20 Facts About Virtual Boy

Virtual Boy is a 32-bit tabletop portable video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo.

Development of the Virtual Boy lasted four years and began under the project name VR32.

The Virtual Boy was pushed to market in an unfinished state in 1995 to focus on the Nintendo 64.

Virtual Boy was panned by critics and was a commercial failure, even after repeated price drops.

Virtual Boy produced a stereoscopic head-tracking prototype called the Private Eye, featuring a tank game.

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Virtual Boy saw this as a unique technology that competitors would find difficult to emulate.

Virtual Boy had a short market timespan following its disappointing sales.

The Virtual Boy was discontinued that year without any announcement.

Nintendo extensively advertised the Virtual Boy and claimed to have spent on early promotional activities.

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.

The Virtual Boy system uses a pair of 1×224 linear arrays and rapidly scans the array across the eye's field of view using flat oscillating mirrors.

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.

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.

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

Virtual Boy 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.

Virtual Boy garnered negative critical reviews and was a commercial failure.

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.

Commercial failure of the Virtual Boy reportedly did little to alter Nintendo's development approach and focus on innovation.

Virtual Boy said it renders wireframe graphics, but its effects are generally used for two-dimensional games with depth-separated planes.

Virtual Boy stated that the graphics are not as appealing, and while developing the Nintendo 64, he had ruled out the use of wireframe graphics as too sparse to draw player characters.