Nintendo will triumph with use of innovation
Jon Carrelli
Issue date: 1/20/06 Section: Entertainment
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Long ago, in the times when Nintendo was an untouchable force, the company released what will perhaps be known as the most curious release in their storied history. Metroid and Kid Icarus producer Gunpei Yokoi created the Virtual Boy, released in the summer of 1995. Also one of the main driving forces behind the creation of the Game Boy, Yokoi 3-D system flopped worldwide. Exactly one year after the Virtual Boy's release, Yokoi resigned from Nintendo just as it was releasing the Game Boy Pocket.
The Virtual Boy was a console that to created a red and black 3D environment with the use of a twin eyeglass projector. The image that a player sees is created by linear arrays, red LEDs and vibrating mirrors. For example, in the console's top-selling game Mario Tennis, the player would feel as if the tennis ball was heading toward them. Another platform game, Wario Land, utilized the 3D option to allow the character to jump between the background and foreground.
A puzzling feature of many games, such as Panic Bomber and Galactic Pinball, was that the 3-D technology wasn't used to make the gameplay unique. Rather, the 3-D option in these games was only used for enhanced background graphics. The graphics for the system were rather limited by the use of two colors and most closely resembled early-generation Super Nintendo games. The pixilated rendered graphics were extremely unimpressive especially after the release of Donkey Kong Country for the SNES nearly a year earlier. The decision to use two colors, however, was made due to financial constraints and the technology available at the time.
With a launch price of $180 and little support from game developers, the Virtual Boy was assuredly doomed. Purchasers of the system soon complained of eye fatigue and headaches as they pressed there foreheads against the system's flimsy foam padding. Furthermore, games were equipped with an automatic pause function that would allow players to rest their weary heads after 15-30 minutes had past. Although the system was capable of linking to another for one-on-one gameplay, so few owned the console that it would be quite remarkable if two could be found side by side within a 10-mile radius. Besides, it probably struck people as strange to lie down with their head in a console and still consider it "hanging out" with a friend. The insular nature of virtual reality never allowed it to catch on as a social event. Now with the advent of online gameplay and consoles with multiple controller ports, gaming is now arguably more of a social event than it ever was.
The Virtual Boy was a console that to created a red and black 3D environment with the use of a twin eyeglass projector. The image that a player sees is created by linear arrays, red LEDs and vibrating mirrors. For example, in the console's top-selling game Mario Tennis, the player would feel as if the tennis ball was heading toward them. Another platform game, Wario Land, utilized the 3D option to allow the character to jump between the background and foreground.
A puzzling feature of many games, such as Panic Bomber and Galactic Pinball, was that the 3-D technology wasn't used to make the gameplay unique. Rather, the 3-D option in these games was only used for enhanced background graphics. The graphics for the system were rather limited by the use of two colors and most closely resembled early-generation Super Nintendo games. The pixilated rendered graphics were extremely unimpressive especially after the release of Donkey Kong Country for the SNES nearly a year earlier. The decision to use two colors, however, was made due to financial constraints and the technology available at the time.
With a launch price of $180 and little support from game developers, the Virtual Boy was assuredly doomed. Purchasers of the system soon complained of eye fatigue and headaches as they pressed there foreheads against the system's flimsy foam padding. Furthermore, games were equipped with an automatic pause function that would allow players to rest their weary heads after 15-30 minutes had past. Although the system was capable of linking to another for one-on-one gameplay, so few owned the console that it would be quite remarkable if two could be found side by side within a 10-mile radius. Besides, it probably struck people as strange to lie down with their head in a console and still consider it "hanging out" with a friend. The insular nature of virtual reality never allowed it to catch on as a social event. Now with the advent of online gameplay and consoles with multiple controller ports, gaming is now arguably more of a social event than it ever was.
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