I find it odd that he described Ready Player One as "excellent", yet is excited about VR. Maybe he wasn't paying attention, but Ready Player One is in part a critique of VR. Notice that the real world has decayed quite a bit because of neglect; most everyone avoids the real world and escapes to the OASIS (the VR). And the book ends with the protagonist being happy enough that for the first time in as long as he can remember, he has no desire to log back into the VR.
I had a different perspective on the book. To me the dystopian future had less to do with VR and more to do with oligarchy, the energy crisis, and our lack of planning for the future. In the book VR became the main character's only way to escape his harsh realities, a place where he actually had a best friend, and a place where he enjoyed experiences with his mother and was able to benefit from the automated education. The end of the book did not give me the impression that VR was bad, only that reality could be good even in a bad unforgiving world.
I know the author went to the Oculus Rift headquarters last year as they are big fans of his book.
