Nintendo and VR

[Käpt'n]

Since VR headsets are starting to become a thing now and with Sony getting their headset ready to launch later this year, I've been thinking about how Nintendo could implement a VR headset.
I honestly don't think that the traditional VR experience of putting you right in the action would work for Big N. Most of their games revolve around third person experiences. A first person Mario game would be awful! It would be slow and with all the spinning flipping that Mario does the experience would be a pure vomit fest.

Instead, I think something similar to Microsoft's Hololens would be cool. Because I think that jump and run sorta games would work beautifully as some kind of diorama experience that you could look at from the outside. The Captain Toad game gave me this idea, and the indie game "Legend of Dungeon" on Steam has a VR mode that works in a similar way.
Nintendo loves hiding shit in their levels, how cool would it be to not only search with your character to find hidden items, but also to search from a perspective outside of the level? With a controller you could also influence the level to uncover hidden stuff. Like on a beach level you could brush away the sand with your hand to uncover stuff. It wouldn't just be mindless blowing in a mic or poking a screen with a stylus to do stuff, it would be much more interactive.

Nintendo also has all these cool characters in their IPs. How awesome would it be to have the option to have some sort of character viewer in which you could walk around Nintendo characters and see them in live size? Like a gallery of all Pokémon or Mario characters and items! And you could... grope them... with the controller... Like in PokéMonAmi... :9

The only problem that I see is that the hardware to do this would probably cost a fortune X3 It would probably be in the pricerange of the HTC Vive plus a high end gaming PC, so roughly 2000 bucks. I highly doubt that Nintendo would want to release hardware that is that expensive and I guess that is also the reason why they didn't announce any VR stuff yet.

Edited April 1, 2016 by Käpt'n

[willow]

I think they tried that once :v

[Käpt'n]

42 minutes ago, willow said:

I think they tried that once :v

That never happened! What even is that? I have never seen that before and I refuse to believe it ever existed! :V

[Endless/Nameless]

Ech, I'm not too interested in VR.
Plus, I can't really see Nintendo getting into it until the tech has matured a little more.
But that pokémon idea sounds...............quite nice, I must say.

EXTRA THOUGHT: You know, they kinda have been messing with VR in a sense.... Look at the 3DS's "Face Raiders", or the AR cards.... Granted, that's Augmented Reality, not VR, but same type of concept really......

[Nova]

Nintendo and VR hahahaha

 

Are you making a joke, they would never use it.

[Xaende]

On 4/1/2016 at 8:06 AM, Käpt'n said:

Nintendo also has all these cool characters in their IPs. How awesome would it be to have the option to have some sort of character viewer in which you could walk around Nintendo characters and see them in live size? Like a gallery of all Pokémon or Mario characters and items! And you could... grope them... with the controller... Like in PokéMonAmi... :9

The only problem that I see is that the hardware to do this would probably cost a fortune X3 It would probably be in the pricerange of the HTC Vive plus a high end gaming PC, so roughly 2000 bucks. I highly doubt that Nintendo would want to release hardware that is that expensive and I guess that is also the reason why they didn't announce any VR stuff yet.

I'd be very surprised if it doesn't happen. The cost should come down, and the technology should improve with time. I think it's inevitable that Nintendo will tap into this emerging market, but it may not happen for a while, for the reasons you mention.

On 4/1/2016 at 5:48 PM, Endless/Nameless said:

Ech, I'm not too interested in VR.
Plus, I can't really see Nintendo getting into it until the tech has matured a little more.
But that pokémon idea sounds...............quite nice, I must say.

EXTRA THOUGHT: You know, they kinda have been messing with VR in a sense.... Look at the 3DS's "Face Raiders", or the AR cards.... Granted, that's Augmented Reality, not VR, but same type of concept really......

VR may not be for everyone, but have you ever tried an Oculus Rift, an HTC Vive, or maybe toured a VR cave? I've spent some time with three, and I've even hung out with a virtual furry or two. The experience can be life-changing, or at least eyeopening. One particularly memorable night was spent dancing at Furry Fashion in SL. I wore the headset the whole time, and just chilled out for a while, enjoying the music and the company. Enough avatars were there for it to be fun, but it wasn't so crowded that lag was a problem (SL may not be perfect, but it's vast). Imagine being your fursona, looking down at your paws, seeing your tail twitch, dancing with that cute fur you met a moment ago, or spending time with a significant other who is actually miles away. This isn't just a future dream. It's all possible today, and the technology is rapidly improving. It's safe to say, of course, that I'm excited about the potential of this technology. Of course, you can't actually touch in a realistic way at this point, but the visual cues can be pretty convincing. So no petting the animal people for now, but when you stand close they feel surprisingly real. The experience is quite different than looking at a flat screen or wearing 3D glasses. If you haven't tried a recent VR rig, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Speaking of which, I don't have as much experience with AR, but I do have an appointment to play around with the HoloLens tomorrow afternoon. I'm curious to see if it lives up to the hype.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Xaende

[Endless/Nameless]

7 minutes ago, Xaende said:

VR may not be for everyone, but have you ever tried an Oculus Rift, an HTC Vive, or maybe toured a VR cave?

No, I haven't. Haven't had the opportunity. I would try it though if i could, for the heck of it.

I have no doubt that the technology has potential, especially in situations such as the ones you described; but what i take issue with when people act like it's the biggest thing since sliced bread. Sure, I can see people using in their homes, playing a few specialized video games or viewing 360 panoramas; but when you get idiots like that guy in the viral vid who was gaming with a headset on a bus? That's where I call bullshit. I just don't think it's going to replace current modes of content consumption, though it could certainly supplement them.

[Endless/Nameless]

21 minutes ago, Xaende said:

(SL may not be perfect, but it's vast)

Btw, do people still play that? I've heard of it, but never knew much about it or if it was any good.....

[Xaende]

7 minutes ago, Endless/Nameless said:

No, I haven't. Haven't had the opportunity. I would try it though if i could, for the heck of it.

I have no doubt that the technology has potential, especially in situations such as the ones you described; but what i take issue with when people act like it's the biggest thing since sliced bread. Sure, I can see people using in their homes, playing a few specialized video games or viewing 360 panoramas; but when you get idiots like that guy in the viral vid who was gaming with a headset on a bus? That's where I call bullshit. I just don't think it's going to replace current modes of content consumption, though it could certainly supplement them.

Yeah. The tech is pretty neat for what it is, but the hype is a bit much. I see it as more of a niche product for researchers and a certain breed of gamer who calls for more immersion. I don't see it delivering much of an edge over conventional systems in terms of competition with other players, but it does open up doors to folks who simply like SF/Fantasy and want to feel more like they're in another dimension.