Ubisoft Fun House: ‘VR is the new Wii’

The developer behind Ubisoft’s first VR title has said that the nascent medium could eventually be as successful as Nintendo’s Wii.

Olivieri Palmieri is heading up creation of Eagle Flight as director at Ubisoft’s experimental Fun House studio.

The prototype-cum-full release allows players to fly over Paris in the form of its titular fowl, tilting their head to manoeuvre the bird.

It is this focus on easily-understood control methods that Palmieri told Gamasutra marks virtual reality as holding the potential for mass-market popularity – recreating the ‘pick up and play’ accessibility of the motion-controlled Wii.

“Maybe this is surprising but, for me, VR is the new Wii," he suggested.

"It can be very simple, very accessible. Very simple to play. The cost of it is high, yes, but in terms of experience, it’s something that anyone can play. It could be the next Wii.

“I’ve seen many people try our game. They’d never played video games before and they’re not good with a controller – they don’t even know how to hold it – but they were able to play our game and have fun.”

Palmeri’s comments closely echo those of DayZ creator Dean Hall, who recently said: “In reality I see this as a very expensive Wii.

"The Wii was successful because it offered simple, fun, approachable experiences at a low cost."