Virtual Boy
It’s fair to say that with new gadgets such as the Oculus Rift and 3D technology becoming more advanced than ever, we’re in a good generation now to experience decent gameplay in an alternative reality. Sadly, when Nintendo created the Virtual Boy in 1995, advancements weren’t quite so good.
Branded as portable, the iconic red headset on a tripod embedded a dual virtual reality screen when worn and boasted true 3D graphics for the first time ever. Admitting that using color images would have made the system too expensive, so it went for monochrome – that actually also just looked red and black. While it was designed to be worn on the head, it was far too large and heavy without a harness and you had to be sat at a table for ultimate comfort. Even the controllers went all futuristic on us and dual D-pads were added to enhance the 3D experience.
You could exhaust the Virtual Boy’s gaming library in a week with just 22 titles released for the console. Although you definitely wouldn’t want to, as playing it for too long caused many health problems ranging from headache, dizziness, and nausea to neck and eye strain, as well as speculation that repeated gameplay could even cause permanent brain damage. Job well done, Nintendo.
