Nintendo president says Labo doesn’t compete with VR

While other consoles are investing in virtual reality (VR) hardware, like Sony’s PlayStation VR, Microsoft’s HoloLens, Nintendo has Labo. Announced last week. Labo is a self-assembled toy that allows players to create cardboard toys and use it with the Nintendo Switch to play games.

In a new interview, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime reveals the company’s plans for Labo and why it’s not joining the VR race at this point. The leader told the Toronto Sun newspaper that Nintendo Labo “is not the answer (for VR)” and instead Nintendo Labo “is something completely special, completely unexpected.”

Fil-Aime said Nintendo believes “there will be experiments that allow communities to create their own versions.” From the company’s perspective, it’s a “good thing” if Nintendo Labo lets players tinker and do what they want, creating new ideas for entertainment with cardboard accessories. Imagine if Nintendo Labo players could create a Google Cardboard-like VR set using Labo cardboard.

On the one hand, quite a few fans are surprised to hear that Nintendo hasn’t yet targeted VR. Nintendo President Tasumi Kimishima previously hinted that the Switch will support VR. He also said that the company is “researching” the VR game industry. Fils-Aime is absolutely right to say that Nintendo Labo was a complete surprise move as a lot of people thought that Nintendo would make VR glasses instead of making cardboard toys. But on the other hand, Fil’s comments- Aime and Nintendo’s tactics are completely understandable. The Nintendo Switch’s huge success is partly because it’s like no other. While the PS4 has Remote Play along with the PlayStation Vita, it can’t compete with the Nintendo Switch. Remote Play and the ability to play many games are not the strong points of the Sony system.

If Nintendo can’t make VR experiences as good as PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, etc., then the best way is to keep doing what it’s better at. Labo emphasizes the ability to create creative and entertaining DIYs, so fans can expect more from this product than VR in the future.

Source: Toronto Sun