Miyamoto doesn’t seem to think that mixing Mario with VR would result in the sort of platforming experience that Nintendo aims for with the Super Mario series.
The statement came in an interview between himself and USA Today after he revealed Super Mario Run at an Apple event in San Fransisco, CA. Super Mario Run is an upcoming on-rails runner-platformer game for mobile, similar to Temple Run or SEGA’s Sonic Dash.
“I would agree that adapting Mario to new platforms is a key to keeping him relevant,” says Miyamoto. “But we want families to play together, and virtual reality (which requires players to be closed off from the real world) doesn’t really fit well there. We also like people playing for a long time, and it’s hard to do that in VR.”
Although the creator of one of Nintendo’s most recognizable mascots does not think VR is appropriate for the Italian plumber, he expressed excitement at the thought of Nintendo properties appearing in their own smartphone games.
” . . . up until recently we found that mobile devices weren’t best suited to gaming. But that’s changing.”
It seems that developer Niantic’s wild success with Pokemon GO may have warmed up Miyamoto and other minds at Nintendo to the idea of expanding the platform options for some of their most-played properties. Even though Nintendo recently saw a noticeable drop in stocks, it still remains higher than it was before Niantic released their AR collect-a-‘mon.
While AR and VR are similar technologies, they are quite different. Virtual reality tries to pull you into its simulated world, while augmented reality attempts the exact opposite: to bring the game into the real world around you.