Nintendo Addresses the Belief That They’re Lagging Behind with Their Gaming Tech
It’s no secret that Nintendo has garnered a bit of a reputation for lagging behind both Sony and Microsoft when it comes to technological advancements in the industry, like network or cloud experiences or VR for example. In a recent Q&A session Shigeru Miyamoto, a Nintendo representative, refuted this idea.
Despite the general consensus that Nintendo just doesn’t stand up well against the other two major players regarding the popular gaming trends of VR and cloud technology, when asked about this, Miyamoto denied they have fallen behind. He said, “We have not fallen behind with either VR or network services. We worked on them from the very beginning, and have been experimenting with them in a variety of ways. In that time, we have objectively evaluated whether they actually allow our consumers to have an enjoyable play experience, and whether we can operate them at an appropriate cost. Because we don’t publicize this until we release a product, it may look like we’re falling behind. In regards to VR, we think that we have created a product that is easy for our consumers to use in the recently released Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit. Nintendo consumers encompass a wide range of ages, including young children, so we will continue to create and announce products that can be enjoyed by anyone.”
And in relation to cloud technology, Miyamoto stated that although he believes it will become more popular and widespread in the future, there’s still a ton of room for locally run and played games. “I think that cloud gaming will become more widespread in the future, but I have no doubt that there will continue to be games that are fun because they are running locally and not on the cloud. He continued, “We believe it is important to continue to use these diverse technical environments to make unique entertainment that could only have been made by Nintendo. The number of people coming into contact with digital devices is increasing more dramatically than ever before. For example, Super Mario Run has surpassed 300 million downloads. The fact that we’ve reached such a market means that opportunities for us are greatly expanding, so we would like to work on more and more unique projects.”
Considering just how many advancements are being made in the industry to make cloud technology more prominent in the future, it will be interesting to see if Nintendo will adapt to the changes. Right now however, it seems they aren’t doing all that bad with the Switch. Do you agree with Miyamoto? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.