Nintendo has had a long, complicated relationship with virtual reality. The Virtual Boy was a huge flop (although one with a silver lining) and in recent years the company has been down on the tech, with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime being pretty pessimistic as recently as last year…
“In order for VR technology to move forward, you need to make it fun and you need to make it social. Based on what I’ve seen to date, it’s not fun, and it’s not social. It’s just tech.”
Well, it seems like Nintendo may have changed their minds about said tech. According to a new report, Nintendo has delayed mass production of their next console, codenamed the NX, until early 2017 so they can add VR capabilities to the machine. The report also reconfirms the NX will have both console and mobile components. If Nintendo isn’t even going to start building their new machine until early 2017, that makes its previously-announced March 2017 release date seem pretty unlikely. Expect another delay to be announced towards the end of this year.
If this turns out to be true, it’s a surprising about-face, but with Sony bringing out its own VR headset and Microsoft reportedly getting in bed with Oculus, VR is becoming standard. The last thing Nintendo wants to do is show up mid-generation with a new console lacking basic features. And hey, if anybody can make VR actually fun, it’s Nintendo – even the Virtual Boy had some good (albeit eye-straining) stuff.
What do you think? Is delaying for VR a good move, or has the Nintendo NX fallen in a pit before the game’s even started?
(Via DigiTimes)