Nintendo made a surprise appearance at Apple’s iPhone event a couple of days ago. They also announced a new mobile game in the form of Super Mario Run which is expected to be a timed exclusive on iOS. So basically we’ve seen Nintendo cover their bases in terms of consoles and mobile, so what about virtual reality?That is the question USA Today asked Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, in which Miyamoto responded by saying that games like Super Mario Run isn’t quite a good fit for VR. According to Miyamoto, “I would agree that adapting Mario to new platforms is a key to keeping him relevant. But we want families to play together, and virtual reality (which requires players to be closed off from the real world) doesn’t really fit well there. We also like people playing for a long time, and it’s hard to do that in VR.”
Now Nintendo isn’t closed off to the idea of virtual reality. Some of you guys might recall the company’s attempts at VR with the Virtual Boy a little over two decades ago. In fact earlier this year Nintendo stated that they were looking into the technology, although the company seemed to be rather bearish about the technology, saying that they don’t think it is ready for mainstream just yet.
Recently we have heard how sales of VR headsets like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift have kind of flatlined, suggesting that maybe Nintendo isn’t so wrong in their outlook. However the technology, at least its current iteration, is still in its infancy so maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to write it off just yet.
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