| melbye said: While i am sure they are going to upgrade Switch at some point i expect it will be something like DSi or New 3DS, a little bit more powerful and some new features that won't fundamentally change the experience. Upgrading Switch to such a degree that that it can do 4K and VR can only fracture the userbase |
Agreed. I fully expect new versions of the Switch like Nintendo has always done with their handhelds, but I don't see a VR Switch coming, certainly not a 4k VR Switch - that is more like next gen.
Also VR is fairly niche. I mean who wants to strap a big headset to their head just to play video games? Some people sure, but not the vast majority of people. Also having to pay a few hundred dollars for VR on top of paying a few hundred dollars for a base system isn't very consumer friendly. Though that is why VR makes the most sense for the Switch as compared to Sony/Microsoft systems, because Nintendo could make a system that can be played as a VR system, rather than selling it separately and thus having the system + VR cost twice as much as a normal system. If Nintendo can make a VR capable Switch 2 which can be played in VR mode simply by "switching" it into a headset, while still being totally capable of being played as a portable or tv-based system, I could definitely see them doing that. And it would make sense from a branding perspective as they could keep the Switch name for the Switch 2 as they've added one more "switch" to it: VR. But as far as this system I just don't see it having anywhere near the power to do VR. And if they did make a much more powerful system in order to do VR...well why would they do it in the middle of the Switch lifecycle? A much more powerful system is exactly what the Switch 2 would be, so it doesn't make any sense to try to disrupt the Switch's success instead of waiting to the end of its lifecycle to bring out a much more powerful VR-capable Switch 2.
A lot of people ask where does Nintendo go from here - they've already made essentially the perfect system in the Switch by combining home system with portable with motion controls with touch screen so that you can have any type of game on the system. In terms of hardware concept it is hard to see how they innovate beyond this. The Switch seems to be the end game innovation they've been moving towards for a while. But in this way I think adding VR to the Switch 2 would make sense because being able to play portable, home system, and VR all built-in just by sliding the system in and out of a dock or headset is innovation enough for next decade. Honestly I can't imagine how else they would innovate on the Switch, the only thing I can think of besides having the Switch 2 be able to "switch" into VR mode is just generic spec increases and perfecting the form factor of the Switch, and those aren't innovations just normal upgrades you'd expect.
So yeah I don't think VR is coming to the Switch, but by the time the Switch 2 comes out I think the tech could be there to make it be possible to have a $300 next gen Switch that is VR capable, and maybe they'd just sell the headset the Switch slides into for an extra $50 or bundled at $350. My only thought though is how well would a VR system work with the Switch tablet just slid into a headset rather than a headset being built from the ground up for VR? I know you can do VR with phones like that, but I don't know how well it actually compares to actual VR headsets. Though I suppose as long as it works fairly well it would be fine since it'd be part of the system and not require having to pay double the money for a system plus the VR.
