{"wikiid":1455,"langid":"en","namespace":"CATEGORY","title":"Nintendo Virtual Boy","revisionid":2799484,"contents_raw":"== Background and Identification ==\n\nThe Nintendo Virtual Boy was one of few Nintendo products that can can be concretely described as \u2018failed\u2019. It consisted of a controller and visor that the player could wear over their eyes, which projected a 3D view of the games- a precursor to current VR headsets, and an important part of their [link|https:\/\/www.vrs.org.uk\/virtual-reality\/history.html|history].\n\nThe Virtual Boy was unsuccessful for a few reasons. The first was that it caused eye strain for some players. The headset projected a slightly different image to each eye, creating the illusion of depth using a visual effect called [link|https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Parallax|parallax]. It also projected the images using only red lights. Red was chosen because it caused the least battery drain, and was easy to see. The Virtual Boy also suffered from a lack of game variety- only 14 games for the device were released in the United States, and 22 in Japan.\n\nThe Nintendo Virtual Boy sold 770,000 units, and was discontinued about a year after its release. Although it was poorly received, it is now a collector\u2019s item due to its rarity. This sparked a community of gaming enthusiasts who then created forum called [link|https:\/\/www.planetvb.com\/modules\/news\/|Planet Virtual Boy], which is a forum dedicated to memorializing this console and developing their own versions of the device.\n\n== Technical Specifications ==\n\n* Weight: 760 g\n* Dimensions: 8.5\"H x 10\"W x 4.3\"D\n* Processor: 20 MHz, 32-bit RISC\n* 128 KB dual-port VRAM\n* Resolution: 384 x 224 pixels\n* 2-bit monochrome display (black and three shades of red)\n* 16-bit stereo sound\n* Power supply: 6 AA batteries\n\n== Additional Information ==\n\n[link|https:\/\/nintendo.fandom.com\/wiki\/Virtual_Boy|Virtual Boy - Nintendo Wikipedia]\n\n[link|http:\/\/www.computinghistory.org.uk\/det\/4595\/Nintendo-Virtual-Boy|Nintendo Virtual Boy - Computing History]","contents_json":{"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Background and Identification"}]},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"The Nintendo Virtual Boy was one of few Nintendo products that can can be concretely described as \u2018failed\u2019. It consisted of a controller and visor that the player could wear over their eyes, which projected a 3D view of the games- a precursor to current VR headsets, and an important part of their "},{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrs.org.uk\/virtual-reality\/history.html","target":false}}],"text":"history"},{"type":"text","text":"."}]},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"The Virtual Boy was unsuccessful for a few reasons. The first was that it caused eye strain for some players. The headset projected a slightly different image to each eye, creating the illusion of depth using a visual effect called "},{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Parallax","target":false}}],"text":"parallax"},{"type":"text","text":". It also projected the images using only red lights. Red was chosen because it caused the least battery drain, and was easy to see. The Virtual Boy also suffered from a lack of game variety- only 14 games for the device were released in the United States, and 22 in Japan."}]},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"The Nintendo Virtual Boy sold 770,000 units, and was discontinued about a year after its release. Although it was poorly received, it is now a collector\u2019s item due to its rarity. This sparked a community of gaming enthusiasts who then created forum called "},{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetvb.com\/modules\/news\/","target":false}}],"text":"Planet Virtual Boy"},{"type":"text","text":", which is a forum dedicated to memorializing this console and developing their own versions of the device."}]},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Technical Specifications"}]},{"type":"bulletList","attrs":[],"content":[{"type":"listItem","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Weight: 760 g"}]}]},{"type":"listItem","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Dimensions: 8.5\"H x 10\"W x 4.3\"D"}]}]},{"type":"listItem","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Processor: 20 MHz, 32-bit RISC"}]}]},{"type":"listItem","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"128 KB dual-port VRAM"}]}]},{"type":"listItem","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Resolution: 384 x 224 pixels"}]}]},{"type":"listItem","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"2-bit monochrome display (black and three shades of red)"}]}]},{"type":"listItem","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"16-bit stereo sound"}]}]},{"type":"listItem","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Power supply: 6 AA batteries"}]}]}]},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Additional Information"}]},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"https:\/\/nintendo.fandom.com\/wiki\/Virtual_Boy","target":false}}],"text":"Virtual Boy - Nintendo Wikipedia"}]},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"http:\/\/www.computinghistory.org.uk\/det\/4595\/Nintendo-Virtual-Boy","target":false}}],"text":"Nintendo Virtual Boy - Computing History"}]}]},"contents_rendered":"
<\/div>
<\/svg><\/span><\/a>

Background and Identification<\/h2><\/div>\n\n

The Nintendo Virtual Boy was one of few Nintendo products that can can be concretely described as \u2018failed\u2019. It consisted of a controller and visor that the player could wear over their eyes, which projected a 3D view of the games- a precursor to current VR headsets, and an important part of their history<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

The Virtual Boy was unsuccessful for a few reasons. The first was that it caused eye strain for some players. The headset projected a slightly different image to each eye, creating the illusion of depth using a visual effect called parallax<\/a>. It also projected the images using only red lights. Red was chosen because it caused the least battery drain, and was easy to see. The Virtual Boy also suffered from a lack of game variety- only 14 games for the device were released in the United States, and 22 in Japan.<\/p>\n\n

The Nintendo Virtual Boy sold 770,000 units, and was discontinued about a year after its release. Although it was poorly received, it is now a collector\u2019s item due to its rarity. This sparked a community of gaming enthusiasts who then created forum called Planet Virtual Boy<\/a>, which is a forum dedicated to memorializing this console and developing their own versions of the device.<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
<\/svg><\/span><\/a>

Technical Specifications<\/h2><\/div>\n\n