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Is Shigeru Miyamoto Completely Out of Touch?

Is Shigeru Miyamoto Completely Out of Touch?

Nintendo’s annual general shareholder meeting came and went with no huge announcements or reveals, which is typical. The press isn’t invited to this particular meeting, but that doesn’t stop enthusiasts from listening in. This year, a shareholder who goes by the Twitter handle @NStyles was live-tweeting most of the Q&A portion, which NeoGAF member Cheesemeister3k kindly translated for us all. Of particular interest were Shigeru Miyamoto’s comments on virtual reality. Here I’ll be quoting Cheesemeister3k’s translation of NStyles’ tweets, which you can find here .

“I heard VR was a hot topic at E3,” Miyamoto said, “so I went to check it out. It was on display, but it wasn’t what I expected. We’re also researching VR, so we have the core technology. Long play sessions are an issue. We want to release something that can be played for long periods, carries value, and is affordable. We want parents to feel at ease.”

Before we continue, do keep in mind that these are approximate translations and don’t represent word-for-word what Miyamoto said. The statements are general enough that I feel we can probably consider them representative of his broad sentiments regarding VR, but we can’t get caught up in the wording. I only point this out because I’ve already seen several threads and comments sections calling out Miyamoto for sounding like an old man who had just discovered that VR is catching on. I don’t feel like this is the case at all, and he made it clear that Nintendo is already doing its own research with the tech.

What I do see is patience borne from decades of creating, riding, and witnessing the decline of trends in the entertainment and video game industries. What is Miyamoto concerned about? He mentions specifically that long play sessions are an issue. Right away, this leads me to believe that he was approaching the platform as an idealist, with zero regard for what is practical right now on the bleeding edge of this new technology. When Miyamoto sat down (or stood up) with the HMD, he had Nintendo’s target consumer in mind. As a parent, as a child, as a value-conscious gamer, he noticed the cords hanging down his back and around his feet, the pressure on the bridge of his nose and on his forehead that became cumbersome after about 10 minutes of use, and every way in which he was or was not able to interact with the worlds around him. Most of all, he was acutely aware of how much fun he was having.

Is Shigeru Miyamoto Completely Out of Touch?

When I hear Miyamoto say that the technology isn’t what he was expecting, I understand that to mean that he doesn’t believe that it has advanced enough for Nintendo to make a product that reflects the quality and value standards that are rigorously maintained as part of their brand. He said it himself: when Nintendo sells its own VR platform it will be comfortable, affordable, and able to retain value. It seems very likely to me that a product such as this isn’t likely to make its debut from Nintendo until 2018 at the earliest, and that’s okay. Leave it to Nintendo to formulate a Blue Ocean strategy and break into the VR market in a way that is as controversial as it is unique.

But what about you, Joe and Jill Gamer? How do you feel about Nintendo’s approach to VR? Does it sound to you as though it’s assuming a stance of cautious curiosity, waiting for the perfect amount of data and experience to inform its design decisions? Or is Nintendo technologically incompetent to contend in the VR market due to its focus on budget hardware?

Personally, I feel like Nintendo is making the right decision. I consider myself an enthusiast. I’m setting money aside every month to invest in PlayStation VR when it comes out this October, but not because I think it’s going to be the next huge thing come January 2017. I’m investing because I’m curious, and I’m okay with making a risky investment in order to stay ahead of the curve. As for my own wisdom borne from the observation of trends, I think a 2018 entry into the VR market is perfect, and I don’t expect the average gamer to have a VR HMD of any kind in their homes until then – if ever.

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