Regardless of wide-ranging backwards compatibility with Nintendo’s earlier consoles, we will’t say we had excessive hopes for this one. As we suspected, Nintendo has now confirmed that its Labo VR Equipment gained’t work on the newly unveiled Nintendo Swap 2.
Launched in 2019, Nintendo’s Labo: Toy-Con 04 VR Equipment was the corporate first public experiment in trendy VR, which included a cardboard holder and lenses, letting Swap homeowners slot within the handheld console to play a wide range of attention-grabbing mini-games, a lot of which included their very own one-off DIY cardboard devices.
Now, after the corporate’s huge Nintendo Direct livestream yesterday, which included the revealing on its $450 Swap 2 handheld, the corporate says Labo VR merely gained’t work on its next-gen console—pretty apparent, since Swap 2’s 7.9 inch (~20cm) show is bigger than the unique’s 6.2 inch (15.75cm) show.
“The Nintendo Swap 2 console can’t be inserted into the Toy-Con VR Goggles accent, so this sport can’t be performed,” Nintendo confirms in its official Swap 2 sport compatibility information.
That additionally means you gained’t have the ability to play any of the Nintendo titles that assist primary VR viewing on that higher-res (however bigger), greater body charge show, which included The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tremendous Mario Odyssey, and Tremendous Smash Bros. Final.
That stated, the corporate launched Labo VR nicely after the launch of the unique Swap, which got here out in 2017, so it’s doable the Japanese gaming large might have one thing else up its sleeve, once more transferring in its common sluggish and deliberate method.
For now, there are solely actually a number of measly crumbs of hope. In 2024 Nintendo printed a patent for a VR add-on much like Labo VR, which appears nearer to a Cardboard-like design that might slot right into a Nintendo handheld. Granted, all merchandise have patents, however not all patents have merchandise, so it might simply be one other case of Nintendo marking territory fairly than making a product as such.
There was additionally a rumor in late 2023 that Nintendo was partnering with Google to create a standalone headset, though we’ve heard nothing since. As a substitute, Google appears to be specializing in creating its Android XR working system for the upcoming Samsung Venture Moohan combined actuality headset.
To dive just a little deeper, try why we expect Nintendo hasn’t made an actual VR headset but. And nope, Digital Boy undoubtedly doesn’t rely.
