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bonzobanana on 22 July 2015
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JEMC said:
bonzobanana said:
JEMC said:
bonzobanana said:


 A budget VR system running at a slightly lower resolution with the underlying hardware not super capable but still capable of amazing 3D for cartoon graphics like Mario and Zelda is perfectly possible.  However that said I really don't know what NX is and may be something completely different.

Even with  cartoon graphics as you say, an VR headset with low resolution displays would be a bad idea as the experience would be subpar.

VR headsets don't go with high pixel density displays just for the sake of it, but because they are needed. And with those displays comes the need for hardware powerful enough to feed all those pixels, even with cartoony games.


Comfortable VR is more about eliminating lag so that when you rotate your head the world quickly turns with you. When I tried the original Oculus Rift the resolution was terrible but the experience still amazing on the roller coaster ride. It really is possible for Nintendo to create a VR device quite cheaply, a device at a level enough for many of Nintendo's own franchises. Typical Nintendo graphics with bright simple colours, often repeated textures and a basic game world not requiring realistic physics or graphics effects is certainly possible. Don't forget there are already many VR experiences on IOS, Android etc that make use of the cardboard VR goggles and we are talking about something that sits between those and the full fat PC/PS4 VR experience.

But even if they go with a cheap VR solution, the first Oculus Rift units like the one you used were sold for $300.

Sure, if Nintendo made them, the cost would go notably down (mass production, cheaper prices, etc.), but that would still put it at someling like $100-150. And then you have to add the cost of the console, another $150-200.

The result is another expensive (by Nintendo standarts) machine that, as Iwata or Miyamoto said, is the last thing they want to do.

 

Also. let's not forget that Nintendo is linked mostly to kids, and the use of the a 3D screen already caused some minor controversy about it and how would that affect the kids. Imagine what would happen if they go with VR, that implies putting a screen a few inches away from a kids eyes!


The technology of VR isn't that expensive. The original oculus rift used a basic mobile phone screen and better screens now are super cheap.  Entry level quad core phones with 1080p screens are about £100 or less. This is something that Nintendo could achieve. To be honest its the only thing that comes to mind as a possibility for being a runaway hit that could sell 20 million easily in the first year. VR doesn't have to have state of the art graphics. The VR experience itself will add hugely to the playability. The feeling of immersion with VR is amazing and I'm quite happy with the VR world being a cartoon nintendo style world rather than a VR world with realistic graphics.