Nintendo: VR Isn't There Yet, We'll be on Board When it is

[StriderShinryu]

Devices like the occulus are a niche fad. A very nice niche fad mind you but seriously. They will be the domain of people who:

Who do not Actually require glasses

Not sure about that one. Susan Arendt, formerly of The Escapist, has confirmed that Project Morpheus at least is comfortable and easy to adjust for someone who wears glasses.

VR will absolutely be a niche, but on the long term I still expect it to be a bit bigger than the console gaming niche.

I agree with this completely. I'm not really sure exactly where the intersection gaming and VR will end up. I see VR working perfectly with some games but just being a total mismatch with others. VR technology as a whole, however, is going to be hugely important in the future of a variety of fields from physical design to medicine. Developing it first through gaming applications is a pretty logical route to push the technology forward.1

 

[Scars Unseen]

VR isnt there yet but tablet controllers are?

ok that was a cheap shot, sorry

its their opinion, but they are going to miss out

I agree with Reggie on this, head sets like the rift feel more like a part of a greater whole we dont have yet.

what is missing then?

It depends on the genre. For vehicle sims, nothing. Everything you could possibly want for a sim short of gravity manipulation is available, albeit at a cost. For personal games(i.e. your avatar is a humanoid that moves around) good motion controls, more precise tactile feedback, more developers willing to put time into accurate positional audio, movement input that feels natural. Some games will always be better with a controller, but imagine VR as a replacement for a game like Shenmue or point-and-click adventure games. A HMD is a good start, but more could be done.

Since my primary interest in the Rift is for vehicular sims, I'm pretty much set once it comes out. But I can see how others might not be entirely satisfied with just visual VR.

 

[Something Amyss]

Also, put minecraft on there, and you'll have waves of people coming to it for that alone. I'm not a huge minecraft fan, but you can't ignore the ridiculous audience it has.

I don't think it's a given that the huge install base of Minecraft will necessarily translate to OR, let alone to consoles, let alone to Nintendo consoles.

I mean, I'm sure some will be interested, but I'm sure that's true of the larger gamerbase.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

probably; we really don't know how the Oculus is going to do despite its Kickstarter success and the PS4 Morpheus has other issues. Nintendo did experiment with the Virtual Boy, but in all honesty that was more a precursor to the 3DS than the Oculus or Morpheus.

 

[xaszatm]

VR isnt there yet but tablet controllers are?

ok that was a cheap shot, sorry

its their opinion, but they are going to miss out

I agree with Reggie on this, head sets like the rift feel more like a part of a greater whole we dont have yet.

what is missing then?

Probably full immersion. The biggest problem with VR right now is that it is in an uncanny valley state, real enough that some senses are fooled, but fake enough that the rest of the body knows its not. Forgetting for a second that you're essentially wearing a bulky helmet to see an LCD screen inches from your eyes, we rely on at least three of the five senses (sight, sound, and touch) to truly be somewhere (Obviously the other senses are used and obviously there are people out there who don't have one or more of the senses but we're focusing on the average person). In video games before, we enhance the two senses we can (sight and sound) to make up for the senses we can't have. Really, if we can get touch right, both in feedback and in usage, VR technology can take off.

OT: Well, yeah, he's right. In the current console market, VR isn't going to sell consoles. While it will be in everyone's best interest to keep an eye on VR technology, this generation will only work as an add-on peripheral and we all know how those turn out.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

VR isnt there yet but tablet controllers are?

ok that was a cheap shot, sorry

its their opinion, but they are going to miss out

I agree with Reggie on this, head sets like the rift feel more like a part of a greater whole we dont have yet.

what is missing then?

Probably full immersion. The biggest problem with VR right now is that it is in an uncanny valley state, real enough that some senses are fooled, but fake enough that the rest of the body knows its not. Forgetting for a second that you're essentially wearing a bulky helmet to see an LCD screen inches from your eyes, we rely on at least three of the five senses (sight, sound, and touch) to truly be somewhere (Obviously the other senses are used and obviously there are people out there who don't have one or more of the senses but we're focusing on the average person). In video games before, we enhance the two senses we can (sight and sound) to make up for the senses we can't have. Really, if we can get touch right, both in feedback and in usage, VR technology can take off.

OT: Well, yeah, he's right. In the current console market, VR isn't going to sell consoles. While it will be in everyone's best interest to keep an eye on VR technology, this generation will only work as an add-on peripheral and we all know how those turn out.

i dont expect it to be anything more than an add-on peripheral, but a very successful one

 

[xaszatm]

VR isnt there yet but tablet controllers are?

ok that was a cheap shot, sorry

its their opinion, but they are going to miss out

I agree with Reggie on this, head sets like the rift feel more like a part of a greater whole we dont have yet.

what is missing then?

Probably full immersion. The biggest problem with VR right now is that it is in an uncanny valley state, real enough that some senses are fooled, but fake enough that the rest of the body knows its not. Forgetting for a second that you're essentially wearing a bulky helmet to see an LCD screen inches from your eyes, we rely on at least three of the five senses (sight, sound, and touch) to truly be somewhere (Obviously the other senses are used and obviously there are people out there who don't have one or more of the senses but we're focusing on the average person). In video games before, we enhance the two senses we can (sight and sound) to make up for the senses we can't have. Really, if we can get touch right, both in feedback and in usage, VR technology can take off.

OT: Well, yeah, he's right. In the current console market, VR isn't going to sell consoles. While it will be in everyone's best interest to keep an eye on VR technology, this generation will only work as an add-on peripheral and we all know how those turn out.

i dont expect it to be anything more than an add-on peripheral, but a very successful one

I'm not so sure. Remember the hassle with the 3DS? VR, at its current state, will be ten times worse. Add to the fact that peripherals never sell well to begin with, I'm not seeing it take off within this generation. Now with the PS5, Xbox Two, and Wii UX, I can see it being a somewhat implemented feature but for this one its too late.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

VR isnt there yet but tablet controllers are?

ok that was a cheap shot, sorry

its their opinion, but they are going to miss out

I agree with Reggie on this, head sets like the rift feel more like a part of a greater whole we dont have yet.

what is missing then?

Probably full immersion. The biggest problem with VR right now is that it is in an uncanny valley state, real enough that some senses are fooled, but fake enough that the rest of the body knows its not. Forgetting for a second that you're essentially wearing a bulky helmet to see an LCD screen inches from your eyes, we rely on at least three of the five senses (sight, sound, and touch) to truly be somewhere (Obviously the other senses are used and obviously there are people out there who don't have one or more of the senses but we're focusing on the average person). In video games before, we enhance the two senses we can (sight and sound) to make up for the senses we can't have. Really, if we can get touch right, both in feedback and in usage, VR technology can take off.

OT: Well, yeah, he's right. In the current console market, VR isn't going to sell consoles. While it will be in everyone's best interest to keep an eye on VR technology, this generation will only work as an add-on peripheral and we all know how those turn out.

i dont expect it to be anything more than an add-on peripheral, but a very successful one

I'm not so sure. Remember the hassle with the 3DS? VR, at its current state, will be ten times worse. Add to the fact that peripherals never sell well to begin with, I'm not seeing it take off within this generation. Now with the PS5, Xbox Two, and Wii UX, I can see it being a somewhat implemented feature but for this one its too late.

you keep thinking about consoles dude, PC doesnt have generations per se, so they can afford to introduce the VR progressively, and as we all know, PC is the main platform of the oculus rift, the way theyve been working, step by step, has allowed both customers and developers to familiarize themselves with the peripheral, develop software and demos for it and attract more and more big names from the industry among their ranks

im not saying the Oculus will be infallible, but id be more surprised if it failed than if it didnt

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Every Time I hear Nintendo and Virtual Reality, I think of two things; The first thing is the Virtual Boy, which I own along with about 5 games for it. It's okay, although the Right eye is kind of screwed up. The Second Thing I think of is this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61G07Z8aqlw].

OT: I think that Reggie isn't necessarily wrong, but I hope Nintendo is ready for VR when the time is right.

 

[Diddy_Mao]

Boy oh boy. Can't wait 'till I get to play Super Mario VR Brothers, Metroid VR and Legend of Zelda: The Virtual Reality goggles of plot contrivance.

It'll be such an innovation that I'll wonder how I ever could have doubted them.

 

[Tarsus]

Translation:
None of our crappy hardware is capable of running anything even remotely resembling a 1st person game in 1080p with a stable 60+ fps.
We are coming out with our own occulus ripoffs in a few years tho and you should totally buy those.

 

[xaszatm]

VR isnt there yet but tablet controllers are?

ok that was a cheap shot, sorry

its their opinion, but they are going to miss out

I agree with Reggie on this, head sets like the rift feel more like a part of a greater whole we dont have yet.

what is missing then?

Probably full immersion. The biggest problem with VR right now is that it is in an uncanny valley state, real enough that some senses are fooled, but fake enough that the rest of the body knows its not. Forgetting for a second that you're essentially wearing a bulky helmet to see an LCD screen inches from your eyes, we rely on at least three of the five senses (sight, sound, and touch) to truly be somewhere (Obviously the other senses are used and obviously there are people out there who don't have one or more of the senses but we're focusing on the average person). In video games before, we enhance the two senses we can (sight and sound) to make up for the senses we can't have. Really, if we can get touch right, both in feedback and in usage, VR technology can take off.

OT: Well, yeah, he's right. In the current console market, VR isn't going to sell consoles. While it will be in everyone's best interest to keep an eye on VR technology, this generation will only work as an add-on peripheral and we all know how those turn out.

i dont expect it to be anything more than an add-on peripheral, but a very successful one

I'm not so sure. Remember the hassle with the 3DS? VR, at its current state, will be ten times worse. Add to the fact that peripherals never sell well to begin with, I'm not seeing it take off within this generation. Now with the PS5, Xbox Two, and Wii UX, I can see it being a somewhat implemented feature but for this one its too late.

you keep thinking about consoles dude, PC doesnt have generations per se, so they can afford to introduce the VR progressively, and as we all know, PC is the main platform of the oculus rift, the way theyve been working, step by step, has allowed both customers and developers to familiarize themselves with the peripheral, develop software and demos for it and attract more and more big names from the industry among their ranks

im not saying the Oculus will be infallible, but id be more surprised if it failed than if it didnt

Well yeah, I'm thinking about consoles because Nintendo makes consoles. PC will be the place where VR can grow and thrive as it's not tied to a single system with inferior hardware (and this goes for the PS4 and Xbox One as well) for six years. And I don't think the Oculus will be a failure, though I still don't see it becoming VR's BIG break out hit. It will probably keep enough interest to do two things: Make a profit and will start a wheel to making VR a larger picture, if not commonplace, within 10 years. But, as I was primarily talking about consoles beforehand, no I'm not seeing it in this console generation. PC, yes. Consoles, not yet.

Probably full immersion. The biggest problem with VR right now is that it is in an uncanny valley state, real enough that some senses are fooled, but fake enough that the rest of the body knows its not. Forgetting for a second that you're essentially wearing a bulky helmet to see an LCD screen inches from your eyes, we rely on at least three of the five senses (sight, sound, and touch) to truly be somewhere (Obviously the other senses are used and obviously there are people out there who don't have one or more of the senses but we're focusing on the average person). In video games before, we enhance the two senses we can (sight and sound) to make up for the senses we can't have. Really, if we can get touch right, both in feedback and in usage, VR technology can take off.

OT: Well, yeah, he's right. In the current console market, VR isn't going to sell consoles. While it will be in everyone's best interest to keep an eye on VR technology, this generation will only work as an add-on peripheral and we all know how those turn out.

Thats a pretty big statement without anything to go on.
Yeah, its stupid to say that VR is gonna be the future, but honestly its just as arrogant to just stick your head in the sand and pretend it hasnt got a lot of things going for it,like:

- Huge amaounts of money
- A huge company backing
- Lots of expert developers who seem very much interested in the idea
- Lots of hype

Also, I have spoken with 7 people who tried it on conventions, and none noticed an uncanny valley-feeling. They all felt quite immersed...even without having some gunpowder rubbed under their nose.

Will VR take off? No idea, but people should maybe be a little more careful with sentences like "we all know how those turn out."

And it will be in your best interest to not insult everyone blindly. Calling me arrogant and and saying I'm pretending not to notice the console is quite frankly rude and insulting. While I haven't been paying that much attention to the Occulus Rift, I'm not in the camp that says this will fail. I'm also not in the camp that says this will be the next big thing either, though. It will be vital step for making VR a common video game tool, but I'm not so sure it will be the thing that sells like wildfire.

Furthermore, I was talking about console add-on peripherals when I said "we all know how those turn out." Very rarely will a console add-on make a profit, and since the Occulus Rift isn't a console thing (as far as I'm aware), it would be inferior to the Occulus Rift anyways. There, happy? Or do you have a larger heap of bile to throw in my face?

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

VR isnt there yet but tablet controllers are?

ok that was a cheap shot, sorry

its their opinion, but they are going to miss out

I agree with Reggie on this, head sets like the rift feel more like a part of a greater whole we dont have yet.

what is missing then?

Probably full immersion. The biggest problem with VR right now is that it is in an uncanny valley state, real enough that some senses are fooled, but fake enough that the rest of the body knows its not. Forgetting for a second that you're essentially wearing a bulky helmet to see an LCD screen inches from your eyes, we rely on at least three of the five senses (sight, sound, and touch) to truly be somewhere (Obviously the other senses are used and obviously there are people out there who don't have one or more of the senses but we're focusing on the average person). In video games before, we enhance the two senses we can (sight and sound) to make up for the senses we can't have. Really, if we can get touch right, both in feedback and in usage, VR technology can take off.

OT: Well, yeah, he's right. In the current console market, VR isn't going to sell consoles. While it will be in everyone's best interest to keep an eye on VR technology, this generation will only work as an add-on peripheral and we all know how those turn out.

i dont expect it to be anything more than an add-on peripheral, but a very successful one

I'm not so sure. Remember the hassle with the 3DS? VR, at its current state, will be ten times worse. Add to the fact that peripherals never sell well to begin with, I'm not seeing it take off within this generation. Now with the PS5, Xbox Two, and Wii UX, I can see it being a somewhat implemented feature but for this one its too late.

you keep thinking about consoles dude, PC doesnt have generations per se, so they can afford to introduce the VR progressively, and as we all know, PC is the main platform of the oculus rift, the way theyve been working, step by step, has allowed both customers and developers to familiarize themselves with the peripheral, develop software and demos for it and attract more and more big names from the industry among their ranks

im not saying the Oculus will be infallible, but id be more surprised if it failed than if it didnt

Well yeah, I'm thinking about consoles because Nintendo makes consoles. PC will be the place where VR can grow and thrive as it's not tied to a single system with inferior hardware (and this goes for the PS4 and Xbox One as well) for six years. And I don't think the Oculus will be a failure, though I still don't see it becoming VR's BIG break out hit. It will probably keep enough interest to do two things: Make a profit and will start a wheel to making VR a larger picture, if not commonplace, within 10 years. But, as I was primarily talking about consoles beforehand, no I'm not seeing it in this console generation. PC, yes. Consoles, not yet.

uhmmm... i guess

tough im not entirely convinced nintendo should dismiss the idea just yet, Sony might steal their lunch... again

 

[RandV80]

Anyone else starting to feel that people saying 'I don't think x technology will be anything more than a gimmick' is getting to feel very hipster-ish?

I don't know, anyone starting to feel people saying "This is going to be totally awesome" is starting to feel rather fanboy-ish?

Some of us are just more cautious about it, and really, I don't think VR becoming mainstream at this point would be a good thing (as was noted, people with glasses, and the entire OR set is kind of heavy to wear for a while, stuff like that...). 'sides, keeping up with one reality is hard work, switching between two sets of sensory inputs would just give me a headache >.>

It's one thing if someone says their 'cautious' about a technology, or voice concerns about it causing some sort of irritation. What I'm calling 'hipster-ish' is when this is followed up by a 'it probably isn't going anywhere' statement.

A big comparable is 3d movies, and lets take Avatar for example. On the internet many complained about it giving them headaches called it all sorts of derogatory terms and suggested that 3D movies were just another fad like they were last time and wouldn't be going anywhere. Yet Avatar was I think the highest grossing movie ever, and 5 years later 3D movies are still going strong. Now there's more legitimate complaints about it being the dictionary definition of a 'gimmick', but like it or not it's one that the general public has accepted & adopted and is here to stay.

Now onto VR, the Occulus Rift had a highly successful kickstarter. There's a massive amount of personally testimonies from a wide range of industry veterans who've had a chance to try it and are now believers. And finally, Facebook just dropped a billion dollars to acquire it. Now while technically anything can still happen, you have to do some serious mental hurdles or be extremely self centered/opinionated to see this as anything but a home run waiting to happen.

 

[VG_Addict]

When asked about other technologies he thought weren't ready for market, Fils-Aime responded, "the internet, twitch streaming, hard drives, high definition televisions, CD's, and DVD's."

Reggie said that they're looking to do great things with Twitch.

Really, what's wrong with Wii U's online?

Nintendo obviously doesn't have any trouble with HD anymore, given the games they showed at E3.

On topic, remember that Miyamoto tried out the Rift at E3, and Miyamoto is still a powerful figure at Nintendo.

Also, in the article, Reggie said that they're looking into VR. Here's his quote:

"For us, it?s all about fun gameplay. That?s what we want. We want a fun, compelling experience. Right now, the technology isn?t quite there yet, in our view. Certainly, it?s something we?re looking at. We look at a wide range of technologies. When it?s there and enables a fun experience, we?ll be there, too."

 

[Vivi22]

When asked about other technologies he thought weren't ready for market, Fils-Aime responded, "the internet, twitch streaming, hard drives, high definition televisions, CD's, and DVD's."

Reggie said that they're looking to do great things with Twitch.

Really, what's wrong with Wii U's online?

Nintendo obviously doesn't have any trouble with HD anymore, given the games they showed at E3.

On topic, remember that Miyamoto tried out the Rift at E3, and Miyamoto is still a powerful figure at Nintendo.

Also, in the article, Reggie said that they're looking into VR. Here's his quote:

"For us, it?s all about fun gameplay. That?s what we want. We want a fun, compelling experience. Right now, the technology isn?t quite there yet, in our view. Certainly, it?s something we?re looking at. We look at a wide range of technologies. When it?s there and enables a fun experience, we?ll be there, too."

If you look up, you'll be able to see a joke flying right past your head.

All of those technologies are things that at one point or another, Nintendo refused to get on board with. And they were wrong about every single one.

 

[VG_Addict]

When asked about other technologies he thought weren't ready for market, Fils-Aime responded, "the internet, twitch streaming, hard drives, high definition televisions, CD's, and DVD's."

Reggie said that they're looking to do great things with Twitch.

Really, what's wrong with Wii U's online?

Nintendo obviously doesn't have any trouble with HD anymore, given the games they showed at E3.

On topic, remember that Miyamoto tried out the Rift at E3, and Miyamoto is still a powerful figure at Nintendo.

Also, in the article, Reggie said that they're looking into VR. Here's his quote:

"For us, it?s all about fun gameplay. That?s what we want. We want a fun, compelling experience. Right now, the technology isn?t quite there yet, in our view. Certainly, it?s something we?re looking at. We look at a wide range of technologies. When it?s there and enables a fun experience, we?ll be there, too."

If you look up, you'll be able to see a joke flying right past your head.

All of those technologies are things that at one point or another, Nintendo refused to get on board with. And they were wrong about every single one.

I got the joke just fine.

I was just pointing out that Reggie said that they're looking to work with Twitch, and in this article, he said they're still looking at VR.

 

[Vivi22]

When asked about other technologies he thought weren't ready for market, Fils-Aime responded, "the internet, twitch streaming, hard drives, high definition televisions, CD's, and DVD's."

Reggie said that they're looking to do great things with Twitch.

Really, what's wrong with Wii U's online?

Nintendo obviously doesn't have any trouble with HD anymore, given the games they showed at E3.

On topic, remember that Miyamoto tried out the Rift at E3, and Miyamoto is still a powerful figure at Nintendo.

Also, in the article, Reggie said that they're looking into VR. Here's his quote:

"For us, it?s all about fun gameplay. That?s what we want. We want a fun, compelling experience. Right now, the technology isn?t quite there yet, in our view. Certainly, it?s something we?re looking at. We look at a wide range of technologies. When it?s there and enables a fun experience, we?ll be there, too."

If you look up, you'll be able to see a joke flying right past your head.

All of those technologies are things that at one point or another, Nintendo refused to get on board with. And they were wrong about every single one.

I got the joke just fine.

I was just pointing out that Reggie said that they're looking to work with Twitch, and in this article, he said they're still looking at VR.

For someone who got the joke you seem to have a hard time catching the point. Them saying they're looking into these things doesn't really mean anything. Particularly with regard to Twitch streaming. Knowing Nintendo, they probably won't get on board until next gen at least. And they didn't sound overly enthusiastic about it considering the man said he literally doesn't see what's fun about streaming.

In typical Nintendo fashion, they're already behind the 8-ball and have no interest in catching up until everyone else has shown that this stuff is here to stay. They're probably the least forward thinking company in the industry.

 

[VG_Addict]

When asked about other technologies he thought weren't ready for market, Fils-Aime responded, "the internet, twitch streaming, hard drives, high definition televisions, CD's, and DVD's."

Reggie said that they're looking to do great things with Twitch.

Really, what's wrong with Wii U's online?

Nintendo obviously doesn't have any trouble with HD anymore, given the games they showed at E3.

On topic, remember that Miyamoto tried out the Rift at E3, and Miyamoto is still a powerful figure at Nintendo.

Also, in the article, Reggie said that they're looking into VR. Here's his quote:

"For us, it?s all about fun gameplay. That?s what we want. We want a fun, compelling experience. Right now, the technology isn?t quite there yet, in our view. Certainly, it?s something we?re looking at. We look at a wide range of technologies. When it?s there and enables a fun experience, we?ll be there, too."

If you look up, you'll be able to see a joke flying right past your head.

All of those technologies are things that at one point or another, Nintendo refused to get on board with. And they were wrong about every single one.

I got the joke just fine.

I was just pointing out that Reggie said that they're looking to work with Twitch, and in this article, he said they're still looking at VR.

For someone who got the joke you seem to have a hard time catching the point. Them saying they're looking into these things doesn't really mean anything. Particularly with regard to Twitch streaming. Knowing Nintendo, they probably won't get on board until next gen at least. And they didn't sound overly enthusiastic about it considering the man said he literally doesn't see what's fun about streaming.

In typical Nintendo fashion, they're already behind the 8-ball and have no interest in catching up until everyone else has shown that this stuff is here to stay. They're probably the least forward thinking company in the industry.

They're the least forward thinking company in the industry? What about Direct, Miiverse, and the Treehouse stream?