Virtual Boy: Difference between revisions

Virtual Boy (edit)

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 {{LLQuote|We saw the future, and it was black and red.|British Official Nintendo Magazine}}
-The '''Virtual Boy''' is a video game system by [[Nintendo]] released August 14, 1995. Its twin eyeglass-style projector displays monochromatic images in black and red once labeled by Nintendo as "true 3D." The console was a flop for many reasons, including its lack of portability and the headaches gameplay caused in a matter of minutes. Concern regarding Nintendo's warnings that the Virtual Boy could cause eye problems also detracted potential customers, though there is an automatic pause every 15 minutes. It was also released before it was ready to keep fans occupied during the long wait for the [[Nintendo 64]], and many weren't willing to invest in the Virtual Boy with another Nintendo system on its way. Due to its failure in less than a year in Japanese and American markets, the Virtual Boy was never exported to Australia or Europe. It only shipped 800,000 units and sold 770,000 of them during its lifetime.<ref>[http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/111823/the-10-worst-selling-consoles-of-all-time-page-2-of-2/ GamePro - 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time (pg. 2/2)]</ref> After its retirement, creator [[Gunpei Yokoi]] was promoted to a position without any actual power, and subsequently left Nintendo in disgust.
+The '''Virtual Boy''' is a video game system by [[Nintendo]] released August 14, 1995. It was intended to keep players entertained while they waited for the release of the Nintendo 64. It consisted of a red box on black legs which had a pair of black rubber glasses that players would look into to play games. The game images were 3D, and were in black and red, which was once referred to by Nintendo as "true 3D". The console was a commercial failure for many reasons, including its lack of portability and the headaches gameplay caused in a matter of minutes. Concern regarding Nintendo's warnings that the Virtual Boy could cause eye problems also detracted potential customers, though with the Virtual Boy there is an automatic pause every 15 minutes. It was also released before it was ready to keep fans occupied during the long wait for the [[Nintendo 64]], and many weren't willing to invest in the Virtual Boy with another Nintendo system on its way, as it was extremely expensive. Due to its failure in the Japanese and American video game markets, the Virtual Boy wasn't released in Europe or Australia, and it was discontinued just one year after it was released. It only shipped 800,000 units and sold 770,000 of them during its lifetime.<ref>[http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/111823/the-10-worst-selling-consoles-of-all-time-page-2-of-2/ GamePro - 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time (pg. 2/2)]</ref> After it was discontinued, creator [[Gunpei Yokoi]] was promoted to a position without any actual power, and subsequently left Nintendo in disgust. He did take the failure of the Virtual Boy very personally, but after he left, it was revealed that he only left because he planned to retire in 1990, but his retirement was delayed. He was killed in a car accident the following year.
 The system was codenamed VR32 and was shown in Nintendo's annual Shoshinkai show in Japan. The company unveiled the Virtual Boy, a console Yokoi had worked on for two years. The strange-looking device had a couple of stylish legs on which was a visor one could look into. Upon looking inside, the players were able to play games that appeared to be on a 3D plane.