Digitimes: Nintendo NX mass production delayed to early 2017, to add VR.

[Axido]

Not believing it until it's official, but even if it was... Why not? The Wii successfully brought us motion controls 2 console generations ago, the 3DS brought 3D one generation ago... and that handheld was also successful, even if it was not especially because of this gimmick. This might be some kind of conspiracy theory, but maybe this is what all of this was supposed to lead to.

As Nintendo stated some time ago "VR isn't there yet"... So, if you think about it, that was never a statement against VR itself, just against the appeal of the hardware to power it. With this hardware becoming more and more accessible (with AMD's Polaris GPUs for example), the chances of rolling out consoles with enough horsepower for virtual reality are significantly higher compared to months ago. The rumored new Xbox One already seems to take advantage of this and is supposed to surpass the PS Neo in terms of horsepower.

And just think about making a console with a principle in mind instead of introducing it mid-term. The Wii was based on motion controls and did very well, whilst PS Move didn't really offer a lot to care about. That's probably gonna happen to PSVR as well, but not necessarily to a console that already has VR in mind from the get go.

The resurrection of the virtual boy is drawing close, dear fellow Tempers. Prepare for it. You probably already got your NX controllers at home.

But hey, it's just a theory.

 

[GreenStone99]

But hey, it's just a theory.

A GAME THEORY~

 

[dimmidice]

ugh, i have no interest in VR whatsoever. not until its completely and utterly perfected.

 

[I pwned U!]

ugh, i have no interest in VR whatsoever. not until it's completely and utterly perfected.

Perhaps you will be interested in it 50 or more years from now!

 

[dimmidice]

Perhaps you will be interested in it 50 or more years from now!

more like 5-10, but yea. i just hate how every platform is now focusing on it. i wish they'd stay separate from console or addons.

 

[Veho]

And just think about making a console with a principle in mind instead of introducing it mid-term. The Wii was based on motion controls and did very well, whilst PS Move didn't really offer a lot to care about. That's probably gonna happen to PSVR as well, but not necessarily to a console that already has VR in mind from the get go.

A development cycle of a console is several years long, deciding to add a new feature barely a year before release is a tacked-on afterthought and definitely not something they had in mind from the get-go.

 

[T-hug]

VR isn't recommended for under 12 year olds though, the target Nintendo audience

 

[keven3477]

As long as it is optional it would not be bad right?

 

[heartgold]

Hmm, 3D was tacked on 3DS , super stable 3D was tacked on the N3DS. There were last minute changes on the Wii U gamepad adding sticks instead of pads.

What else has Nintendo tacked on?

 

[DiscostewSM]

"Digitimes" is what raised a red flag for me.

 

[Bladexdsl]

Digitimes

 

[heartgold]

"Digitimes" is what raised a red flag for me.

Have they been wrong before?
They usually get the timing spot on for production, not sure about specs and features.

 

[chartube12]

If Nintendo actually does this and doesn't change the release date of the system, it would mean NX shortages. Both the N64 and Wii had those in the past. In the case of the N64, it helped hurt their sell of the system.

 

[Veho]

"Digitimes" is what raised a red flag for me.

Is it because they're from China?

Spoiler

Get it? China? Red flag? Eh? Eh? ...I'll be quiet now.

 

[FireGrey]

TL;DR: Virtual Reality for the NX is realistic and critical to it's success

Other rumors have suggested that developing for the NX is exactly as it is for Xbox One and PS4.
I believe the idea here is that both Sony and Microsoft are focusing on VR, meaning that developers can make games for the PS4 and Xbox One which they can't also put on the NX.
This is against the efforts of Nintendo supposedly making the NX equal ground with its competitors, so they are adding VR support, however I don't believe this should mean that Nintendo are developing their own VR headset just yet, or even that a VR headset would be bundled.

An issue I see with this is that we can see that good VR is expensive, and Nintendo should be aware that they wouldn't be able to make a competitively priced headset without a massive amount of R&D, which we would likely hear about.
Spending $600+ on a VR headset to use on a $300 - $400 console doesn't make much sense when you look at the current offerings, however with the newly announced AMD GPU it could make a bit more sense.

Lets do some terrible math here and say that the target amount of GFLOPS for the GPU is 3.5k, based on the 970 being the recommended GPU for the oculus rift.
AMD's newly announced GPU is 5.2k GFLOPS for $200 USD, lets assume that whatever GPU is put inside the NX could be of the same efficiency and scale that to a GPU costing $135 with 3.5k GFLOPS.
We could also say that Nintendo is getting a better deal than consumers, and that $135 we're looking at could be far less.
We could also say that the recommended specs for PC could be lower on a console due to optimisations.
And if we really wanted to, we could say that the VR headset intended for the NX is 1080p, meaning much lower recommended specs.
Now we're looking at a realistically achievable VR capable console costing $300 - $400.

This doesn't solve the issue of VR headsets being $600+ though, however this is coming out a year after the Vive and Rift have come out, so perhaps that's enough time for a second generation of VR headsets to come out at a lower cost?
I find it very likely that we will see disruptive changes to the pricing of VR headsets in the not-too-distant future, as the lenses and such in the rift have been claimed to have been quite expensive since they custom ordered them to a highly specific specification (the DK1 and DK2 used off the shelf components so they were very cheap).
I'm skeptical that 1 year is enough time to see VR headset components nearing the price of off the shelf components, however with all 3 console manufacturers going towards VR as well as Steam VR, Facebook and Microsoft's investments, and Project Daydream, it is a possibility.

This is all assuming that Nintendo's strategy for 3rd party titles has changed, and they want to get in on all the multi-platform titles which they've usually been excluded from, rather than their much less maintainable strategy of only going for exclusive 3rd party titles (like xenoblade and bayonetta).
Nintendo have been relying on having the edge via their exclusives for the last few generations, however they have been neglecting non-exclusive 3rd party titles (like GTAV and Fallout 4), meaning consumers have had to go without non-exclusives if they chose Nintendo.
It may be seen as a gimmick that Nintendo is adding on VR, however it's not so much a gimmick as it is a trend that they don't want to miss out on, as it's essential for the NX being included in all of the multi platform titles.

 

[Axido]

A development cycle of a console is several years long, deciding to add a new feature barely a year before release is a tacked-on afterthought and definitely not something they had in mind from the get-go.

There is still a small possibility that VR was the logical conclusion of Nintendo's strategy all along. The time for this just had not come, but the research has already been done in past generations. And now that finally AMD produces accessible hardware capable of delivering for a nice VR experience, why not at least include it instead of missing the chance and having to wait one cycle? VR isn't necessarily the primary use of this, since it would still benefit the end-user.

TL;DR ~snip~

Good point.
Actually, it would probably even be possible to use parts of the existing R&D for NX VR. How about giving the NX controller a 1080p 3D screen like the one of the 3DS (with the eye tracking of the N3DS of course)? If you were able to utilize this in a Cardboard-like VR headset, you didn't have to spread two images across one screen (since the 3D effect is achieved in a different way). This could also allow for a wider field of view.

Then you might want to make the actual controller detachable from the screen to ensure that it's not too bulky when used for VR. And et voila, you got a practical and inexpensive HMD without any unnecessary extra hardware.

 

[Bladexdsl]

remember when nintendo said they wouldn't release any info about the nx in case their competitors would steal it? welp if it does turn out to be VR...sorry nintendo your too late they stole it anyway!

 

[BurningDesire]

to add VR.

WHAT

 

[Veho]

remember when nintendo said they wouldn't release any info about the nx in case their competitors would steal it?

Steal what, exactly? The revolutionary concept of "underpowered, overpriced, underutilized, outdated tech with no 3rd party support"? Yeah, I bet everyone's out to get in on that action.



Anywhooo...

Exclusive, first photo of the NNX leaked:

Spoiler

;O;

 

[Haymose]

This just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Nintendo is well aware of how many PS4's are in people's homes, I don't think it's really their style to compete directly with Sony or even Microsoft. If it's literally a tacked on feature that doesn't make me use it to play games I could really care less. It's not like I was really expecting them to launch the system without a delay.