April 8 update:
Nintendo Labo VR is set to release this week. This headset has not produced the same amount of buzz as the Oculus Rift S or The Quest, but it is a promising experience. This will be a makeshift virtual headset from the Labo Kits that are also on their way this week. If the idea of a VR headset inside of cardboard makes you not sure on the headset itself, there will be a chance for demos.
Best Buy is holding the demo for the Nintendo Labo VR. These demos will be in-store, hands-on demos that are available to all. they will be available on April 14th, and will be running from 10:30am to 2:30pm. You can now book your appointments for the demo here.
In this demo you will not only be shown the virtual headset and the capabilities of it, but the Labo Kits will also be working within the headset. Expect Best Buy to be pushing everything about Nintendo pretty hard on the 14th. If you end up buying a headset, you will be assembling it at your house without assistance of any workers.
The VR Kit as a whole will include a plethora of add-ons, and a full garage of games as well. Nintendo has their own slew of mini games they will include on each headset as well.
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When Nintendo was founded back in 1889, I’m certain that a virtual reality headset was in their future plans. Even 15 years ago, I’m sure they weren’t thinking that they would be making a set of goggles with a computer built into them for the purpose of gaming. But here we are in the spring of 2019, and Nintendo is on the verge of releasing its first ever virtual reality gaming headset.
The company was purely selling cards from 1889-1965. Not until a new owner was put in place did the company change its products. For 7 years the company was focusing on new toys and they were surprisingly successful. When they released the “Ultra Hand” for the Christmas rush back in 1966, it sold over a million single units. Not bad for a new toy company. After a few quick years, the company changed its idea of products. This ultimately changed not only the company, but the direction of electronics and gaming.
In 1972 they released the first available console to the public, the Magnavox Odyssey. This game also came with a light gun accessory, which was well before its time. Nintendo has always been making some of the best consoles throughout the last 40 years, and even up to date. The Nintendo Switch is one of the best on the market to this day. Its versatility is unmatched and the idea itself is revolutionary.
Many people forget that the Wii ever happened. To me, that needs to be considered a crime. The Wii is still one of the best consoles you can own right now. (This is coming from a heavy Xbox user). The Wii keeps you active and keeps not only your mind, but your body involved. It is an easy setup and even easier gameplay. If Nintendo were to remake something just like this but with a more advanced tracking system and better graphics, it would nearly break the video game industry.
The Gamecube was more powerful than most people anticipated. When the Gamecube was released, there was some obvious hype surrounding the console, but I don’t think anyone expected Nintendo to do what they did. In late 2001 they let the consumers buy their little square gaming system. This gaming system blew the competition out of the water. The graphics and computing systems were second to none at the time and it showed. It was the top selling console for a few years.
With this rich history in mind, knowing that Nintendo is planning on releasing a virtual reality headset to match with the Switch is very exciting. Rumors are still swirling around the idea of this and nothing has been confirm yet, but the amount of speculation is enough to believe something heavy is in the works for a release this calendar year.
Taking this all in with a pinch of salt is probably a good idea… for now. There have been many ideas with how their Nintendo VR could work. Some believe that the company would use the console itself inside of the headset and simply change the headset to a VR setting. That would mean the headset would follow the Cardboard idea, just including the sights and not really any technology within the headset alone. Another idea is that the headset would be filled with technology, and the PC needed to run the headset would be the Nintendo Switch. That would make the headset very powerful while still being very portable.
A private source has stated that a “small, select number of traditional first-party software titles,” could receive VR support “in the not-so-distant future.” We of course don’t know which titles and games these are, or even which kind of VR support they were speaking on. The source also stated the Labo (a line of helpful controllers for different type of games on the Switch) is expected to be a part of the release and will go hand in hand for the foreseeable future.
We can expect an official announcement from Nintendo “early this year”. With many rumors and sources saying different things, its hard to get a handle of what to believe. We have included everything that we can confirm and that is sure to happen. This article will continue to be updated.
