Nintendo NX News And Rumors: Powerful New Console To Have VR Functionality? [VIDEO]

The Nintendo NX has been making waves since the device was first mentioned in rumors. Though Nintendo seemed to be gearing up for an initial 2016 release for the upcoming console, the Japanese gaming giant has since moved the device's big reveal to early 2017.

While Nintendo has stated that the delay was due to the development of more material for the console, speculation is high that the firm is also in the process of adding full VR support for the upcoming machine.

If the rumors are indeed true, it would mark a significant turnaround for Nintendo's traditional strategies. While its rivals, Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox, have reveled in putting more power and monster specs to their consoles, Nintendo has largely been focused on creating systems that are specifically designed for games and gamers alone.

This was the strategy that ultimately gave Nintendo the crown during the previous console generation, with the Japanese firm's Wii far outselling its rivals, the PS3 and the Xbox 360 by a wide margin. This was despite the fact that the Wii's rivals are far more powerful and loaded with features than Nintendo's machine.

Thus, Nintendo's speculated move towards VR is taken by many fans with a grain of salt. After all, doing so would entail Nintendo to follow conventions, and that is something that Nintendo has so far avoided.

Not only this, Nintendo is known as the company which produced one of the most prominent failed VR products in the past, the ill-fated Virtual Boy. After the massive failure of the bulky, low-powered, eye strain-inducing device, Nintendo fans believed that it would probably take nothing short of a miracle to persuade Nintendo to pursue virtual reality again.

Then again, this is Nintendo we are talking about. The firm has already asserted that the device would bring a completely new gaming experience to players. Thus, if the company is pursuing VR for the NX, it would probably be a type of VR technology that has not been utilized before.

For now, at least, Nintendo fans would have to make do with the firm's scheduled live stream of the new Legend of Zelda game this upcoming E3 2016.