Wikipedia

Virtual Boy

TheVirtual Boy[a]is a32-bittabletopportable video game consoledeveloped and manufactured byNintendo.Released in 1995, it was marketed as the first console capable of displayingstereoscopic 3Dgraphics. The player uses the console like ahead-mounted display,placing the head against the eyepiece to see a red monochrome display. The games use aparallaxeffect to create the illusion of depth. Sales failed to meet targets, and Nintendo ceased distribution and game development in 1996, having released only 22 games for the system.

Virtual Boy
Virtual Boy with controller
DeveloperNintendo R&D1
ManufacturerNintendo
TypeVideo game console
GenerationFifth
Release date
  • JP:July 21, 1995
  • NA:August 14, 1995
Lifespan1 year
Discontinued
  • JP:December 22, 1995
  • NA:August 1996
Units sold770,000[1]
MediaROM cartridge
CPUNECV810@ 20MHz
Memory64 KB workPSRAM
128 KB graphicsDRAM
128 KBVRAM
Display384×224
RelatedFamicom 3D System
Nintendo 3DS

Development of the Virtual Boy lasted four years and began under the project nameVR32.Nintendo entered a licensing agreement to use a stereoscopic LED eyepiece technology that had been developed since the 1980s by US company Reflection Technology. It also built a factory in China to be used only for Virtual Boy manufacturing. Over the course of development, the console technology was downscaled due to high costs and potential health concerns, and an increasing amount of resources were reallocated to the development of theNintendo 64,Nintendo's next home console. Lead game designerShigeru Miyamotohad little involvement with the Virtual Boy software. The Virtual Boy was pushed to market in an unfinished state in 1995 to focus on the Nintendo 64.

The Virtual Boy was panned by critics and was acommercial failure,even after repeated price drops. Its failure has been attributed to its high price, unusual display consisting of only red and black, unimpressive stereoscopic effect, poor ergonomics, lack of true portability, and health concerns due to it giving many players headaches, dizziness, nausea and eye pain. Stereoscopic technology in video game consoles reemerged in later years to more success, including Nintendo's3DShandheld console. As of March 2021,it is Nintendo's lowest-selling standalone console and the only one to have less than one million units sold, seconded by theWii U's 13.6 million units.[2]

History

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Development

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Since 1985, a red LED eyepiece display technology called Scanned Linear Array was developed byMassachusetts-based Reflection Technology, Inc. (RTI).[3][4]The company produced a stereoscopichead-tracking12-inch display device prototype calledPrivate Eye,featuring a tank game.[5]Seeking funding and partnerships by which to develop it into a commercial technology, RTI demonstrated Private Eye to the consumer electronics market, includingMattelandHasbro.[4]Segadeclined the technology, due to its single-color display and concerns aboutmotion sickness.[4][6]

Nintendo enthusiastically received the Private Eye, as led byGunpei Yokoi,the general manager of Nintendo'sR&D1and the inventor of theGame & WatchandGame Boyhandheld consoles. He saw this as a unique technology that competitors would find difficult to emulate. Additionally, the resulting game console was intended to enhance Nintendo's reputation as an innovator[4][7]and to "encourage more creativity" in games.[8]: 514 Codenaming the project "VR32",[4]Nintendo entered into an exclusive agreement with Reflection Technology, Inc. to license the technology for its displays.[3]While Nintendo'sResearch & Development 3 division(R&D3) was focused on developing theNintendo 64,the other two engineering units were free to experiment with new product ideas.[7]

Spending four years in development and eventually building a dedicated manufacturing plant in China,[4]Nintendo worked to turn its VR32 vision into an affordable and health-conscious console design. Yokoi retained RTI's choice of red LED because it was the cheapest,[7]and because unlike a backlit LCD, its perfect blackness could achieve a more immersive sense of infinite depth.[4]RTI and Nintendo said a color LCD system would have been prohibitively expensive,[4][9]retailing for more thanUS$500(equivalent to $1,000 in 2023).[8]: 514 A color LCD system was also said to have caused "jumpy images in tests".[9]With ongoing concerns about motion sickness, the risk of developinglazy eyeconditions in young children, and Japan's new Product Liability Act of 1995, Nintendo eliminated the head tracking functionality and converted its headmounted goggle design into a stationary, heavy, precision steel-shielded, tabletop form factor conformant to the recommendation of the Schepens Eye Research Institute.[4][8]: 514 

[W]e experimented with a color LCD screen, but the users did not see depth, they just saw double. Color graphics give people the impression that a game is high tech. But just because a game has a beautiful display does not mean that the game is fun to play.... Red uses less battery and red is easier to recognize. That is why red is used for traffic lights.

— Gunpei Yokoi[8]: 514 

Severaltechnology demonstrationswere used to show the Virtual Boy's capabilities.Driving Demois one of the more advanced demos; its 30-second clip shows a first-person view of driving by road signs and palm trees. This demo was shown atE3andCESin 1995.[10]The startup screen of the Virtual Boy prototype was shown atShoshinkai 1994.[11][12]A "very confident" projection of "sales in Japan of three million hardware units and 14 million software units as of March 1996" was given to the press.[13]The demo of what would have been aStar Foxgame showed anArwingdoing various spins and motions.[14]Cinematic camera angles were a key element, as they are inStar Fox 2.It was shown at E3 and CES in 1995.

As a result of increasing competition for internal resources alongside the flagship Nintendo 64, and little involvement from lead game designerShigeru Miyamoto,Virtual Boy software was developed without Nintendo's full attention.[4]According toDavid Sheff's bookGame Over,the increasingly reluctant Yokoi never intended for the increasingly downscaled Virtual Boy to be released in its final form. However, Nintendo pushed it to market so that it could focus development resources on its next console, theNintendo 64.[15]

Release

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The New York Timespreviewed the Virtual Boy on November 13, 1994.[16]The console was officially announced via press release the next day, November 14. Nintendo promised that Virtual Boy would "totally immerse players into their own private universe".[17]Initial press releases and interviews about the system focused on its technological capabilities, avoiding discussion of the actual games that would be released.[7]The system was demonstrated the next day at Nintendo'sShoshinkai 1994trade show.[7]Nintendo of Americashowed the Virtual Boy at theConsumer Electronics Showon January 6, 1995.[17]

Even with cost-saving measures in place, Nintendo priced the Virtual Boy at a relatively highUS$179.95(equivalent to $370 in 2023).[4][7][8]: 513 Though slightly less expensive and significantly less powerful than a home console, this was considerably more costly than the Game Boy handheld. With seemingly more advanced graphics than Game Boy, the Virtual Boy was not intended to replace the handheld in Nintendo's product line, as use of the Virtual Boy requires a steady surface and completely blocks the player's peripheral vision.Design Newsdescribed the Virtual Boy as the logical evolution of theView-Master3D image viewer.[18]

The Virtual Boy was released on July 21, 1995, in Japan and on August 14, 1995, in North America[19][failed verification][20]with thelaunch gamesMario's Tennis,Red Alarm,Teleroboxer,andGalactic Pinball.[21]It was not released in PAL markets. In North America, Nintendo shippedMario's Tenniswith every Virtual Boy sold, as apack-in game.[22]Nintendo had initially projected sales of three million consoles and 14 million games.[17]The system arrived later than other 32-bit systems likePlayStation,3DO,andSaturn,but at a lower price.[9]

At the system's release, Nintendo of America projected hardware sales of 1.5 million units and software sales numbering 2.5 million by the end of the year.[19][23]Nintendo had shipped 350,000 units of the Virtual Boy by December 1995, around three and a half months after its North American release.[24]The system is number 5 onGamePro's "Top 10 Worst Selling Consoles of All Time" list in 2007.[25]

The Virtual Boy had a short market timespan following its disappointing sales. The last game officially released for the Virtual Boy was3D Tetris,released on March 22, 1996.[26]More games were announced for the system at theElectronic Entertainment Expoin May 1996, but these games were never released.[7]The Virtual Boy was discontinued on December 22, 1995, in Japan and August 1996 in North America without any announcement.[7][25][27]In June 1996, Nintendo reported toFamitsuworldwide sales of 770,000 Virtual Boy units, including 140,000 in Japan.[1]Next Generationreported that 13,000 Virtual Boy units were sold in December 1996.[28]

Promotion

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Nintendo extensively advertised the Virtual Boy and claimed to have spentUS$25 millionon early promotional activities.[7]Advertising promoted the system as a paradigm shift from past consoles; some pieces usedcavemento indicate a historical evolution, while others utilized psychedelic imagery. Nintendo targeted an older audience with advertisements for the Virtual Boy, shifting away from the traditional child-focused approach it had employed in the past.[7]Nintendo portrayed the system as a type of virtual reality, as its name indicates. Nintendo also focused on the technological aspects of the new console in its press releases, neglecting to detail specific games.[7]

Challenged by showing three-dimensional gameplay on two-dimensional advertisements, the company partnered withBlockbusterandNBC.[7][29]A$5 millioncampaign promoted NBC's late 1995 lineup alongside the Virtual Boy.[30]American viewers were encouraged via television advertisements on NBC to rent the console for $10 at a local Blockbuster. This affordable demonstration[7]provided 750,000 consoles for rent, some in a clamshell Blockbuster case.[31]Upon returning the unit, renters received a coupon for $10 off its purchase from any store.[29][32]The promotion included 3,000 Blockbuster locations, and sweepstakes with prizes including trips to see the taping of NBC shows.[30]The popular rental system proved harmful to the Virtual Boy's long-term success, allowing gamers to see just how non-immersive the console was.[7]By mid-1996, Blockbuster was selling its Virtual Boy units at $50 each.[33]The marketing campaign overall was commonly thought of as a failure.[34]

Hardware

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TheCPUis anNECV81032-bitRISCchip,[3]making the Virtual Boy Nintendo's first 32-bit system.[9]The Virtual Boy system uses a pair of 1×224 linear arrays (one per eye) and rapidly scans the array across the eye's field of view using flat oscillating mirrors. These mirrors vibrate back and forth at a very high speed, thus the mechanical humming noise from inside the unit. Each Virtual Boy game cartridge has a yes/no option to automatically pause every 15–30 minutes so that the player may take a break before any injuries come to the eyes. One speaker per ear provides the player with stereo audio.[35]

Display

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The screens of the Virtual Boy

The Virtual Boy is the first video game console that was supposed to be capable of displaying stereoscopic "3D" graphics, marketed as a form of virtual reality.[36]Whereas most video games usemonocular cuesto achieve the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional screen, the Virtual Boy creates an illusion of depth through the effect known asparallax.Like using ahead-mounted display,the user looks into an eyeshade made ofneopreneon the front of the machine, and then an eyeglass-style projector allows viewing of themonochromaticred image.

The display consists of two two-bit (four shade) monochrome red screens of 384×224 pixels[37]and aframe rateof approximately 50.27Hz.[38]It uses an oscillating mirror to transform a single column of 224 red LEDs into a full field of pixels. Nintendo claimed that a color display would have made "jumpy" images and have been too expensive.[9]A color display would have required red, green, and blue LEDs; blue LEDs were then considerably expensive. This, plus the other drawbacks, influenced the decision for monochrome.

Controller

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The Virtual Boy controller, and battery pack instead of AC adaptor

The Virtual Boy is meant for the player to be seated at a table,[16][39]and Nintendo promised but did not release a harness to wear while standing.[9]

The Virtual Boy's heavy emphasis on three-dimensional movement requires the controller to operate along a Z-axis. Its controller is an attempt to implement dual digitalD-padsto control elements in the 3D environment. The controller is M-shaped, reminiscent of theNintendo 64 controller.[40]The player holds onto either side of the controller which has a unique extendable power supply that slides onto the back, housing the system's sixAA batteries.The batteries can be substituted with a wall adapter, via a "slide-on" attachment for constant power.

In more traditional two-dimensional games, the two directional pads are interchangeable.[41]For others with a more 3D environment, likeRed Alarm,3D Tetris,orTeleroboxer,each pad controls a different feature. The symmetry of the controller also allows left-handed gamers to reverse the controls, as does theAtari Lynx.[42]

Connectivity

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During development, Nintendo promised the ability to link systems for competitive play.[9]A Virtual Boy link cable was being worked on at Nintendo as late as the third quarter of 1996.[33]The system's EXT (extension) port, located on the underside of the system below the controller port, was never officially supported because no "official" multiplayer games were ever published. Two games were intended to use the EXT port for multiplayer play, but the multiplayer features were removed fromWaterworld[43]andFaceballwas canceled.[44]

Games

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Main article:List of Virtual Boy games
Mario's Tennis,the North American pack-in for Virtual Boy, is converted by anemulatorto anaglyphic red and blue format, to simulate the Virtual Boy's stereoscopic display on a 2D display.
3D red cyanglasses are recommended to view this image correctly.

Nintendo initially showcased threelaunch gamesand planned two or three per month thereafter.[9]Given the system's short lifespan, only 22 games were actually released. Of them, 19 games were released in the Japanese market, and 14 were released inNorth America.[45]Third party support was extremely limited compared to previous Nintendo platforms. According toGunpei Yokoi,Nintendo presidentHiroshi Yamauchihad dictated that only a select few third-party developers be shown the Virtual Boy hardware before its formal unveiling, to limit the risk of poor-quality software appearing on the system.[46]

When asked if Virtual Boy games were going to be available for download on theVirtual Consolefor theNintendo 3DS,Nintendo of America PresidentReggie Fils-Aimésaid he could not answer, as he was unfamiliar with the platform. He noted that, given his lack of familiarity, he would be hard-pressed to make the case for the inclusion of the games on the Virtual Console.[47]

The hobbyist community atPlanet Virtual Boyhas developed Virtual Boy software.[7]Two previously unreleased games,Bound HighandNiko-Chan Battle(the Japanese version ofFaceball) were released.

Reception

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Using the Virtual Boy eyepiece

The Virtual Boy garnered negative critical reviews and was acommercial failure.[48]It failed for several reasons including "its high price, the discomfort caused by play [...] and what was widely judged to have been a poorly handled marketing campaign".[34]

Gamers who previewed the system at theShoshinkai 1994trade showcomplained that theMariodemo was not realistic enough, was not in full color, and didn'tmotion-trackthe image when players turn their heads.[9]In the lead editorial ofElectronic Gaming Monthlyfollowing the show, Ed Semrad predicted that the Virtual Boy would have poor launch sales due to the monochrome screen, lack of true portability, unimpressive lineup of games, and the price, which he argued was as low as it could get given the hardware but still too expensive for the experience.[49]Next Generation's editors were also dubious of the Virtual Boy's prospects after the show, and concluded their article on the system by commenting, "But who will buy it? It's not portable, it's awkward to use, it's 100% antisocial (unlike multiplayerSNES/Genesisgames), it's too expensive and – most importantly – the 'VR' (i.e. 3D effect) doesn't add to the game at all: it's just a novelty. "[50]

Following its release, reviews of the Virtual Boy tended to praise its novelty but questioned its ultimate purpose and longtime viability.The Los Angeles Timesdescribed the gameplay as being "at once familiar and strange".[21]The column praised the quality of motion and immersive graphics but considered the hardware tedious to use and non-portable. In a later column, the same reviewer found the system to be somewhatasocial,but held hope for its future.[51]Reviewing the system shortly after its North American launch,Next Generationsaid, "Unusual and innovative, the Virtual Boy can be seen as a gamble in the same way that theGame Boywas, but it's a lot harder to see the VB succeeding to the same world-conquering extent that the Game Boy did. "They elaborated that while the sharp display and unique 3D effect are impressive, aspects such as the monochrome display and potential vision damage to young gamers severely limit the system's appeal. They added that the software library was decent, but failed to capitalize on Nintendo's best-selling franchises because games fromThe Legend of ZeldaandMetroidwere absent, theMariogames were not in the same style as the series's most successful installments, and it lacked a system seller to compare with the Game Boy'sTetris.[52]

Though Nintendo had promised a virtual reality experience, the monochrome display limits the Virtual Boy's potential for immersion.[7][52]Reviewers often considered the three-dimensional features a gimmick, added to games that were essentially two-[7]or even one-dimensional.[53]The Washington Postsaid that even when a game gives the impression of three-dimensionality, it suffers from "hollow vector graphics".[53]Yokoi, the system's inventor, said the system did best with action and puzzle games,[52]although those types of games provided only minimal immersion. Multiple critics[7][34]lamented the absence ofhead-trackingin the Virtual Boy hardware. Critics found that, as a result, players were unable to immerse themselves in the game worlds of Virtual Boy games. Instead, they interacted simply via a controller, in the manner of any traditional two-dimensional game. Boyer said the console "struggles to merge the two distinct media forms of home consoles and virtual reality devices". Though the device employs some basic virtual reality techniques, it does so like the traditional home console with no bodily feedback incorporated into gameplay.[7]

Many reviewers complained of painful and frustrating physiological symptoms when playing the Virtual Boy. Bill Frischling, writing forThe Washington Post,experienced "dizziness, nausea and headaches".[53]Reviewers attributed the problems to both the monochromatic display and uncomfortable ergonomics. Several prominent scientists concluded that the long-term side effects could be more serious, and articles published in magazines such asElectronic Engineering TimesandCMP Media'sTechWebspeculated that using any immersive headset such as the Virtual Boy could cause sickness,flashbacks,and evenpermanent brain damage.[54]Nintendo, in the years after Virtual Boy's demise, has been frank about its failure.Howard Lincoln,chairman ofNintendo of America,said flatly that the Virtual Boy "just failed".[7]

Legacy

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According toGame Over,Nintendo blamed the machine's faults directly on its creator, Gunpei Yokoi.[15]The commercial failure of the Virtual Boy was reportedly a contributing factor to Yokoi's withdrawal from Nintendo, although he had already planned to retire years prior and then finished the successful Game Boy Pocket, which was released shortly before his departure.[55]According to his Nintendo and Koto colleague Yoshihiro Taki, Yokoi had originally decided to retire at age 50 to do as he pleased but had simply delayed it.[56]Nintendo held that Yokoi's departure was "absolutely coincidental" to the market performance of any Nintendo hardware.[57]The New York Timesmaintained that Yokoi kept a close relationship with Nintendo.[58]After leaving Nintendo, Yokoi founded his own company, Koto, and collaborated withBandaito create theWonderSwan,a handheld system competing with the Game Boy.

The commercial failure of the Virtual Boy reportedly did little to alter Nintendo's development approach and focus on innovation.[7]The console's focus on peripherals and haptic technology reemerged in later years.[59]The original inventor, Reflection Technology, Inc., was reportedly financially "devastated" by the Virtual Boy's performance, with dwindling operations by 1997.[4]

TheNintendo 3DSconsole was launched in 2011, as a handheld gaming console withautostereoscopic3D visuals, without any special glasses. Prior to launch,Shigeru Miyamotodiscussed the Virtual Boy. He said it renders wireframe graphics, but its effects are generally used for two-dimensional games with depth-separated planes. He stated that the graphics are not as appealing, and while developing theNintendo 64,he had ruled out the use of wireframe graphics as too sparse to draw player characters. Finally, he stated that he perceived the Virtual Boy as a novelty that should not have used the Nintendo license so prominently.[60]

In February 2016,Tatsumi Kimishimastated that Nintendo was "looking into" virtual reality but also explained that it would take more time and effort for them to assess the technology,[61]and in a February 2017 interview withNikkei,he stated that the company was "studying" VR, and would add it to theNintendo Switchonce it is figured out how users can play for long durations without any issues.[62]Nintendo introduced a VR accessory for the Switch as part ofLabo,a line of player-assembled cardboard toys leveraging the console's hardware andJoy-Concontrollers. In this case, the console is used as a head-mounted display for the headset.

Hobbyists adapted Virtual Boy to other displays.Emulationenabled modern stereoscopic goggles such asGoogle Cardboard,Samsung Gear VRandOculus Riftin 2016.[63][64]In 2018, hobbyist Furrtek released a board that replaces the display circuitry, allowing the Virtual Boy to be played on a VGA monitor or television set.[65]On February 25, 2024, ahomebrewVirtual Boy emulator for the Nintendo 3DS was released, named "Red Viper", which made it possible to play the Virtual Boy library using stereoscopic 3D.[66]

Nintendo has referenced the Virtual Boy in other games, such asTomodachi Life—where a trailer for thelife simulation gameincludes a scene of severalMiicharacters humorously worshipping the Virtual Boy.[67][68]InLuigi's Mansion 3,Luigiuses a device byProfessor E. Gaddknown as the "Virtual Boo" to access maps and other information in-game (succeeding the use of devices referencing theGame Boy Colorand first-generationNintendo DSin previous installments). Its menus use a red and black color scheme, with E. Gadd optimistically boasting that the device would "fly off the shelves".[69]

As of 2024, Virtual Boy merchandise is sold at theNintendo Museumin Kyoto, Japan.[70]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Virtual Boy(Japanese:バーチャルボーイ,Hepburn:Bācharu Bōi)

References

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Further reading

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  • Yokoi, Gunpei; Makino, Takefumi (May 1997).Yokoi Gunpei Game House(Hoành giếng quân bình ゲーム quán,Yokoi Gunpei Gēmu-kan).ASCII.ISBN978-4-89366-696-3.
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