Nintendo Executive Says Most Virtual Reality Experiences Aren't "Truly Fun"

Other video game competitors may be showing interest in virtual reality content, but the president of Nintendo of America doesn't see VR as a focus point for Nintendo anytime soon.

Speaking during Variety's Entertainment & Technology Summit, the Nintendo of America president and chief operating officer Reggie Fils-Aime expressed his doubts about any immediate ventures into VR games. It's been discussed whether or not Nintendo might join in on the VR projects that have been released lately for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, but despite rumors that Nintendo might take part in the new gaming trend, it appears we'll have to wait a bit longer to see Mario or Samus in VR.

Explaining his reasoning behind why Nintendo isn't looking to pursue VR projects at the time, Fils-Aime indicated that it all boils down to how fun the game is, and apparently fun VR games are in short supply. During the tech conference, Fils-Aime said that the "problem with VR is that there aren't a lot of experiences that are truly fun."

Compared to VR games and tech, Nintendo has experienced much greater success in the past with augmented reality. The Nintendo 3DS is a strong indicator of that with its 3D effects that many games made use of, so more games further down the AR path seems like the more likely route.

Players who haven't bought into VR just yet might share some of Fils-Aime's concerns about the gaming field that's just recently been experiencing some success. While bigger names like Star Trek and Resident Evil have taken a shot at VR, other smaller games can sometimes feel gimmicky in their use of VR effects instead of creating a fully fleshed-out experience.

For now, it doesn't seem as though Nintendo has any immediate plans to incorporate VR into their games, but that doesn't mean that mindset won't change in the future. Fils-Aime reaffirmed that they don't currently have anything in the works at the moment that would fall into VR territory, but he also added that Nintendo may revisit the developing field later on to assess if there's anything there for them.