How cool would it be for the Nintendo Switch to have VR too?
Advertisement
Sensors for acceleration and angular velocity have also been spotted in the patents for the Nintendo Switch – a good sign that the console would be getting support for motion-sensitivity. Nevertheless, the removable controllers of the switch can be slid by the wearers to play the game. “The main unit includes a touch panel on the screen of the display such that display functions as a touch screen”. Sony recently released the PlayStation VR, which uses a headset that connects to the PlayStation 4 to play VR games.
Figure 60 in the patent shows a head-mounted display. The device has two round holes for the eyes and a strap to place around the head. “Note that the [screen] may perform a predetermined conversion process on the images displayed… so that appropriate images are viewed through the lenses”.
The Nintendo Switch will be priced aggressively in order to better compete with Microsoft and Sony’s now-dominant consoles – expect to pay around £200 for the base model once it drops in March. It was on display, but it wasn’t what I expected.
Shigeru Miyamoto once said: “As for VR, we are researching not just VR but [augmented reality] and many other technologies”.
Another interesting tidbit in the patent applications is what seems to be a combination of the Nintendo Switch with an accessory that resembles a virtual reality headset.
These are exciting times people!
Plenty of patents for the new handheld/TV console hybrid have popped up over on Neogaf and one in particular has raised a few eyebrows. There’s no 100% guarantee that the Switch will have a VR HMD, so nothing has been confirmed.
We don’t know yet- but January 12 is right around the corner- so we should have some real clarity on things very, very soon.
Advertisement
Set to come out in March of 2017, the Switch will most likely be a gage for Nintendo on what direction they might go about regarding the future of their company.
