Albeit one wouldn’t necessarily have guessed it, the Nintendo Switch has an unofficial VR mode. This built-in feature has been present since day one, but it remains unclear if and when it will ever be used in an official capacity. For the time being, Nintendo shows no inclination toward developing VR games for the Switch.
Nintendo Switch VR is Alive, Sort of
It is uncanny how hardware manufacturers can keep certain aspects of their consoles private for a long time. Ever since the Nintendo Switch has been officially hacked at the chip level, new information regarding this device has come to light. One developer of homebrew software for the Switch has uncovered a new mode on the device. Known as Test VR, it is not hard to see what its long-term purpose might be.
It seems this feature cannot be accessed on consoles through normal menus. Instead, it is only accessible by installing custom firmware and homebrew software. This further confirms Nintendo may not necessarily have any real plans for virtual reality now, or in the future. The company is working on a variety of projects, but nothing VR-related has come to light.
The Test VR mode also doesn’t showcase much of the device’s potential either. In fact, all it does is split the screen into two, but it does not appear to suit any specific feature. Gaming on this split screen is not supported right now, nor are there any applications which make use of this functionality. Nintendo also has no plans to change that aspect anytime soon, which is only to be expected.
Similar to Microsoft, it remains to be seen what Nintendo has planned for virtual reality. It is good to see the Switch has built-in support, although that can be for a wide variety of reasons. Exploring these opportunities and utilizing them to their full potential, is something Switch owners will not experience anytime soon. The Nintendo Switch is an interesting device, although it seems completely unsuitable for VR purposes in its current stage.
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