Personal computers were extremely expensive until the mid-90s when free consumer email and chat started making them a necessity. Microcomputers didn't exist until the 80s and were largely useless to people with jobs didn't require email, desktop publishing or spreadsheets.

VR is a recreational tool. People aren't waiting for the tech to be better to jump in en masse. It just isn't a need most people have.

The internet wasn't a need until the past 20 years or so, and yet it was a project that arguably began in the 1960s. Now governments worldwide are nearly mandating that everyone have an internet connection, not to mention a microcomputer with a high resolution color screen. I'd argue that microcomputers, although initially being targeted at business uses, were by and large seen by consumers as recreational tools as well until they found their niche, I would argue primarily as communication tools, inasmuch as mailing in paper forms is communication.

I think the problem is that right now, as with the internet and microcomputers, we can't see a use for VR that would necessitate its entrance into our everyday lives. That doesn't mean the use doesn't exist, it just hasn't been invented yet. There's no guarantee that will happen, but if it does I could VR could become a necessity just as high resolution displays, color graphics, and GPUs have. I think that people decrying VR's uselessness are forgetting the cycle we've been through with novel display and communication technologies time and time again.

This is me speculating: I think VRChat is a possible glimpse into what could make VR take off. Long range "presence" is very desirable. Apple seems to realize this with the 3D recordings that Vision Pro enables. If we could get anything close to "holographic" video chat, especially with multiple users, it could enable huge cost savings for businesses. Although many managers are loathe to approve remote work, if they could mandate virtual "presence" in a virtual office, that could dissuade heavy handed managers from requiring a physical presence, saving money on renting an office. Not to mention the appeal to consumers of being able to "visit" their loved ones from far away.

The industry is still thrashing around looking for a use for the technology, and they might stumble on it eventually, or they might not. Only time will tell.