Over the past year Nintendo’s viewpoint on virtual reality (VR) could be described as wavering at best. During E3 2015 Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime was noted as saying he was ‘unimpressed’ with the technology. Then in February this year it was revealed by Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games that Nintendo ‘are looking’ at VR. Today more rumours abound that the company is indeed investing time into VR as mass production for its next console, codenamed NX, has been postponed to 2017 due to adding VR functionality.
Reported by Digitimes today, the site claims that sources involved in the supply chain have said that the planned production start of mid-2016 has been pushed back until 2017, as Nintendo wished to enhance the consoles features one of which was including VR.
Features said to be included in the Nintendo NX are: a device with a 5 – 7 inch display, controller and joystick for mobile gaming with the ability to connect to a TV for a more traditional gameplay experience.
Nintendo has yet to officially reveal the design or specifications on its new console, and if this postponement is accurate then it’s unlikely the console will feature at E3 this year.
With the buzz in the videogame industry centred on VR its not surprising that Nintendo would look to ensure it isn’t left out of the VR race. But as head-mounted display’s (HMDs) like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive already prove, a lot of processing power is needed to adequately run VR experiences. That may not be possible in a device that’s supposedly going to be mobile, as it can’t be heavy or bulky. Just look at MSI’s backpack PC for VR, or The VOID’s backpack system to see what HMDs require to operate.
As further details emerge on Nintendo’s VR plans VRFocus will bring you the latest.
