Nintendo hinted on joining the growing VR industry in the not so distant future, but offered no specific details for now.
The company, which is preparing to launch a new smartphone game and a new NX gaming system, seemed to have changed its stance on VR if its recent briefing with investors is to be considered.
While the message confirms the company's smartphone app rollout is on track, details on the possible VR venture are noticeably missing, according to Dr. Serkan Toto, an industry analyst.
So Nintendo (at the briefing) just said no change in plans for the smartphone app roll out. Says they "are looking" at VR - with no details.
— Dr. Serkan Toto (@serkantoto) February 2, 2016
In the first half of 2015, Nintendo announced that will release a total of five game titles for mobile users by March 2017. The planned release news followed the company's newly-established partnership with DeNA, which owns and operates various mobile game developers.
In an ever-compatitive market, the company desperately needs more ammo to race rivals. Nintendo recently posted its financial results report for the quarter that ended in December 2015. The company has revealed a drop on its net profits by up to 36 percent year-on-year to $241 million (29.1 billion yen) on revenues that reached up to $1.8 billion (221.5 billion yen).
Within this quarter, Nintendo recorded sales of up 1.87 million Wii U consoles, which are a bit lower than the same period of the year before. Reports speculate that the drop in the company's profits could be attributed to the console's lackluster title, which failed draw much attention during the holiday shopping season.
Nintendo is also gearing up to officially unveil its next gaming console which bears the code name Nintendo NX and it is slated to occur at the upcoming E3 event in June. Described as a "dedicated games platform," Nintendo promises the console will offer something unique and more appealing. However, it is not clear on whether the new console will hit the store shelves at least within the year.
A Nitendo NX rumor roundup hints at intriguing specs for the console, but it's not too surprising to hear that the company has some VR ambitions as well.
With speculations saying that the VR industry will grow by up to $120 billion, it could be understandable why an increasing number of companies are turning their focus on virtual reality technology.
Apart from Nintendo, Apple also said to be creating its own space in the VR world. Meanwhile, Microsoft is still busy working on the augmented reality side of technology with the development of its HoloLens. The VR race is definitely heating up, so it will be interesting to see what Nintendo plans.
