Apple
revealed its Vision Pro device by rattling off specs and potential applications for the mixed-reality headset, but its presentation didn’t offer much about videogames.
Apple (ticker: AAPL) spent less than a minute announcing that the device will offer over 100 Apple Arcade titles at launch. It briefly showed a user playing
Take-Two Interactive Software’s
(TTWO) NBA 2K23 wearing the headset and a PlayStation 5 controller. Later, Apple said it partnered with
Unity Software
(U) to bring Unity-based games and apps to Vision Pro.
What the presentation lacked was a blockbuster title that could help justify the $3,500 price tag. Both
Sony
(SONY) and
Meta Platforms
(META) make games a key part of their virtual-reality headset marketing. For Apple, we’re still waiting.
Barron’s reached multiple large gaming companies to get their take on the presentation. Only Unity, which saw its stock jump about 13% after the Apple name drop, provided a direct comment on the hardware.
“We’re excited to deliver Unity’s powerful and familiar real-time 3D tools and capabilities to Apple Vision Pro, so our huge community of passionate developers can bring new and existing Unity-created apps and games to this exciting new spatial computing platform,” Unity said in a statement to Barron’s. “With visionOS and Unity’s PolySpatial technology, we can’t wait to see the new apps and games Unity developers will create for Vision Pro!”
Wedbush analyst Nick McKay told Barron’s the $3,500 price tag could limit the reach of Apple’s VR platform in the near term. He thinks large game companies may not bite until Apple’s device offers a proven audience.
“It’s a chicken and egg kind of problem,” McKay says. “The publishers could help with the adoption of Vision Pro, but they’re going to wait to see how things play out before they put money there in a significant way.”
McKay, who covers videogame makers but not Apple stock, says virtual reality isn’t yet a material business for most large independent game publishers.
“My guess is, publicly, they’ll be supportive of the new technology, but in reality, I wouldn’t expect them to commit substantial financial resources toward the support of the new hardware until there is actually a significant instal base in place,” he says.
Apple will have some time to reveal more about the games on Vision Pro since it won’t be released until next year. McKay adds that Apple could turn to mergers and acquisitions if it thinks gaming can drive sales for the device.
“I don’t think it’s beyond the realm of possibility that Apple would become more acquisitive, if it saw gaming as one way that it could differentiate this device and help to justify the price point in the minds of consumers,” he says.
Write to Connor Smith at connor.smith@barrons.com
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