It appears that Nintendo still has some dreams for VR after all.
Nintendo’s latest financial report provides descriptions of what their different departments are doing. In the section about research and development, Nintendo says this:
We also carry out research and development activities to examine the applicability of various technologies to the field of home entertainment including interfaces such as touch panels and sensors, networks such as those for wireless communication, security, cloud computing, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR), deep learning and big data analysis.
Now, Nintendo researching VR does not mean that they are releasing new VR or mixed reality products anytime soon. But, it does confirm that the VR patents that Nintendo has been filing are actually in the service of products that they are currently working on. We will note that Nintendo revealed they have spent nearly $ 1 billion in research and development last year.
We first reported on a new VR related patent all the way back in 2023. This may have been the actual patent for Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04 VR Kit, the Labo Kit which allowed you to assemble a cardboard HMD using your Nintendo Switch as the display. Labo had its built in mini-games, but Nintendo also added compatibility with Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Prior to Nintendo Labo, Nintendo’s experiments with VR and HMDs have been sporadic and financially unsuccessful. We all know about the Virtual Boy from 1995, but all the way back in 1987, Nintendo had its first such foray on the Japanese version of the NES. The Family Computer 3D System offered stereoscopic 3D using a pair of shutter glasses, but while Virtual Boy was more infamous, the Famicom 3D System became completely obscure.
We reported on newer Nintendo VR patents in October and November of this year. Clearly, they did not launch the Switch 2 with a VR or mixed reality related gimmick. Even so, that does not preclude the possibility that they could launch their own VR device within the Switch 2’s lifetime. And, since we know that the Switch can run VR, we can’t discount the possibility that Nintendo could make a VR device that runs on the Switch as well as the Switch 2.
It’s not entirely clear if Nintendo could introduce these products to an eager audience. After Apple scaled back on their Apple Vision Pro, and Sony also scaled back on PSVR2, developers seemed to reach the consensus that the VR market is stagnating. We just reported on Beat Saber bowing out of both the PSVR and PSVR 2. Xbox’s half-hearted last minute entry with the Xbox branded Meta Quest 3S doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, either.
But if anything, Nintendo would have to come up with something so compelling, and probably, safe, that they could sell it, not just to a broader general audience, but especially to families for younger gamers. It certainly feels like this would be the culmination of the journey Iwata got them started on with the Nintendo Wii. For that reason, they have to make sure to get this right before they bring something to market.
