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Miyamoto: VR is one person putting on some goggles, playing by themselves in a corner

C

civilstrife

Member
Time magazine:

We’ve been doing our own experiments with virtual reality dating back to the Virtual Boy. And even to some degree, the 3DS was designed with a little bit of this in mind with its stereoscopic 3D. So we’re always looking at hardware and assessing what’s possible.

And of course we understand that the hardware and technology have begun to drop in price. It’s still not at a cost basis that makes it easy for everyone to purchase as a mass-market product. But certainly it’s dropped somewhat.

As game designers, we at Nintendo are interested in VR technology and what it can do, but at the same time what we’re trying to do with Wii U is to create games for everyone in the living room. We want the Wii U to be a game system that brings video gamers into the living room. As as I explained last night [Sunday, June 8], it’s intended to be fun not only for the person who’s playing, but also for the people who are watching.

When you think about what virtual reality is, which is one person putting on some goggles and playing by themselves kind of over in a corner, or maybe they go into a separate room and they spend all their time alone playing in that virtual reality, that’s in direct contrast with what it is we’re trying to achieve with Wii U. And so I have a little bit of uneasiness with whether or not that’s the best way for people to play.

So from Nintendo’s perspective, there’s interest in the technology, but we think it might be better suited to some sort of attraction style of entertainment, say something at a video game arcade or things like that, rather than something that one person plays alone.
Click to expand...

More at the link
 
W

Wynnebeck

Banned
Whereas playing with a WiiU gamepad is one person playing the pad in a corner while other watch the screen with Wiimotes?
 
T

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
I had a feeling his reception would be like this. In the last decade or so he's been all about video games creating real world togetherness and such

I don't nessecarily disagree with him. VR will be great for immersion and great for online connectivity, but Nintendo has been going hard in on the local aspect for ages now. Not just local multiplayer but just trying to engage people with the people around them
 
BennyBlanco

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
I understand what he's trying to say but it kind of sounds like sour grapes. Wii U isn't targeting the same demographic as occulus.
 
J

JCX

Member
Nobody at Nintendo has the heart to tell him about online play. That's the only possibility at this point.
 
J

joeyjoejoe

Neo Member
VR Benefits the most from first person style games.

Nintendo does not do many FPS games, Metroid being the only one I can think of. I can't believe he didn't think of StarFox being incredible in VR.
 
V

Vuze

Member
Wii U is one person sitting in a corner with a half-baked tablet attached to the power outlet permanently hoping not to lose connection to the console
 
K

KorrZ

Member
What an odd viewpoint. Remember when he was describing exploring the forests around Kyoto as his inspiration for the Legend of Zelda? Being totally immersed in a world like that?

That Miyamoto would have loved VR I suspect.
 
P

Phazon

Member
The Lamonster said:
Nintendo really loves that cave they're living in.
Click to expand...

He's right with that statement. VR is certainly not a good thing for every game, especially a lot of the Nintendo games. I understand what he wants to say with it.

I mean, a game like Zelda and Metroid could benefit from it, most of their platformers and partygames not so much imo.
 
S

Spieler Eins

Member
Motion controls were better for VR than goggles. Then they dropped it for some overpriced touchscreen, of which not even they know the use of.
His concepts for the thing at E3 were awful too.
 
C

CountAntonius

Member
Someone shop him into a corner.
Miyamoto.jpg
Click to expand...
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
I will say, it is weird that the indie scene has seen a resurgence of couch-games like Towerfall and Niddhogg, only for the next big thing to be games where you basically isolate yourself from the outside world completely.
 
K

kitsuneyo

Member
He has a valid point, he's also an old man and they tend to value togetherness. That said Oculus looks awesome and he should be a bit more gracious.
 
W

wrowa

Member
Yeah, I said time and time again that VR and Nintendo don't work together. Nintendo's philsophy is all about connecting people inside of a room, and VR is all about isolating someone from his immediate surroundings. The kind of games and experiences Nintendo (mainly) delivers just don't work in the VR environment. And that's okay, not everyone has to follow the VR route. People who think that VR is the one and only future are kidding themselves - there will always be a reluctance towards isolating yourself from the other people next to you.
 
A

AdanVC

Member
Virtual Boy U cancelled.

Jokes aside, He is actually right tough, but too bad he quite didn't like the OR concept. Maybe Nintendo is developing a totally different VR technology that can actually bring everyone together while someone is playing it?
 
A

Aaronrules380

Member
dream said:
Isn't Wii U one person playing on the system's only tablet?
Click to expand...

If you can't understand the difference between the wii u's asymmetrical multiplayer and VR which requires you to completely shut yourself off from the world around you then I really don't know what to say
 
S

Shahadan

Member
I don't see what's controversial about that, plenty of people even on this board already said something along those lines.

Edit: Oh wait it's just a case of "omg someone said something that can be interpreted as negative about our beloved VR savior, let's trash them"
 
MrCunningham

MrCunningham

Member
dream said:
Isn't Wii U one person playing on the system's only tablet?
Click to expand...


Beat me to it. The Wii-U is just one person holding a tablet and sitting in a corner.


Aaronrules380 said:
If you can't understand the difference between the wii u's asymmetrical multiplayer and VR which requires you to completely shut yourself off from the world around you then I really don't know what to say
Click to expand...

That's one argument you can bring. But the Wii-U is still a step backwards in multiplayer experience when compared to the Wii.
 
S

SovanJedi

provides useful feedback
That is true. Not that the VR headsets aren't frickin' awesome and exciting, but they're not exactly set up for people to share the experience with in the same environment. Nintendo's seeming motive is that they make games everyone can participate in (even if they're not multiplayer games, or other players have reduced roles like in Mario Galaxy) but VR is the antithesis to that. So it's understandable why it's not his cup of tea.


dream said:
Isn't Wii U one person playing on the system's only tablet?
Click to expand...

Wynnebeck said:
Whereas playing with a WiiU gamepad is one person playing the pad in a corner while other watch the screen with Wiimotes?
Click to expand...

Not even remotely the same level of isolation. Try again.

Arabian Mage said:
Maybe you should have told them that before making the Virtual Boy.
Click to expand...

Miyamoto didn't make the Virtual Boy, Gunpei Yokoi did. And it flopped massively, so they are no doubt still hurting from that lesson.
 
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