Interesting ideas...the author writes that you don't "need VR" but what about new and interesting types of sensory engagement this enables?

This would include the additional depth perception cues, the additional sensory feel and wayfinding affordances of a world, as opposed to the intuitive feel...

To me that's a pretty substantial difference that might even allow one to skip typical rest/withdrawal cycles and remain in-universe longer, while still getting the needed rest. So the medium itself may in fact be more persistent than say a text & keyboard-driven world, in effect creating a more persistent universe which would probably then feel more real, and more engaging.