It would appear there is another shocking gaming-related VR development happening in 2019. Nintendo, one of the few companies purposefully holding out on virtual reality, is slowly changing its stance. The company has confirmed it will participate in a VR project. While this is a promising development, experts aren’t holding their breath for any real developments.
Nintendo and Virtual Reality?
On paper, it seems as if Nintendo and VR technology are perhaps one of the oddest combinations of 2019. The Japanese company, while a developer of many great video games, hasn’t shown the slightest interest in this medium. The company is part of a joint enterprise together with a dozen other Japanese firms. Known as the VRM Consortium, it will focus on developing a VR business with 3D avatars.
Although this is a rather promising development, the main question is what this will lead to exactly.Nintendo has no VR experience to date that people know of, nor have they ever shown a desire to get acquainted with it. At the same time, joining a “conglomerate’ of like-minded Japanese firms seems to indicate that mindset has come to change.
As the name of this consortium suggests, the venture will primarily focus on the VRM file format. This is a new virtual reality-oriented file standard for 3D human models. Considering how it is platform-agnoistic and open source, there is a bright future ahead of this concept. Although initially focused on Japan, the plan is to bring this technology to the entire world.
For the gaming enthusiast, this news comes at a most opportune time. Considering how virtual reality is gaining a bit more traction, the support of industry heavyweights is all the more important. While this sudden change of heart is rather atypical for the company, it would appear they are keeping all options on the table, for now.
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