Nintendo shuns VR tech
Nintendo of America's president, Regis Fils-Aime, says VR tech simply isn't fun.
E3 this year has been full of VR tech, from the Microsoft Hololens to Sony’s Morpheus, but Nintendo can’t see the appeal. The gaming community seems to be on the verge of a leap, something that will change the way we play forever. It’s almost as big as when the gaming industry made the leap from 2D gaming to 3D gaming. VR tech allows us to analyse problems and interact in the world of a game in such an immersive way that it’s guaranteed to dominate the market for hard-core gamers.
In an interview on the E3 floor with Polygon (which you can read here) Nintendo of America’s president, Regis Fils-Aime, was quoted as saying in regards to VR headsets “based on what I’ve seen to date, it’s not fun, and it’s not social. It’s just tech”. This seems to rule out the chance of a Nintendo VR device in the next few years, and any chance that next Nintendo console will be a form of VR tech. This could be a terrible move for the company, as they may be left in the dust as the other companies race off into the next stage of gaming.
Watch Microsoft’s Hololens demonstration:
However, it could also be a positive move for the company, Regis does have a point, if the gaming world moves towards VR tech it could result in a loss of casual gamers. The ability to invite a bunch of people round for a night of pizza, beer and gaming has always been a staple feature of console gaming that Xbox and PlayStation seem to be paying less and less attention to. There is a possibility that Nintendo could make a move here to fill a gap in the market as a social gaming platform.
After a rough E3 presentation, this could be the boost to sales that Nintendo sorely need. It’s not going to be something that will raise sales over night for Nintendo, but if they can weather the storm of the next few years as the casual market fades from the other consoles, it could herald their return to good form and high profits. I do wish we could have a few Nintendo games on a VR headset though, being able to catch a Pikachu and make it my own would tick several boxes on my bucket list!
