Nintendo Studying Adding VR To Switch
2016 was supposed to be the year that virtual reality (VR) really took off. With Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive lighting up the PC space and PlayStation VR introducing console gamers to the new technology, it seemed like everyone was banking on VR becoming a huge success. It’s hard to measure just how successful VR has been thus far, but we do know that Sony continues to have problems keeping the PlayStation VR on store shelves. So, that’s a promising sign.
Nintendo dabbled in VR back in 1995 with its Virtual Boy system. Retailing at $179.99, the 32-bit machine displayed graphics in red and black and was known to cause headaches if played for extended periods of time. The machine flopped and Nintendo left that sector as quickly as it entered it.
With VR once again at the forefront of technology and more developers creating games and services, Nintendo is once again looking at implementing virtual reality into its own games. We know that Nintendo patented a head-mounted display for its Nintendo Switch, but we also know that patents often don’t turn into real products.
The president of Nintendo, Mr. Kimishima, spoke briefly about the subject to the Nikkei newspaper. He said:
Nintendo is “studying” adding virtual reality functionality to the new console. “If we are able to resolve the issues with playing [VR] comfortably for long hours, we will support it in one form or another,” he said, without providing a time frame.
So, there we have it. Nintendo has been researching VR and will bring it to market if they can solve the issue of comfortably playing for long hours. This is by no means a confirmation that VR is coming to the Switch. But, you never know.
[Source: Nikkei Asian Review]
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
