Looks pretty fun to us

Nintendo prides itself on discovering new ways to play. This is the company that gave us touchscreen handhelds, motion controls and - lest we forget - the Virtual Boy.

However, the company is noticeably absent in the arena of Virtual Reality. While its rivals Sony and Microsoft are both making inroads into immersive tech - the former with Project Morpheus and the latter with its Augmented Reality Hololens glasses - Nintendo has distanced itself from this kind of venture.

It's not like Nintendo is ignoring VR, however. According to Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime, the firm has indeed been experimenting with the concept, and has been doing so for quite some time. However, the stumbling block is that although modern VR is impressive from a technical perspective, it doesn't tie in with Nintendo's fun-focused ethos.

Speaking to Polygon, Fils-Aime said:

We have knowledge of the technical space, and we've been experimenting with this for a long, long time. 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.

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.

He certainly has a point - when you have a VR headset on, you're totally isolated from the world around you. However, is Nintendo missing the fact that VR enables you to interact with people from thousands of miles away as if they're in the same room - thus making it a new kind of social gaming? Is the Japanese veteran potentially missing out on the next gaming revolution by not taking part? Perhaps NX will have some kind of VR or Augmented Reality support?

As ever, we'd love to hear what you think about Reggie's comments, and the future of VR in general.

[source polygon.com]