Valve, Sony, and Microsoft Are On Board. Nintendo is late to the party.

Hololens isn't VR, it's AR. They'll co-exist just fine, if not one of them ends up "dying".

Has for Nintendo, the question is if they'll have the software (games wise) to push a VR headset. With the lack of 3rd party support, they'd have to rely on internal development to make them.

However, one of the key elements for VR is first person view which, though not mandatory, isn't something they end to focus on for game development.

I think Nintendo will stay away from VR, atleast until they're next main console, which will depend on how teh hardware will go

Ninty seems to be very careful in announcing stuff early nowadays, especially after that sensor thing they announced back few years ago.

If Nintendo were going into VR they'd have gone in first

you're surprised nintendo is afraid of expensive technology? where you have been the last 30 years?

Normal people will never pay for virtual reality devices.

well the vr headset wont even fit on kids + it could scare them or something.

vr: not compatible with kids

They did twenty years ago, and came to the conclusion that it was not worthwhile.

In think VR will be slightly more successful than 3D TV has been, but I don't see it going mainstream anytime soon.

The technology is interesting. However, there is a HUGE stepping stone involved in reaching the general consumer. I simply have a hard time seeing people utilizing over sized headsets for interactive media.

Nintendo attempted this stepping stone with Virtual Boy. They also received a lot of negative press around the 3D with the 3DS--something that is bound to hit the VR scene when these things start becoming advertised for sales.

Nintendo are very arrogant. The fact that everyone is already in the VR bandwagon is pretty much the confirmation that they will never jump on it. Just wait till Reggie starts his damage control about how uninteresting VR actually is, how far behind the technology is for proper VR and so on.

I hope that Nintendo does not cave in this regard. I really see this as a pretty superficial fad like 3D. It's kinda neat for a little while, but it ultimately doesn't change anything. I'm going to say that motion controls are far more beneficial for this medium than VR headsets.

VR doesn't even benefit the majority of gaming genres. Then there is the price of admission to consider... It just feels like a hypey buzz word to me.

It is though. Virtual Reality. People will first have to adopt these bulky headsets to create a sales arena. People will then have to massively support the software. This is essentially companies looking for new ways to sell product. I often read here that people just want to kick back and relax when playing a game. VR sort of negates this. Constant movement will be required in addition to a more upright playing position. VR would also change game design methodology. Now I'm not a fan of the current trends, but things would drastically change to the point where the current market would likely phase out.

@Pikminmaniac: motion controls ruined last generation, Nintendo made some good games last generation but we're too awkward to play with motion controls.

Only now I can emulate them with my pc im I enjoying some of the Wii library.

Implying Nintendo could be "too late" is also implying there will be games that make a VR headset worthy of a purchase. I'm more interested in voting on that question first.

People bitched about a tablet controller making the Wii U worth more than they'd be willing to pay for a (Nintendo) console. What do you think a VR headset is going to do?

And how has Sony, MS and VALVe come "on board" exactly? They have merely debuted the concept technology, they haven't detailed any sort of release schedule nor pricing. It will still be a long time before we see non-PC VR/AR devices as standard on consoles. Hell, I doubt it won't be till next generation when the tech becomes cheap enough to be justified to include with one.

Personally I hope Nintendo waits. VR is a fad and unproven right now. Every company and their mother is showing off a new headset every week. It remains to be seen that once the new coat of shiny wears off, if the tech will be adapted by the mass market.

Remember 3DTVs? How hard those crashed and burned?

VR is for the hardcore and kidtendo don't do hardcore. Not to mention their hardware is lacking to put it nicely.

Personally, I don't think VR is going to be a fad at all, it's just not "it's time" yet. It's still very expensive technology, and no developers are really showing any support for it yet (for the most part everything is modded in by game communities). In 5-10 years it will be a huge part of gaming. I think Nintendo is likely playing the waiting game to see how it is received before bringing out their version.

Then there is the whole issue of it only ever being a niche peripheral intended for a more invested gaming audience. So it being "standard" on a gaming console would be out of the question and financial suicide for any company that tries to make it standard.

i dont think they will invest in it at all.

if they were going to do it the time to do it was the wiiu. to do it properly though would have meant an expensive console (low res screens really wouldnt work with VR and straming the video feed wirelessly would have meant more powerful wireless equipment leading to even more cost). a console with a focus on VR with an enhanced wiimote and nunchuck would have been awesome (imagine a metroid prime with a console like that) but it would have been expensive.

with valve, sony, facebook and MS all taking an interest now (with facebook having most of the legwork done) its a red ocean. what could nintendo bring to the table by the time they are ready to launch?

if they ever decide to look into it i think it may be as an addon for their next handheld rather than a main focus for any of their devices.

Nintendo may or may not have something up their sleeve for next gen, but if they do, they wouldn't announce it until they're ready to unveil their next console. I do think the key for Nintendo is that they want to be able to build in gimmicks directly to their systems. It needs to come with the system at no great cost to the user, and virtual reality doesn't seem like it would fit the bill right now. The other issue is that virtual reality is an "isolating" experience and Nintendo prefers to create consoles which encourage multiple people to share in the experience.

Then they are going to have problems selling it. People already have issues forking out $400 for a gaming console (the amount of people complaining about spending $600 on a PC is evident of this) so if this isn't a standard issue device, people aren't going to be interested, and Sony and MS will be throwing money away.

Nintendo was FIRST to the party, as always

Cheaptendo lol, they'd make an overpriced VR garbage with 800x600 res

@R4gn4r0k said:

Nintendo was FIRST to the party, as always

Well, second. Sega created the Sega VR first, although it was only released in arcades. And the Sega VR (with head tracking and colourful 3D graphics) was superior to the Virtual Boy.

Nevertheless, Nintendo already had VR two decades before Morpheus, Sony, Microsoft and Valve. Considering the abysmal failure of the Virtual Boy, it's no surprise why Nintendo isn't going there again.

If memory serves Nintendo did this decades ago. Its good to see everyone else finally join the party 20 years later.

Voted, Nintendo will not invest in VR until it's too late.

I think VR won't become mainstream anytime soon. I could be wrong though.

....You're surprised Nintendo isn't on board with the latest tech craze (granted that this one might become the norm and/or even revolutionize gaming)? You call yourself Sheep King?

Shame on you! :P

I'll give Nintendo one thing. They found a way to make 3D work.

I think VR will be the next big bubble in gaming after motion controls.

I think VR is too much of an advanced gimmick for Nintendo. It's one thing to make modifications to a controller, tack on an extra screen, or add accelerometers to a hand held device, but it's another to properly R&D higher end gimmicks.

Nintendo was first. With the virtual boy.

@Gue1: how do we even know vr wil be good? To me it is going to be another gimmick or trend so nintendo not investing in vr might be good if it don't take off. I really do think that vr is pointless and offer nothing to game just like motion controls. I also remember ps homes and people were saying that nintendo should have done something like ps homes and that they are late to the party but in the end we found out sony was wrong and it was a big waste of money.

Not happening, Nintendo still doesn't have party chat, unified accounts, digital rights retention, or third party support, and they'll soon be behind on digital streaming for cable/satellite alternative. This is a company that's too incompetent to publish Fatal Frame V outside Japan, hell they can't even digitally publish Metroid Zero Mission for that matter, and all they have to do is will it to happen.

@R4gn4r0k said:

Nintendo was FIRST to the party, as always

People apparently forgot about this

>Late

Nintendo has had the idea since Virutal Boy.

VR.. another short lived gimmick just like motion controllers.

"Late to the party" - VB for VR and 3DS for AR.

Did not know that. Interesting to hear !

Well, you could say the 3DS does something similar to current VR glasses: with the 3D effect and gyroscope.

With the new 3DS and OOT for example you can look around in first person and the camera moves and you see everything in 3D.

Oh, how they want to :P

Virtual Boy was not virtual reality. It was a way of conveying primitive 3D, but you couldn't turn your head and have the gameworld react to where you were looking at. You might as well say those viewfinder things are VR.

Some Nintendo fans are playing down VR, others trying to claim the shittiest console in history was VR when it clearly wasn't, you can tell they are salty.

At this point I'm in a wait and see approach if this tech is utilized long term and not an expensive gimmick like Kinect.

VR is in that area where it mostly appeals to enthusiast gamers and is expensive to produce. The combination of the two make them unappealing to Nintendo, as they'd prefer to market their inexpensive-to-make products to mainstream consumers. And what Nintendo games would actually work well with VR? Even if Nintendo made VR the feature of their next console, it would be difficult to slap VR support onto every game they make, unlike Wii and motion controls.

Lol touche

Everybody will invest in VR, it's the future. It will actually make you able to move while playing and this is the biggest problem with computergames right now. A lot of people already do computer/desk work at their jobs, so vr is ideal for cardio.

Running around in battlefield sure beats 'just running' and cardio is a necessity , for young and old

I hope they don't, SONY and MICROSOFT are moving in a direction i don't really care for but Nintendo have stuck to what they are, a Games company that makes good solid Games for GAMES MACHINES not Multimedia hubs that do everything at the expense of a pure gaming experience.

agreed:)

Don't look so shocked:)

the only reason motion control failed is because it wasn't in vr

Actually they putting so much effort in VR when in reality ( and not virtually ) very few people are excited about it. Personally i dont give an F :)

As long as i can play amazing quality games with the traditional way im all good. The only reason i can think to really give a crap about VR is if the whole gaming industy move to that direction as their main focus. That ofc wont happen ( maybe in 2100 or beyond , who knows ) anytime soon therefore ... I just want awesome games to play ... not gimmick ways to play games.