One of the surprising (and strange) reveals during the Switch presentation was the whole HD rumble thing.

It sounded like a typical Nintendo gimmick: Interesting from a technical standpoint, but nothing that any developer would really use that much, not even nintendo themselves. I am pretty sure we all already predicted it to walk the way of the AR camera and the NFC reader (before Amiibos, that is).

And then I remembered this:

Maybe, just MAYBE, the HD rumble (and the Motion Control 2.0) have a bigger meaning than we thought.

remember to major parts and problems with VR are always the motion controls and the feedback, or rather the lack thereof. And while the motion controls for Oculus and HTC Vive are quite excellent (I tested both at Gamescom) they are lacking one thing: Quality Feedback.
The games look awesome, they sound awesome, but the second when you start interacting and feel no real resistance you remember that its all just a sham. HD rumble could be the answer!

Then again, the Switch seems to be weaker than even the Xbox One, a console that never got VR because it does not have the power, so it is very possible that the VR idea is long dead.

On the other hand, Gear VR has sold quite well, despite being powered by a smartphone.

While we Gamers want the best possible VR, most people apparently just want easy and accessible VR.
In case of the Switch this could be perfect: All you have to get is a comparativly cheap headpiece, the screen, console and controllers are already there to begin with. No need for special controlers and cameras and headsets totaling some 400 or 500 bucks.

Is this likely? Rather not. But I do think it is an interesting possibility and, if it ends up being the case, could maybe, JUST MAYBE, be a new kind of blue ocean for Nintendo: affordable VR that surpasses the little techdemos your phone can provide.

What do you think?

I thought VR was going to be the big thing about the Switch and the improved HD feedback was part of that but it doesn't look that way. They have not announced it, performance of the Switch is weaker than I expected and if they were planning to introduce it later I think the console may already be on the sidelines by then.

It really needed to be announced as a portable, home and VR system with intentions from the beginning to provide VR experiences. They've done the big reveal now and it wasn't mentioned. They probably intend to reveal it much later with a half-assed approach to providing content. The Switch line up is so abysmal there isn't much there I'd want to play in VR anyway.

It just seems like something destined for a small niche in gaming with very high price content at approximately android levels of performance.

Its not like it doesnt make sense for normal games, but from what people are telling its mostly used in 1,2 Switch and ARMS, which begs the question, why the hell is it there in the first place?
But more importantly, VR really banks big on you being immersed in the game. I tried a whole lot of simple but fun minigames on HTC Vive last Gamescom (tennis, fruit ninja, that space pirate training thingy, etc...) and one of the biggest problems was that I kept overswinging my virtual paddle/blade/whatever because I expected some feedback or resistance where there wasnt any. The HD rumble COULD help there, but again, I'm just spitballing. Could also be that its a classic Nintendo "this sounds fun, lets implement and never use it"-macguffin.

Oh, the VR. Not that I didn't expect Nintendo to experiment on that area, I just don't think the HD rumble would be made just for VR. On larger scope, I'm really not a believer in VR (it was cool consept 20 years ago), and it seems it pops out of somewhere every ten years.

I don't see why the HD Rumble wouldn't work as an option for those who want it in standard games, it might be more suited for some games than others, in some it might assist the gameplay in others it might immerse you further in the expirience. I'd personally love HD Rumble in MK8D. BoTW, Splatoon 2, Bomberman R or Skyrim (SE), but I can see why other people might not.

The feature has a lot of potential outside of VR, though they'd be perfect for VR; but 720p VR wouldn't be a fun expirience, and I doubt Nintendo would go down with putting in a second screen in the headset, to avoid raising costs.

HD Rumble and the advanced haptic feedback on the touchscreen are both features I hope developers take advantage of, and Nintendo alongside them.

I don't think there needs to be any specific "reason" for HD Rumble to exist. So why have it? Because why not? It hasn't been done yet so do it! What other reason is needed?

I'm glad they're doing it, even if they don't have any immediate plans for it. You know the saying: It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

A possibility, but you won't get a 3D depth perception with the Switch screen so it's not as easily as placing a screen in front of your face with a headset holder

That be sumthin if VR tied a string to your joints and tugged you for resistance. But then you might get ripped apart if you fall through a glitch.

I think it's just a cool add-on that Nintendo feels it works. I don't think there's nothing more than that, but we'll see.

I'm going to keep saying this.

The Switch would make for a terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE, VR headset.