Virtual Boy
Encyclopedia
The was a video game console
developed and manufactured by Nintendo
. It was the first video game console that was supposed to be capable of displaying "true 3D graphics
" out of the box. Whereas most video games use monocular cues to achieve the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional screen, the Virtual Boy creates an illusion of depth through the effect known as parallax
. In a manner similar to using a head-mounted display
, the user looks into an eyepiece made of neoprene
on the front of the machine, and then an eyeglass-style projector allows viewing of the monochromatic
(in this case, red) image.
It was released on July 21, 1995 in Japan and August 14, 1995 in North America at a price of around US$
180. It was not released in PAL markets. It met with a lukewarm reception that was unaffected by continued price drops. Nintendo discontinued it the following year.
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.
was experimented with but was found to cause users to see double instead of creating the illusion of depth. In addition, LCDs at the time had low refresh rates, and were often blurry. They also consumed more power than LEDs.
The Virtual Boy, which uses an oscillating mirror to transform a single line of pixels into a full field of pixels, requires high-performance LEDs in order to function properly. Because each pixel is only in use for a tiny fraction of a second (384 pixels wide, 50.2 Hz scan rate = approximately 52 µs per scanline), high peak brightness is needed to make the virtual display bright and comfortable for the user to view. The two-screen system demanded a fast refresh rate, unlike the original Game Boy
which had blurry motion, so using an LCD was not an option.
s" to control elements in the aforementioned 3D environment.
The controller itself is shaped like an "M" (similar to a Gamecube controller
). One holds onto either side of the controller and the part that dips down in the middle contains the battery pack. There are six buttons on the controller (A, B, Start, Select, L and R), the two D-pads, and the system's "on/off" switch. The two directional pads are located on either side of the controller at the top. The "A" and "B" buttons are located below the pad on the right side and the "Start" and "Select" buttons are located in the same spot on the left side. What would normally be called "shoulder buttons" ("L" and "R") are located behind the area where the pads are, on the back of the controller, functioning more as triggers.
Despite how the two D-pads were supposed to control elements in the 3D environment, both D-pads are interchangeable in most games; both do the same thing. For others with a more 3D environment, like Red Alarm
, 3D Tetris
, or Teleroboxer
, each pad controls a different feature. For Red Alarm, one directional pad controls pitch and direction of the protagonist's
ship, while the other controls up, down, and strafe
movement. For Teleroboxer, each control pad, in conjunction with the trigger/shoulder buttons, controls the position of the corresponding fist of the character. For 3D Tetris, The D-pads flip and move the blocks. The symmetry of the controller also allows games like Vertical Force
to feature the option to reverse the controls for left-handed
people (similar to the Atari Lynx). This kind of concession to left-handed people has been repeated with the Nintendo
Wii
console and to a lesser extent the Nintendo DS
on some of its more touchscreen oriented games.
One of the unique features of the controller is the extendable power supply that slides onto the back. It houses the six AA batteries required to power the system. This can be substituted with a wall adapter, though a "slide on" attachment is required for the switchout. Once the slide on adapter is installed, a power adapter can be attached to provide constant power.
The system's EXT (extension) port, located on the underside of the system below the controller port, was never officially supported since no "official" multiplayer games were ever published, nor was an official link cable released. (Although Waterworld and Faceball were going to use the EXT port for multiplayer play, the multiplayer features in the former were removed and the latter was cancelled. The Virtual Boy console itself is also fairly rare to come by.) At Planet Virtual Boy, a Virtual Boy fan site, there is a tutorial on how to make a multiplayer cable for the Virtual Boy by modifying a couple of standard Nintendo Composite cables
. Only a few games supported the link cable.
!Processor
|NEC V810 (P/N uPD70732)
32-bit RISC Processor @ 20 MHz (18 MIPS)
1 KB instruction cache
|-
!Memory
|128 KB dual-port VRAM
128 KB of DRAM
64 KB WRAM (PSRAM
)
|-
!Display
(× 2)
| Reflection Technologies Inc. (RTI) Scanning LED Array (SLA) P4
1 × 224 pixel resolution (when scanned; 384 x 224)
2-bit monochromatic (black + 3 shades of red)
50.2 Hz Horizontal Scan Rate
|-
!Power
|6 AA Batteries or DC10V 350mA AC Adapter/Tap
(third-party Performance Adaptor DC 9V 500mA)
|-
!Sound
|16-bit Stereo
|-
!Controller
|6 buttons and 2 D-pads
uses NES
controller protocol
|-
!Serial Port
|8 pin cable
|-
!Hardware
Part
Numbers
|VUE-001 Virtual Boy Unit
VUE-003 Stand
VUE-005 Controller
VUE-006 Game Pak
VUE-007 Battery Pack
VUE-010 Eyeshade
VUE-011 AC Adapter Tap ("Use With Super NES AC Adapter No. SNS-002 Only")
VUE-012 Eyeshade Holder
VUE-014 Red & Black Stereo Headphones
|-
!Weight
|750 grams
|-
!Dimensions
|8.5"H × 10"W × 4.3"D
|}
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
developed and manufactured by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
. It was the first video game console that was supposed to be capable of displaying "true 3D graphics
Stereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
" out of the box. Whereas most video games use monocular cues to achieve the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional screen, the Virtual Boy creates an illusion of depth through the effect known as parallax
Parallax
Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. The term is derived from the Greek παράλλαξις , meaning "alteration"...
. In a manner similar to using a head-mounted display
Head-mounted display
A head-mounted display or helmet mounted display, both abbreviated HMD, is a display device, worn on the head or as part of a helmet, that has a small display optic in front of one or each eye .- Overview :...
, the user looks into an eyepiece made of neoprene
Neoprene
Neoprene or polychloroprene is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene. Neoprene in general has good chemical stability, and maintains flexibility over a wide temperature range...
on the front of the machine, and then an eyeglass-style projector allows viewing of the monochromatic
Monochrome
Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
(in this case, red) image.
It was released on July 21, 1995 in Japan and August 14, 1995 in North America at a price of around US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
180. It was not released in PAL markets. It met with a lukewarm reception that was unaffected by continued price drops. Nintendo discontinued it the following year.
Technical information
Monochrome display
The Virtual Boy is iconic for its monochromatic use of red LED pixels; they were used due to being the least expensive, the lowest drain on batteries, and for being the most striking color to see. During development, a color LCDLiquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
was experimented with but was found to cause users to see double instead of creating the illusion of depth. In addition, LCDs at the time had low refresh rates, and were often blurry. They also consumed more power than LEDs.
The Virtual Boy, which uses an oscillating mirror to transform a single line of pixels into a full field of pixels, requires high-performance LEDs in order to function properly. Because each pixel is only in use for a tiny fraction of a second (384 pixels wide, 50.2 Hz scan rate = approximately 52 µs per scanline), high peak brightness is needed to make the virtual display bright and comfortable for the user to view. The two-screen system demanded a fast refresh rate, unlike the original Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
which had blurry motion, so using an LCD was not an option.
Controller
The Virtual Boy, being a system with heavy emphasis on three-dimensional movement, needed a controller that could operate along a Z axis. The Virtual Boy's controller was an attempt to implement dual digital "D-padD-pad
A D-pad is a flat, usually thumb-operated directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern video game console gamepads, game controllers, on the remote control units of some television and DVD players, and smart phones...
s" to control elements in the aforementioned 3D environment.
The controller itself is shaped like an "M" (similar to a Gamecube controller
Nintendo GameCube controller
The Nintendo GameCube controller is the standard controller for the Nintendo GameCube video game console.-Overview:Released alongside the Nintendo GameCube console, the standard GameCube controller has a wing grip design. This controller was bundled with all new GameCube systems throughout the...
). One holds onto either side of the controller and the part that dips down in the middle contains the battery pack. There are six buttons on the controller (A, B, Start, Select, L and R), the two D-pads, and the system's "on/off" switch. The two directional pads are located on either side of the controller at the top. The "A" and "B" buttons are located below the pad on the right side and the "Start" and "Select" buttons are located in the same spot on the left side. What would normally be called "shoulder buttons" ("L" and "R") are located behind the area where the pads are, on the back of the controller, functioning more as triggers.
Despite how the two D-pads were supposed to control elements in the 3D environment, both D-pads are interchangeable in most games; both do the same thing. For others with a more 3D environment, like Red Alarm
Red Alarm
is a game for the Virtual Boy video game console. Released in August 1995 by T&E Soft, it was one of the four titles available at the console's introduction. The game takes place 70 years in the future , where a computer named KAOS threatens to take over the world and destroy mankind...
, 3D Tetris
3D Tetris
3D Tetris is a video game released for the Virtual Boy in 1996. A Japanese version was planned, to be called Polygo Block, but production of games was ceased due to lack of interest in the Virtual Boy system...
, or Teleroboxer
Teleroboxer
is a game for Nintendo's Virtual Boy video game console. The game is a boxing simulator played in the first person view.-Gameplay and premise:Teleroboxer takes place in the 22nd century, when a technology called "Telerobotics" is used, allowing people to control robots to do tasks not normally...
, each pad controls a different feature. For Red Alarm, one directional pad controls pitch and direction of the protagonist's
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
ship, while the other controls up, down, and strafe
Strafing (gaming)
In video games, strafing is the technique of moving the player's character from side to side, rather than forward and backward. In the context of first-person shooters, it refers to the movement alone, even when no weapon is being fired...
movement. For Teleroboxer, each control pad, in conjunction with the trigger/shoulder buttons, controls the position of the corresponding fist of the character. For 3D Tetris, The D-pads flip and move the blocks. The symmetry of the controller also allows games like Vertical Force
Vertical Force
Vertical Force is a vertically-scrolling shooter, with two layers for Nintendo's Virtual Boy video game system. It was developed by Hudson Soft and released in 1995.-Gameplay:...
to feature the option to reverse the controls for left-handed
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...
people (similar to the Atari Lynx). This kind of concession to left-handed people has been repeated with the Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
console and to a lesser extent the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
on some of its more touchscreen oriented games.
One of the unique features of the controller is the extendable power supply that slides onto the back. It houses the six AA batteries required to power the system. This can be substituted with a wall adapter, though a "slide on" attachment is required for the switchout. Once the slide on adapter is installed, a power adapter can be attached to provide constant power.
Extension port
The system's EXT (extension) port, located on the underside of the system below the controller port, was never officially supported since no "official" multiplayer games were ever published, nor was an official link cable released. (Although Waterworld and Faceball were going to use the EXT port for multiplayer play, the multiplayer features in the former were removed and the latter was cancelled. The Virtual Boy console itself is also fairly rare to come by.) At Planet Virtual Boy, a Virtual Boy fan site, there is a tutorial on how to make a multiplayer cable for the Virtual Boy by modifying a couple of standard Nintendo Composite cables
Composite video
Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...
. Only a few games supported the link cable.
Specifications
|+Hardware specifications!Processor
|NEC V810 (P/N uPD70732)
32-bit RISC Processor @ 20 MHz (18 MIPS)
1 KB instruction cache
|-
!Memory
|128 KB dual-port VRAM
128 KB of DRAM
64 KB WRAM (PSRAM
Dynamic random access memory
Dynamic random-access memory is a type of random-access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit. The capacitor can be either charged or discharged; these two states are taken to represent the two values of a bit, conventionally called 0 and 1...
)
|-
!Display
(× 2)
| Reflection Technologies Inc. (RTI) Scanning LED Array (SLA) P4
1 × 224 pixel resolution (when scanned; 384 x 224)
2-bit monochromatic (black + 3 shades of red)
50.2 Hz Horizontal Scan Rate
|-
!Power
|6 AA Batteries or DC10V 350mA AC Adapter/Tap
(third-party Performance Adaptor DC 9V 500mA)
|-
!Sound
|16-bit Stereo
|-
!Controller
|6 buttons and 2 D-pads
uses NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
controller protocol
|-
!Serial Port
|8 pin cable
|-
!Hardware
Part
Numbers
|VUE-001 Virtual Boy Unit
VUE-003 Stand
VUE-005 Controller
VUE-006 Game Pak
VUE-007 Battery Pack
VUE-010 Eyeshade
VUE-011 AC Adapter Tap ("Use With Super NES AC Adapter No. SNS-002 Only")
VUE-012 Eyeshade Holder
VUE-014 Red & Black Stereo Headphones
|-
!Weight
|750 grams
|-
!Dimensions
|8.5"H × 10"W × 4.3"D
|}
| 128 megabit addressable ROM space (4–16 megabit ROM used in released games) 128 megabit addressable RAM space (0–8 kilobyte Kilobyte The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information... Battery Backed RAM in released games) 128 megabit addressable expansion space (unused in any released games) Expansion interrupt available to the cartridge Left and right audio signals pass through cartridge 60-pin connector |
Development
The Virtual Boy was designed by Gunpei Yokoi, the general manager of Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division, and the inventor of the Game & WatchGame & Watch
is a line of handheld electronic games produced by Nintendo from to . Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi, each Game & Watch features a single game to be played on an LCD screen in addition to a clock and an alarm ....
and Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
handheld consoles. While compact and seemingly portable, the Virtual Boy was not intended to replace the Game Boy in Nintendo's product line, as use of the system requires a steady surface and completely blocks the player's peripheral vision. According to David Sheff
David Sheff
David Sheff is an American author of the New York Times best-selling memoir Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction. In 2009, Sheff was included in the Time Magazine Time 100, The World's Most Influential People, and Beautiful Boy was named the best nonfiction book of the year...
's book Game Over, Yokoi never actually intended for the console to be released in its present form. However, Nintendo pushed the Virtual Boy to market so that it could focus development resources on the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
.
Reception
Hype surrounding the device included public musings by Nintendo that the device might resemble a gun set vertical, projecting a 3D image in the air. The actual device was considered a disappointment said to this description by Nintendo of America:"Powered by a 32-bit processor, the Virtual Boy produced very impressive 3-D effects, although the monochromatic graphic style proved to limit the appeal of the visuals."
The commercial demise of the Virtual Boy was considered to be the catalyst that led to Yokoi being driven from Nintendo, yet it was maintained that Yokoi kept a close relationship with Nintendo despite Yokoi having later created a rival handheld system
WonderSwan
was a line of handheld game consoles produced in Japan by Bandai between 1999 and 2003. It was developed by the late Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto and Bandai...
for Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
. According to Game Over, the company laid the blame for the machine's faults directly on the creator. The Virtual Boy was discontinued in late 1995 in Japan and in early 1996 in North America.
In 2007, the system was listed as number five in PC World
PC World (magazine)
PC World is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal-technology products and services...
's "The Ugliest Products in Tech History" list. TIME Magazine's website listed the Virtual Boy as one of the worst inventions of all time.
Because Nintendo only shipped 800,000 Virtual Boy units worldwide, it is considered a valuable collector's item.
During the lead-in to the release of Nintendo's 3DS
Nintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
, Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
discussed what he felt were the issues with the Virtual Boy. One was the actual use of the three dimensional effects - while it was designed to render wireframe graphics, it was generally used to separate two-dimensional games into different planes separated by depth. Further, Miyamoto stated that the graphics were not as appealing, and while developing the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
, had ruled out the use of wireframe graphics as too sparse to draw players. Finally, he states that he perceived the Virtual Boy as a novelty that should not have used the Nintendo license so prominently.
Marketing
Voice-overs for some advertisements were done by Dylan BrunoDylan Bruno
Dylan Bruno is an American actor and former model. He portrayed FBI agent Colby Granger in the CBS series Numb3rs.-Personal life:...
. There were several in-store promotional videos created for various games (as well as the Virtual Boy itself), and the system was actively marketed in magazines and on TV. The marketing slogan was "A 3D Game for a 3D World".
Games
Due to the short lifespan of the system, only 22 games were released. Of them, 19 games were released in the Japanese market, while only 14 were released in North America.When asked if Virtual Boy games were going to be available for download on the Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
for the Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime told Kotaku that he could not answer, as he was unfamiliar with the platform.
See also
- List of Virtual Boy demos
- Nintendo 3DSNintendo 3DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
A 2011 handheld game consoleHandheld game consoleA handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
released by Nintendo. - Sega VRSega VRSega, flush with funds from the Sega Mega Drive , announced the Sega VR add-on in 1991. It was based on an IDEO virtual reality headset with LCD screens in the visor and stereo headphones...
A 1993 prototype virtual realityVirtual realityVirtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
add-on for the Sega Genesis. - Entex Adventure VisionEntex Adventure VisionThe Adventure Vision is a self-contained cartridge-based video game console released by Entex Industries in 1982. The Adventure Vision was Entex's second generation system...
A 1982 video game console with similar mechanical operation. - R-ZoneR-ZoneThe R-Zone was a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Tiger Electronics, released in 1995. The R-Zone was a largely unsuccessful handheld console and would only be manufactured for a short period of time...
A 1995 handheld game consoleHandheld game consoleA handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
released by Tiger ElectronicsTiger ElectronicsTiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets. When Tiger was an independent company, Tiger Electronics Inc., its headquarters were in Vernon Hills, Illinois....
.
External links
- Virtual Boy at Nintendo.com (archived versions at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
- List of Virtual Boy games at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
- Virtual Boy Hardware Specifications at Planet Virtual Boy
- Virtual Boy Programmers Manual at Planet Virtual Boy
- Performance Adapter Set at virtual-boy.org