While Sony and Microsoft want to be on the cutting edge of gaming innovation and progression, Nintendo seems to be a little more concerned with making the current games market the most fun it can be.

According to Nintendo Life, in a recent interview with French publication Les Numériques, Nintendo France MD Philippe Lavoué said that Nintendo is not currently pursuing  4k and virtual reality technologies.

“If you look at VR headsets, I doubt they can appeal to the mainstream. Consumers are not patient with entertainment if you’re not able to deliver an all-inclusive package.

 

As far as 4K is concerned, is it useful to invest in a technology that has not been adopted by the majority? Where are 4K TVs now? Is it a good idea to invest in a technology before consumers do? We can’t invest in everything.”

Gaming has thrived on the back of general innovation, but being ahead of the curve doesn’t always have the greatest results. The Dreamcast was largely ahead of its time, but that didn’t turn out well for Sega. Atari’s Jaguar missed the mark too, despite being technologically ahead of the curve. Even the Wii U was ahead of its time.

The Nintendo Switch has been a monumental success and it certainly benefited from the Wii U coming before it, getting people used to the idea of gaming on what was essentially a tablet. The Switch isn’t innovative or groundbreaking, it’s an evolution of the Wii U and handheld gaming.  

Nintendo not currently pursuing 4k and VR is just them waiting until the market is ready, not making the same mistake they did with the Wii U. Spending less time on innovation has also likely given them more of an opportunity to focus on what’s in front of them. That’s why Zelda, Mario and so many other games they’ve released in the last year have been so amazing.

Skipping out on the research and development part of VR is just a good business decision. They know their audience isn’t filled with early adopters. Their audience is primarily the casual gamer and the gaming for fun crowd. While Sony, Nintendo and PC compete over largely the same audience, Nintendo is content with being the best version of its present self.