Nintendo is finally dipping into the world of virtual reality. Tsubasa Sakaguchi, software director of Nintendo Labo, confirms that VR was part of their plans all along in an exclusive interview with The Verge.
One year has passed since Nintendo Labo was launched, and the cardboard/video game hybrid is now in its fourth installment. Although there are people who liked it for its own unique experience, high expectations of critics around the world cannot be avoided. Nonetheless, Sakaguchi remains unbothered by them.
“We’re not focused on the passive playing experience, but more of the emotion that’s evoked when you create your own controllers and play the games,” he explained. “At the end of the day, you have to experience it to get it."
Sakaguchi shared some of the obstacles the team at Nintendo went through while creating Nintendo Labo VR. One of these is the lens of the toy camera that made a clicking sound when you turn it for focus. He revealed that it took the team several tries to perfect that one single detail. He said that, “In VR experience, we think that what we see on the screen is important. But what we also think is important is what we can feel physically and emotionally.”
Only a million Labo kits were reportedly sold by Nintendo last year, but Nintendo said that they’ve expected this knowing that Labo is far different from other games. Ex-Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé told The Verge in an interview that, “It’s [referring to Labo] a game that’s going to sell for a very long time at a very steady pace.”
Sakaguchi explained that it is because Labo is a game that kids can grow with. A 5-year-old can build the kit, but can’t actually play it. “But that same kid, in about three years, when they’re at a perfect age to experience gameplay, I think they’ll be able to gain something that they weren’t able to gain earlier,” he said.
Meanwhile, a lot of players are showing their creativity with the kit just as Nintendo wanted. “In an earlier interview, I said, ‘We came up with all the fun ideas.’ But after seeing what users created, I was really ashamed of myself,” Sakaguchi said while laughing.
The Nintendo Labo VR kit’s price starts at $39.99, and with it you can experience the fun and creative side of virtual reality brought to us from Nintendo.
