Nintendo was actually at the forefront of VR gaming with the original Virtual Boy released way back in 1995; Nintendo has since been experimenting with increasing immersion in games, with their efforts to push stereoscopic 3D gaming and motion and touch controls. However, after trying out the two current VR projects currently underway at E3, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto has spoken out, saying that he isn’t exactly sold on VR tech as it exists today yet.
“When you think about what virtual reality is, which is one person putting on some goggles and playing by themselves kind of over in a corner, or maybe they go into a separate room and they spend all their time alone playing in that virtual reality, that’s in direct contrast with what it is we’re trying to achieve with Wii U.”
He added, “So I have a little bit of uneasiness with whether or not that’s the best way for people to play. From Nintendo’s perspective, there’s interest in the technology, but we think it might be better suited to some sort of attraction style of entertainment, say something at a video game arcade or things like that, rather than something that one person plays alone.”
He added that Nintendo is still interested in VR tech, and that when it is ready, they would be there, but that he does not think the technology as it exists today is currently ripe for consumption.
His thoughts have been echoed by many in the industry- in an exclusive interview with GamingBolt, infamous analyst Michael Pachter spoke out against VR, calling it a fad that would fade out soon enough.
Do you think VR gaming is going to be a fad, like 3D gaming was? Or do you think Facebook are on to something with Oculus?