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Tech Hunters: Looking back at Nintendo's failed Virtual Boy
Long before the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, Nintendo was experimenting with a VR headset of it own. At first glance, the black-and-red Virtual Boy looked every bit as capable as the virtual reality headsets that were popular in the 90s, promising access to stereoscopic 3D worlds from the comfort of your living room. However, Nintendo got it wrong -- really wrong. With its two-legged stand, which led to many a bad back, and uncanny ability to induce eye strain, the Virtual Boy was gamble that never paid off. Released in August 1995, the Virtual Boy sold over 750,000 units during its brief life span. For some, that would be considered a success, but Nintendo was riding high from the success of the SNES, which had shifted over 20 million units by the time the 32-bit console hit North American shelves. Within six months, Nintendo had discontinued the system and shifted its focus to the development of the Game Boy Pocket and the Game Boy Color. Even though it's considered a failure for Nintendo, the Virtual Boy has become an intriguing collector's item for gaming enthusiasts. In this week's Tech Hunters episode, Julia Hardy tracks one down to find out more about the headset that was perhaps a little too ahead of its time.
Virtual Boy emulator digs up VR's embarrassing past
The Virtual Boy is often considered a bit of a failed experiment for Nintendo, but an intriguing collector's item for gaming enthusiasts. Unfortunately, it's never been comfortable or enjoyable by any means to actually sit down and play one unless you want to invite eye strain or other physical irritants, until now. One crafty Reddit user has brought the Virtual Boy catalogue to Google Cardboard and the RetroArch emulator.
Recommended Reading: The Ashley Madison hack should scare you
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. The Ashley Madison Hack Should Scare You, Too by Heather Havrilesky New York Magazine Reactions about cheaters getting what they deserve aside, the Ashley Madison hack and subsequent release of private info is reason for concern. The masses are flocking to the internet to sift through the details, digging for dirt on recognizable names. But what happens when another service housing sensitive, private info is hacked and the stolen goods are posted online for the world to view -- not necessarily one focused on adultery? "At the exact moment when citizens worldwide should be noticing that we're all living in glass houses, many of us are picking up stones instead," says New York Magazine's Heather Havrilesky.
The forgotten losers of the console wars
History is written by the victors, but for all those generations of console wars we've managed to weather through, what about the other guys? Opening this week, a new games museum in southern Japan houses 56 different consoles of varying fame (or infamy). For every NES/Famicom, there are curiosities like the huge "Pocket Home PC," failing on the very definition of its name. Remember the Sega Game 1000? We didn't, but we should probably cut these (mostly) beige consoles some slack. While most of the devices toured here weren't a commercial success, each helped gently push gaming toward its current state -- if only by firmly demonstrating what we didn't want. And yeah, we wish the Dreamcast was still around too. Here's to the games consoles we've loved and lost over the last 40 years.
Microsoft patent application gives us hope for head-mounted successor to Virtual Boy
Patent applications are full of hope and broken dreams, as it's far too easy to let a rampant imagination read beyond the layers of patent-attorney penned boilerplate. In the realm of the realistic, this application from Microsoft concerns a head-mounted display with a narrow-beam laser packing two dilation optics (us neither). If you then variate the diffraction grating between the two eyepieces, you create a three-dimensional virtual reality display. As much as we'd like to prowl the digital touchlines in Fifa Soccer with the Xbox equivalent of the Virtual Boy, it's more likely that we'll be stuck prowling our couches for years to come.
DIY Virtual Boy arcade cabinet costs only a headache to play
As you may have noticed, we have a bit of a soft spot for Nintendo's other 3D device, the Virtual Boy -- despite its many, many flaws. So, it seems, does DIYer Tighe Lory, who liked the oddball console so much that he built an full-size arcade cabinet for it. As you can see above, that comes complete with some custom joysticks that replace the Virtual Boy's controller, along with a sliding mechanism that lets you adjust the Virtual Boy itself to just the right height instead of forcing you to hunch over a table. It even has some buttons on each side specifically for Galactic Pinball, and some other authentic arcade touches like a Nintendo serial plate and a backlit marquee. Head on past the break for Tighe's grand tour on video.
Ben Heck crafts Atari-styled Xbox-360, takes us back to the '70s
Our man Ben Heck has done it again -- this time, he's taken modding to a new, retro level. Atari requested that Heck create a modded system as a promo for its new games, so our man teamed up with element14 and did what he does best. The master of mods has gutted an Xbox 360 and shoved it into a one-of-a-kind Atari 2600-esque case that he calls 'Xbox 360 1977 Edition.' The system's got switches from old Atari systems had that control disc-ejection and controller synchronization. Just like the classic Ataris, Heck's portable gaming laptop's got wood panels and a black finish -- and it's huge. The best part of this mod? Well, playing Street Fighter on Xbox 360 hidden inside of what would be a modern version of a classic like Atari is pretty cool, in our opinion. As cool a classic like the Virtual Boy though? We'll leave that for you to decide. Oh, and be sure to hit the source link to watch the mod get formed in 23 glorious minutes.
Nintendo Virtual Boy review
The 3DS is not Nintendo's first foray into the world of 3D gaming. In fact, it's not even the company's second. First up was a 3D headset for the good 'ol Famicom (NES in the US), but that never saw American shores and it wasn't anything more fancy than a set of active shutter glasses anyway -- the same sort HDTV manufacturers are trying to sell you today. However, the company's second 3D offering did make it to the US, where it landed with a spectacular thud. It was the Virtual Boy, a 32-bit portable console powered by six whole AA batteries and remembered by many for its ability to inspire more headaches than excitement in the gamers who tried it. It was released in the US in August of 1995 for $180 and was discontinued less than a year later. With the 3DS sitting now in back rooms of videogame and electronics stores nation-wide, waiting to spring into availability on March 27th, we thought this would be a good time to look back and give the Virtual Boy the full review it has always deserved but has never received.
iFixit celebrates Friday with teardown of Virtual Boy, the greatest game console man has ever known
We still have memories -- some would say nightmares, but we digress -- of hanging out at a neighbor's house and taking turns playing matches of Mario's Tennis, our biological ocular displays assimilated into a rubber mask that engulfed our brains and left us in a permanent state of viewing the world in red wireframe. Crude 3D though it may be, it's still a part of history we must accept, and if you happen to own a Virtual Boy, we have just two things to say to you. One: we're insanely jealous. Two: if you ever need to know how to rip it to shreds for repair / stress relief, iFixit's got you covered. In the world of Man with Screwdriver vs. Game Console, yet again Man wins. Seems a perfect ending to a week that featured Atari 2600, Nintendo Famicon, RCA Studio II, and Magnavox Odyssey 100. Check out highlights in the gallery below, or hit up iFixit for the whole shebang. %Gallery-101218%
Flashboy Plus revives Nintendo's Virtual Boy, literally one game at a time
When a beloved console like the Sega Dreamcast rises from the ashes it's not a huge surprise, but we never thought we'd see the day when the homebrew community would unearth Nintendo's Virtual Boy. Behold: the Flashboy Plus, the second of two flash carts developed specifically to spur development for Nintendo's original stereoscopic system, featuring a new backup battery (unlike the 2007 original) and a full 16Mbit of memory, reportedly enough to fit any one of the system's 22 commercially released games. Since the battery only keeps one save state stored at a time and there's no way to read the battery-backed memory, you'll still have to finish one game before you start another, but at least this way you don't lose your progress every time you shut the system off. Believe it or not, the first batch of 50 units has already been spoken for, but you haven't necessarily missed out yet; €90 (about $113) is your ticket to an elite (read: tiny) virtual utopia of piracy and homebrew when the second set ships at year's end.
WRUP knows its real roots
We return to the roots of Joystiq's WRUP series, celebrating one of the best examples of a "missing link" between handheld and home consoles. Nintendo's Virtual Boy wasn't exactly sure which one it was supposed to be; 13 years later, we're still not sure, either. Fun fact: Nintendo only shipped 800,000 of these worldwide. Compare that to the Nintendo DS' total sales of 2.41 gazillion units. Alexander Sliwinski: I've got my first WoW raid in almost eight months tonight. It's time to prep for WotLK and relearn my Paladin. Probably get a couple more CivRev achievements (still need conquer on Deity). Otherwise, patiently awaiting Fable 2's arrival on Tuesday. I tried Amazon's new "release day" shipping, so I'm curious to see if it works. Christopher Grant is turning Japanese-ah, I really think so. And truth be told, he's a very tall guy, so it might take awhile. Griffin McElroy: I am currently nearing the end of Evidence: The Last Ritual (In Memoriam 2 for European readers), which, I believe it's worth noting, is much more terrifying than that Dead Space title my cohorts seem so infatuated with. I would wager that the antagonist of their game doesn't send them e-mails informing them that they are waiting just outside their door, anxiously awaiting the chance to turn their skin into some sort of hat. Kevin Kelly: I'm jumping on the Dead Space bandwagon as well, and for some strange reason I started playing through the Halo 3 campaign again and I have no idea why. I'm also still trying to get the Bayonet for my Springfield Rifle in Call of Duty: World at War. Damn bolt-action gunplay! Kyle Orland: James Ransom-Wiley: With Dead Space put to rest (and the Phils just resting!), I'm clear to head out of town for the girlfriend's sister's law school family weekend -- that's right, folks, I'll be playing the new, WORLD EXCLUSIVE bonus content for the game of Life! In my absence, my best friend has volunteered to apartment-sit (a.k.a. shut himself in, pull the curtains, and finally sink into MGS4). Nothing quite like the first time, is there? Jason Dobson: Finishing cleaning up the creepy crawlies cluttering up the Ishimura this weekend, as well as putting the finishing details on my Halloween costume. But what will Jason be? Justin McElroy: OK, I think I'm finally going to crack open Dead Space. Also, I'm going to try to get some Warhammer Online. (Praag sever, Order side, I'm Amundsen, say "hi".) Ludwig Kietzmann: I've got a deadline to work with this weekend. With my copy of Dead Space arriving on Monday, I'll have to clear out my survival-horror plate -- meaning Silent Hill Homecoming -- before Sunday calls it quits. When I'm not immersing myself in a corroded iron nightmare, I'll be traipsing through the more cheerful lands of Vesperia. And when real-time combat grows tiresome, I've always got my turn-based fodder to fall back on in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Randy Nelson: I had been planning to scare myself silly playing Dead Space. Instead, I think I'll just do something silly in LittleBigPlanet. What? It's been delayed? But I have my boxed copy right here! Wow, this really is a rare gaming experience ... in more ways than one. [Ed. Note: All those in favor of beating Randy to a bloody pulp, say "I."] Ross Miller will be jumping back-and-forth between Dead Space and -- not to take as much heat as Randy LittleBigHalfNelson -- Fallout 3.
Become a Virtual collector
New to Nintendo handhelds with the DS? Interested in learning firsthand about one of Nintendo's weirdest, most baffling missteps? Or maybe you just want the full catalog of releases for a Nintendo system, and want to take the easiest way out? The DS has hundreds of games-- you can't collect all of those! Maybe you love red.Whatever the (crazy) reason, you now have the opportunity to buy the full set of US-released Virtual Boy games for $1,500 (or best offer.) They're all complete in their boxes, where they should remain for all time. It even includes Nester's Funky Bowling, the only game to star a character created for Nintendo Power magazine! Well, the only game other than Pilotwings 64, which kind of featured Nester as well.[Via GameSniped]
Today's most failure-prone video: Console duds
In today's video pick, GameTrailers counts down its list of the top ten console failures, including the Jaguar, Virtual Boy, and 3DO. We were tortured by watching footage of these console failures, yet we couldn't turn away, wishing that the hardware had succeeded while laughing about all the obvious reasons the systems bombed. The list covers the systems we expected; would you have added others?See the video after the break.
The Top 7 Nintendo Mistakes are sure to offend somebody
GamesRadar has just put up their list of historical Nintendo blunders, and ... wow. We hope they're wearing flame-retardant clothing. The list has seemingly noble enough intentions: to analyze how Nintendo went from the absolute biggest name in video games to pretty much third place. Ultimately, it's probably meant to incite arguments, and they'll get plenty of them.But if there's anything we've learned from years of being on the Internet and from specializing in Nintendo discussion, it's that any negative word about Nintendo will summon a cacophony of fanboy hate. Never mind that a lot of the things on the list (with one very notable exception) are definitely huge mistakes and probably did contribute to Nintendo's semi-downfall in the pre-DS days. Let's try to buck the trend here. Let's have an open discussion about Nintendo's missteps, instead of screaming at naysayers and trying to spin the Virtual Boy as a good thing.
Desperate fan claims he will destroy Virtual Boy
There are a lot of crackpot fans out there when it comes to Nintendo. You know the ones. They delve so deep into that world of Mario and Link that they often become unreachable. Kind of like the kid that beat Mario Bros. 3 in 11 minutes. Our new friend Jack here holds in his hands an often sought-after piece of gaming history -- the Virtual Boy. If you aren't familiar with the Virtual Boy, quickly re-educate yourself via Wikipedia. The plot is simple. Jack has devised a plan to get a Wii. He started a site called Destroy My Virtual Boy that is dedicated to the destruction of this gaming antique. Jack has put the power of destruction in his donors hands. The highest bidder decides how Jack demolishes his Virtual Boy if enough money is raised. If he does not get the shining $250, he will cut his Virtual Boy in half. Why? Because he is a crazed Wii Fanboy. The site is complete with donor names and their amounts given along with plenty of photos, videos, a bio and information about his Wii fund. Jack also has jumped on the self advertisement wagon and started a MySpace page. In a way, this reminds us of Save Toby, minus the whole killing a live bunny act. What's worse is that people are going for it. So far the highest bidder is John G. who laid out $50 for Jack's cause. Though watching someone destroy video game systems can be visually arresting, we are on the fence. Do we call these donors baboons for giving in to a kid or do we call them muses for feeding his creativity? [Thanks Dave Elliot!]
