

Spector stated that he sees “amazing possibilities in VR for social media and virtual meetings,” as well as dealing with social issues such as phobias. “But for entertainment? I’m just not seeing it.” The director of the original Deus Ex went on to discuss exactly why he sees VR as something that will only generate interest “among the hardcore gamers,” citing nausea and the isolated nature of VR gaming itself. “They don’t want to isolate themselves from the world,” said Spector.

It looks like Spector has higher hopes for another of the emerging technologies in the video game sphere: augmented reality. ”AR, on the other hand – that seems pretty exciting,” Spector said, stating that augmented reality has potential in the marketplace. “Even the low-hanging fruit of AR gaming seems compelling,” said Spector, and tech demos such as Microsoft’s recent Minecraft for HoloLens footage certainly show the ability for growth within the medium.

The Deus Ex creator may not see a long-term future in VR gaming, but many big-hitters within the video gaming industry disagree. Soon, the marketplace will be full of VR headsets either backed or created by some of the largest names in tech and gaming. Oculus was bought out by Facebook for $2 billion, and has also entered into a partnership with Microsoft. Meanwhile, Sony has clearly put plenty of development time into the ambitious Morpheus headset. Let’s see whether Spector’s prediction turns out to be accurate.

Source: Games Industry