1. They've already been burnt from trying to enter the VR market early with the Virtual Boy. I understand that times are different now, but the memory of the previous failure would definitely have some influence. 2. VR doesn't fit in with Nintendo's ethos of social gaming, which runs deep in the company. The idea that Nintendo seems to have with the majority of its products is to bring people closer together, here are some small touches that highlight this... Famicom (family computer), N64 (four controller ports), Gamecube (handle on console so can easily move, including to bring to a friend's house), Wii (all the casual games), I could go on. VR isolates us, we're physically there but our attention is not.
Perhaps Nintendo will do something with multiplayer VR (requiring more power than single player VR), or with AR, but I do think it'll take more than just a shrewd business decision to get Nintendo back using VR.
> Buy Valve.
Valve is a privately held company that displays zero desire to be bought by anyone. I don't think it is possible to buy them at all.
VR is next. Buy Valve. Buy Oculus. Or poach talent. Nintendo is the best company with the creative talent, playfulness, and penchant for risk-taking that is going to be necessary to rethink the gaming experience for VR. If they pull it off they will leapfrog MS and Sony and cement their legacy for another generation of gamers. Right now really feels like the opportunity that comes along once every 20-30 years in the tech industry where a few players thinking ahead make the right investments and file the right patents and absolutely dominate the next cycle.