Topic: Should Nintendo be taking the Oculus Rift more seriously?

Don't get me wrong - the Oculus is an amazing piece of kit that has the potential to influence the future of gaming (my time playing Pixel Rift at EGX was jawdropping). But let's not forget that the hardware is still in its infancy, with a proper commercial version still a long way off.

Nintendo have never had any interest in what others are doing, and I don't feel that's about to change with VR anytime soon.

The way I see it it's more like an alternative to a TV or monitor than it is some sort of thing that Nintendo needs to respond to. If it becomes hugely popular then I'd assume that all the console manufacturers would consider pushing out firmware updates or releasing software to support it. Same on PC. Because it's just USB and HDMI, technically the Wii U could support it already.

Well, the VR headsets are still going to support motion controllers(Move, Leap Motion) and in OR's case, possibly some crazy treadmill thing( http://shop.virtuix.com/Omni-Natural-Motion-Interface-p/virtu... ) that is debatably more ridiculous than the Balance Board, sooooo...

As @LeeGarbutt said, Ninty has never been one to pay attention to what others are doing. I'm sure they have their eyes on it like every other gaming company (should), but it's not something they're working on probably. If anything they should be more concerned with the concept of VR than the Oculus, as it's only going to be released on PC as it is. Depending on how the Morpheus and Oculus do will determine Nintys response to it. Unless it's a huge success and all the other companys start to develop one/for one I doubt they really care. Although Ninty doesn't seem to care that all of the 3rd parties have jumped ship so idk.

I hope it succeeds though, because playing a horror game with one would be awesome.

Well, it also depends a lot on how FB is going to treat the OR, as well. Seeing as Xbox One is going to eventually get Windows as an OS, and already has some of the same games as PC, they could make it immediately compatible if they really wanted to for those games. Xbox One is at least far more likely to support any of this than Nintendo is, IMO. The real question is really if enough people care. I just don't see people caring enough, especially when people haven't been accepting of PS Move, Kinect, or even 3D TVs.

Having watched some of the early demonstrations, OR has me pretty excited. From my understanding the screen takes up your entire field of view and is presented in full 3D giving the world around you real depth. It's nothing like holding up the gamepad to your face as others have remarked =) In fact the submersion is so convincing they're having issues with motion sickness in some people. I really do believe OR is something you'll need to try before judging it's potential impact in the gaming industry. Horror games, space sims, racing games, fps, the list goes on, will really benefit from this technology. Now having said all that there's no reason you can't own a PC rig with OR and a Nintendo system.

Either way, for me, whether or not Nintendo adopts this tech in the future doesn't matter. I'll always support Nintendo unless they drastically change they're philosophy. However, I also don't want Nintendo to be left behind and marginalized if OR really does take off.

Thanks for your thoughts guys!

I'm not an Oculus Rift hater - it looks like cool tech! But there is no way that Nintendo should "take them seriously" until the hardware is finalized and released, until costs are fully understood, until consumer reactions are better understood, and until we see if this has any place in the home console market (instead of being limited to PC gaming). That's not because the tech isn't interesting, but because it's unproven in a LOT of ways and jumping on the Oculus Rift bandwagon without a clear strategy of how it will apply to Nintendo's own hardware isn't a good strategy at this point in time. I'd rather see a company stick with their strengths than try to compete in a space where they don't really belong.

That said, my opinion isn't worth too much in the matter.

Ocuulus Rift + Enhanced WiiMote = Joy

Nah, OR is pretty boring. The entire concept of virtual reality is boring. It's a border that doesn't have anything to do with gaming, other than selling an overpriced piece of hardware to the masses. There's only one way to play a game: with a controller, period. OR doesn't improve gaming in any way, and it also doesn't offer any kind of possibilities to make gaming more enjoyable.
So no, Nintendo should just sit back and laugh at how ridiculous people look with that oversized thing on their head.

...despite the people that have played games with OR and have said the immersion makes the game more enjoyable?

Right on bro.. who wants more immersion in a video game. That'd require letting go to the persistent realization that we're just chillin on our couch, and who wants that.

Yeah, if there's anything I hate, it's relaxing in a comfortable environment.

Immersion always depends on the atmosphere a game employs, not the format it uses. If a game cannot achieve this without relying on virtual reality, then the developer simply covers his incompetence with a device that fakes immersion. OR testers who talk about immersion only mean the feeling of being in the game world, but that's not what makes games good, and they're too easily impressed to realize.

well Nintendo fans do enjoy looking away from screen every two seconds to play with their tablet, so it does make sense that immersion into a game wouldn't be hugely popular here.

Orrrrrr OR is used to enhance the atmosphere by making it seem like you are actually there

Rather than being depended upon and only enjoyed by the naive and ignorants as you claim

I am not sure what you mean. I don't spend every two seconds looking at a tablet, I don't even own a tablet. I have had some games use the Wii U GamePad to create more immersion, like ZombiU

No.....thats my answer

Perhaps this site can petition Zuckerberg to drop OR because Nintendo has already reached peak-immersion with their tablet

I am not even sure what point you are trying to make

I never even said OR or Morpheus lacked an immersion factor. I just said that Nintendo and Microsoft can also be immersive with what they already have, without going into VR headgear. Like many have already said, we are better off seeing how things go.

I think Face Book at least has a better chance than Sony, because Sony doesn't support PS Move or PS Camera very much, as it is, and it all still depends on how heavily 3rd parties/indies will make use of it.

As someone that has actually used the device.. how does it feel to be wrong about your opinion Lee?

Hopefully this thread has shown you the error in your ways