GAME criticised for VR demo charge
October 24, 2016
High-street video game retailer GAME has faced a barrage of criticism following its decision to charge for demos of Sony’s new Playstation Virtual Reality headset.
GAME is charging £5 (€5) for 10 minutes or £15 for a half hour in-store trial. The chain has yet to comment officially, but its customer services department has told customers that the fee is refundable against headset orders.
Most of the criticism came via social media. Jamie Feltham from virtual reality news website Upload VR said he was blocked by GAME’s Twitter account for commenting “this is not cool” in regards to the promotion.
“I think it’s not a good practice,” he told the BBC. “I work in VR so I’m interested in what’s healthy for VR – and I don’t think it’s healthy to attach that image of it being a premium experience at that level. We should encourage people to see it for free, give them an amazing experience and then let them decide for themselves whether to buy it.”
Sony is currently conducting a UK-wide free demo tour.