Yesterday, Nintendo admitted, at long last, that they are looking into VR– the new medium is touted to be a paradigm shift for video gaming, on par with the onset of polygonal 3D gaming 20 years ago. We are already seeing early attempts at VR gaming right now, and while they certainly benefit from the freshness and novelty of it all, we haven’t seen the kind of defining game that stuff like Super Mario 64 or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time were.
In other words, VR gaming could certainly benefit from having Nintendo on board, which is why the news yesterday was so exciting. And while Nintendo refused to give a great many details about what they were planning with VR then, today, we’ve learned more about how they may be approaching the format- and in a typical Nintendo manner, they are looking at making it more palatable for the mainstream masses, and something that will be kid friendly, as well.
“I heard VR was a hot topic at E3, so I went to check it out. It was on display, but it wasn’t what I expected,” said Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto (translated by Cheesemeister). “We’re also researching VR, so we have the core technology. Long play sessions are an issue. We want to release something that can be played for long periods, carries value, and is affordable. We want parents to feel at ease [with the tech].”
These sound like noble aims- after all, if VR is to take off, then it needs to be accessible to as many people as possible. As it stands right now, the technology, while cool, is alienating for most people except for a core group of technology enthusiasts. If Nintendo could make VR as mainstream as they did motion controls, then they could have another gigantic hit on their hands, and they could lead the VR revolution.
