Head of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime had some choice words for virtual reality gaming (and augmented reality gaming if he counts Microsoft’s HoloLens). Speaking with Polygon, the Nintendo Boss explained that gaming needs to have a social element, which VR lacks.
“We have knowledge of the technical space, and we’ve been experimenting with this for a long, long time,” said Fils-Aime. “What we believe is that, in order for this technology to move forward, you need to make it fun and you need to make it social.
He went on to further explain:
“I haven’t walked the floor, so I can’t say in terms of what’s on the floor today, but at least based on what I’ve seen to date, it’s not fun, and it’s not social. It’s just tech.”
Video game personality Kevin Pereira said he talked to the Fils-Aime during E3. After Reggie got a chance to tour the show floor, he had a change of heart. On his Twitch stream, Pereira stated Films-Aime found the technology “really interesting.“
Nintendo did try their own virtual reality back in 1995 with the Virtual Boy. The Virtual Boy was a failure for Nintendo, being discontinued six months after its initial release.
The virtual reality devices Reggie was referring to was the Oculus Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus. Neither device has a price point just yet, however in 2014, President of Playstation Shuhei Yoshida stated the price will not be as much as $1000 USD for Project Morpheus.
No official release dates have been given for either device, but barring any delays, the Oculus Rift will be available in Q1 2016, while Sony’s Project Morpheus will release in the first-half of 2016.
Do you agree with Reggie? Are you excited for the next evolution in gaming? Let us know in the comments section.
