The Nintendo Switch looks to be a breathtaking return to form for the company, after the dismal showing of the Wii U. The system also looks to be going back to Nintendo’s core audience – at least if the reveal video for the Switch was any indication – so people are truly excited about the possibilities here. What kinds of third party support could the Switch have? What will its final specs be? Will it support VR?
As to the final question, Nintendo’s President Tatsumi Kimishima suggested in a recent interview with Bloomberg that the company remains interested in VR, and that they can’t rule out the possibility of supporting VR on the Switch in the future.
“[Shigeru] Miyamoto has talked about this several times,” Kimishima said. “It’s not that we’re uninterested. In fact, we have a lot of interest. VR offers the experience of playing in a new way. But that depends on the software and how you use it to play. Especially when it comes to games. And beyond games, it also applies to other non-game things, so it is something to look forward to.”
Asked specifically about the Switch supporting VR, then, Kimishima said, “If you asked as if this might be possible in the future, certainly we can’t say no. In terms of how it can be used for gaming, it’s something we must consider. It depends on the system specifications. I can’t say that we have no interest in VR because VR offers new ways of playing, but that depends on what kind of software can be played. But what kind of software works, that’s only something you only know once you actually experience it. And our games are ones that are usually played for a long time.”
I can understand his caution, but Nintendo need to be careful here- if VR is to take off, they can’t afford being left behind again with another major paradigm of gaming. They were late to the online gaming party, and late to HD gaming. Being late to VR gaming, were it to take off, could very well be catastrophic.
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