Nintendo gives further details regarding its relationship with VR
0 CommentsBuzz regarding virtual reality technology is spreading across the world, with both new and established companies seemingly jumping aboard the VR bandwagon every day. The only company that hasn't seemed too interested in the technology was Nintendo; they'd previously revealed that they were looking into VR, but didn't say much else otherwise. Fortunately, speaking with at a recent Q&A session with investors, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima revealed more details regarding the company's relationship with the burgeoning VR market.
"We are well aware that other companies are developing games and game-related products using VR technologies, and that consumers are interested in all of this," Kimishima said. "I cannot say anything specific at this time, but understand that we also consider VR to be a promising technology, and we are conducting research with much interest."
Naturally, the question of VR was brought up once again, and this time Nintendo's resident legend Shigeru Miyamoto spoke up, saying that the company is looking into VR as well as augmented reality and other technologies.
"For VR in particular, we are continuing our research, and looking into development with a mind to how our current core products are meant to be played for a relatively long period of time. We are looking into the possibilities of providing an experience that gives value when played for a short time, and how to eliminate the concerns of long-duration use. We are also looking into how to make sure that a parent doesn't need to worry when their child puts on a VR device in their living room."
Nintendo has gone on the record before as being not very interested in VR. Speaking at E3 2014, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime described VR technology as "not being quite there yet," and a year later was quoted as saying "it's not fun, and it's not social. It's just tech." While the latter may be true, there's no doubt that consumers — and particularly gamers — are very interested in VR. With that in consideration, it's smart that Nintendo is keeping an open mind about the technology.
Nintendo Explains Its Goals for Researching VR, GameSpot