Topic: The Nintendo Switch Roadmap....Switch VR?

[Mannypon]

Hey, I'm not sure how much legs this thread will have but I figured it should be a decent discussion. Since the Switch disrobing this past Friday, I've been taking all the information in and a vision has started coming into place. I think Nintendo may be gearing itself up for an eventual push back into the VR scene.  Let me explain.


1.  Recently, there was a Nintendo patent that came out detailing every inch of the Switch.  In this patent doc, there was mention of a mounted VR headset that can be used for the Switch.


http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=20160361640.PGNR.&OS=DN/20160361640&RS=DN/20160361640


Now, the current Switch only has a 720p screen on it which I hear is no bueno for VR.  in a good 6-7 years, I believe Nintendo, and technology, will be a better position to bring out a Switch2 which can have a more robust cpu/gpu and a 1080p screen.  Nintendo seems to like to adopt things once they've been on the market for a while and has matured.  VR should be a little more common place by then.  Providing a packed in head mounted vr cradle for the future Switch should be doable as an added bonus to regular home console/portable play


2.  The Switch already comes built with VR in mind.  The joycons are nice small separate wireless remotes that have motion sensing capabilities and a new HD rumble haptic feedback.  These features will lend themselves very well to a VR experience. 


3.  Nintendo's art style lends itself well to VR.  They never really aim for photo realism.  They will not need bleeding edge technology to run the games they develop in VR.  Their current franchises lend themselves wonderfully to VR. 

• ARMS- perfect for VR
• Splatoon- I'd love to see how it'll work but it may be too fast for proper VR, I can see people really getting sick off this game lol
• Mario Kart- Perfect for VR
• Metroid-.... come on brah... you know you want it lol
• Punchout- same as ARMS
• F-Zero...... by this point you know where I'm going with this

4.  Nintendo's history-  Nintendo has already dabbled in VR years back with the Vboy to no success.  They may have been ahead of the times then.  Since then they have been playing around and laying some groundwork on forms of motion play.  All this experience could lead them to making another push to VR.  Looking at the Switch, I can already see it doing basic VR as is if it just had a higher resolution screen on it. 


In closing, I know the Switch isn't even out yet but looking at their present and past, one can't put it past Nintendo to try and get back in on the VR scene.  If its popularity inscreases, Nintendo is in a key position to provide probably the lowest entry into VR with their next Switch console.  Time will tell though as the competition in VR begins to release their revised models in the years to come.  Things could die down and go the way of 3d tvs or things can really pick up and usher in a new genre/aspect of gaming.

[rygar]

If its popularity inscreases, Nintendo is in a key position to provide probably the lowest entry into VR with their next Switch console.  Time will tell though as the competition in VR begins to release their revised models in the years to come.  Things could die down and go the way of 3d tvs or things can really pick up and usher in a new genre/aspect of gaming.

I see gaming ultimately as a relatively small portion of the VR market, so I wonder how that possibility fits into the analysis. In the short term, it seems the big money will be in medicine and military applications, and in the long run, it seems like VR ends up as ubiquitous as the personal computer. Nintendo could be facing new competition that operate on vastly different scales.

[Mannypon]

True, I don't see VR becoming the standard for gaming or gaming becoming the standard use of VR but given Nintendo seems to be in the business of giving people options, I can see them adding in VR as the next evolution of the Switch.  There really is nothing more they can do with future iterations outside of upping specs and slimming it down.  By then, adding a headset attachment as an option for customers to use with their Switch should be good enough for some to fool around in VR.  I don't know the costs and how it'll break down so I could be overstepping those boundaries but it seems possible.  The Switch's current configuration is perfect for entry level VR, it just needs the proper resolution display. 

[rygar]

I definitely see the possibility for VR. It was the first thing that came to my mind when they were showing off 1-2-Switch. In fact, I was literally thinking to myself that it would be ironic if third-party uses of Nintendo's proprietary hardware (instead of the often prophesized software) could end up becoming a lucrative part of their business.

[Mannypon]

 Never even occurred to me to think of 1 2 Switch.  That would be perfect in VR too.  It would take away from the social aspect of the experience since your not looking at the other person anymore but I see other potential.  Imagine holding a snake in your hand in the VR world. and have the joycon simulate the snake moving through your hands, the vibration simulating the scales rubbing on your hands as it moves by. 

[rygar]

it wasn't the game itself, but like you said, the HD rumble in the joy cons.