What many people have suspected to be the case for quite some time turns out to be true: Nintendo is definitely experimenting with VR capabilities on its upcoming game console, the Switch. In an interview with Nikkei, current Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima stated that the company was “studying” ways to add VR features to the console.
“If we are able to resolve the issues with playing [VR] comfortably for long hours, we will support it in one form or another,” Kimishima elaborated, but was unclear on any sort of timeframe.
The potential for VR on a Nintendo console has been rumored for quite some time, even though there were initially no hints towards the feature being included. Despite speculation about the Switch being VR capable, when it was finally revealed, VR wasn’t actually discussed at all. In November, Kimishima went on record as saying that the company “can’t say no” to the idea in the future.
We still don’t have any sort of timeframe, but it’s reassuring to now know this is something that’s actively being worked on, or in his words, studied at the moment. Two particular pieces of information seem to lend additional hope to that premise, as the Switch’s Joy Con motion controllers appear to be tailor-made for VR experiences and a recent patent points to an HMD-type display for VR experiences on the console.
If a company with as much history, success, and innovative ideas as Nintendo ever decides to take the plunge back into the VR market, it would be a major move for the industry. Something tells me that, at least to some degree, they’re eager to help people forget that the Virtual Boy ever happened and what better way to do that than simply make something even better now?
Which Nintendo franchises would you want to see in VR? Here are some of our picks. Let us know in the comments below!
Featured Image Credit: TIME
