Nintendo is looking at virtual reality gaming

In a briefing with investors, the publisher said that it is “looking” at VR, according to industry analyst Serkan Toto. Although it was recently revealed that Wii U sales have surpassed 12 million units sold worldwide, which is an admirable, albeit modest figure in comparison to Sony’s and Microsoft’s systems, Nintendo’s overall revenue took a nosedive, declining 3.9 percent while profit plunged by 36.5 percent.

Nintendo is no stranger when it comes to virtual reality, as many early Nintendo fans remember the classic flop of the Nintendo Virtual Boy.

Several months ago, when discussing the possibility of the company developing VR titles, Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aimé, expressed a disinterest in moving into the market, as he said that current virtual reality is “not fun”. Though the Virtual Boy was an abysmal failure, it seems that Nintendo may try its hand at VR once again.

Perhaps Nintendo simply wants to sit out this round of innovation this time, as they still pay the risks for trying to bring glassess free 3D and tablet game controllers to consoles. “It’s just tech.” And legendary Nintendo creator Shigeru Miyamoto told NPR that “we don’t feel that virtual reality is a good fit for [the] philosophy” of getting whole families playing together in the living room.

Today’s Nintendo earnings briefing revealed the company’s latest interest – virtual reality.

That seems rather unlikely. Will it be a traditional home console like the PS4 or Xbox One, or some kind of hybrid that combines aspects of a home console with mobile gaming? For now, though, it’s best not to expect an imminent, splashy VR hardware revolution from a company that’s merely started “looking into” the space.