金融時報:再次回歸：任天堂重返VR

再次回歸：任天堂重返VR

任天堂在1995年推出了游戲界第一款虛擬現(xiàn)實游戲機，但是當時代表了虛擬現(xiàn)實技術在消費領域的首次大膽嘗試的“Virtual Boy”卻未能被用戶接受。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

foray襲擊['f?re?]

fiscal財政的['f?sk(?)l]

lacklustre無光澤的['læk,l?st?]

blockbuster一鳴驚人的人['bl?kb?st?]

monochrome黑白的，單色的['mɑn?krom]

compelling引人注目的[k?m'pel??]

Nintendo signals cautious return to virtual reality （425words）

By Kana Inagaki

Nintendo's president has signalled that the Japanese video games company is exploring virtual reality technology more than two decades after its disastrous foray into what is the industry's hottest sector.

Tatsumi Kimishima's comments on Tuesday came after the Kyoto-based company reported a 36 per cent fall in net profit for the fiscal third quarter.

The lacklustre result had been widely expected after Nintendo missed the Christmas season to enter the mobile games market. Sales of its game devices also fell amid the absence of blockbuster titles while rival Sony continues to enjoy strong sales with its PlayStation 4 console.

For the quarter from October to December, net profit fell to Y29.1bn ($241m) from Y45.2bn a year earlier. That came in slightly above the Y23bn forecast by analysts.

Mr Kimishima told a news conference the company was carrying out research into virtual reality. It was an “interesting technology”, he said, but there was no specific plan to launch a product soon.

Nintendo was one of the first games groups to try to bring VR to consumers when it launched the Virtual Boy in 1995. But the firm abandoned the clunky red headset a year later amid complaints its monochrome screen caused headache.

Since then, technological advances have prompted a string of companies to enter the field. Facebook-owned Oculus VR began taking pre-orders for its Rift headset last month, while Sony's PlayStation VR will be launched in the first half of 2016. Apple also hired one of the top US researchers in virtual reality.

Naoki Fujiwara of Shinkin Asset Management said: “It has now become much easier to accept a VR device from Nintendo. If it can ride on the boom, it might be an interesting development.”

For now, though, Nintendo watchers are focused on its first smartphone game Miitomo, a character-based, social network-style service, that is scheduled to be launched next month. Investors are also pinning hopes that Nintendo will offer Mario Kart or Super Mario for its second mobile game title.

For a company whose most recent console, the WiiU, has delivered disappointing sales, the mobile gaming market figures had become increasingly compelling. At an estimated $7.5bn, Japan is the most valuable mobile games market, according to Deutsche Bank, which puts the worldwide market at $26bn.

Nintendo is working on a new console codenamed NX, although Mr Kimishima did not offer any fresh details.

In the third quarter, sales of Wii U console fell 2.1 per cent to 1.87m units, while sales of its 3DS handheld game device fell 28 per cent to 3.6m units.

請根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測題目：

1.Where is Nintendo's headquarters?

A.Tokyo

B.Hokkaido

C.Kyoto

D.Sapporo

答案(1)

2.Who is Nintendo's rival, producing PlayStation 4?

A.Sony

B.Microsoft

C.Google

D.Oculus

答案(2)

3.When did Nintendo abandon the Virtual Boy?

A.2005

B.2015

C.1995

D.1996

答案(3)

4.Where is the most valuable mobile games market, according to Deutsche Bank?

A.China

B.USA

C.Japan

D.Canada

答案(4)

* * *

(1)答案：C.Kyoto

解釋：任天堂的總部在京都。

(2)答案：A.Sony

解釋：任天堂已經(jīng)很久沒有推出重磅游戲，其游戲機的銷售因而一直在下滑，而競爭對手索尼的PlayStation 4游戲機卻銷售火爆。

(3)答案：D.1996

解釋：任天堂在1995年推出了Virtual Boy游戲機，這是游戲界第一次向消費者推出虛擬現(xiàn)實產(chǎn)品。一年之后，任天堂放棄了這款產(chǎn)品，原因是有用戶抱怨稱該產(chǎn)品的單色屏幕會造成頭疼。

(4)答案：C.Japan

解釋：根據(jù)德意志銀行的預測，日本是最大的手游市場。