Support NeoGAF

[saintjules]

 

[simpatico]

I remember renting one of these from Blockbuster a couple times. It was.... weird. I was pretty determined to make it work and be enjoyable for long sessions, but I don't recall it ever working out. I do remember finding a way to prop it on my face laying down in bed. Was probably 12ish.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Never tried it. Dont think I ever saw one in the open for a demo try.

Always heard it gave people headaches. Want to give it a try one day and see how queasy it really is.

 

[ABnormal]

It's still funny that it said "Virtual reality" to market it, while it's just a 3D tv to be looked at from close. No movement, no interaction. Just 3D gaming strapped on face.

 

[Hookshot]

Never touched one. Can't imagine staring at red and black screens for ages is good for the eyes.

 

[jshackles]

I remember hitting up the demo unit at Toys R Us tons of times, and saving up my paychecks to finally buy it with Wario Land and Red Alarm.

Wario is still the best game the system had to offer.

 

[SidViscous]

I remember importing one and being pretty happy with it, Mario Tennis, Telroboxer and Warioland were all great. Warioland is still one of my favourite platformers but as so many of the mechanics required the depth-perception to work, it's not like it can just be emulated or ported, the 3DS was a perfect chance to port it with colour, but Nintendo chickened out making the 3D mandatory for any games.

 

[Woggleman]

I tried one back when I used to work at The Wiz and it gave me a headache.

 

[GloveSlap]

Without the context of it's cost and general viability, it was actually pretty cool and fun. I loaded up on VB stuff when Target clearanced out the system for like $30 and games for $5.

 

[ByWatterson]

Playing it at KB Toys was RAD and I won't be taking questions at this time.

 

[ReBurn]

I remember it just like it was 30 years ago. I remember trying it in some department store that doesn't exist anymore and it making my eyes cross. It was also before my strabismus surgery so it could also have been because of that.

 

[Holammer]

Tried Mario Tennis for a couple of minutes when a Nintendo sales rep dropped by with a machine.
Boss asked if we should carry it? I said it was shit and would flop. Very awkward moment for the Bergsala guy.

 

[bender]

The best VR headset that has ever been created.

 

[Sonik]

Black and red, these were its two colors, who the fuck approved of that shit? Sounds like something a weird indie horror game would do

 

[kevboard]

damn, that reminds me that I wanted to mod my New 3DS and get the emulator for it...

I need a new SD card reader tho... the old one is broken.

 

[Fermbiz]

I remember playing the Demo at a Toys R Us. I thought it was pretty cool.

I wonder how it looks if it were emulated on a VR headset.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I'll be honest - I thought it was cool. I rented it at Blockbuster a couple times (remember when you could do that?) and had fun. Teleroboxer was great, I liked Red Alarm (which I'm sure has not aged well), and the Wario Land game was a lot of fun. I actually think the red and black visuals were a really good look.

As an adult, I'm sure it would be insanely uncomfortable to use. Just a terrible hardware idea in every possible way.

 

[Magic Carpet]

More years than games.
I had a friend who owned one of these and had a box with all the games. All of em.

 

[scydrex]

As a kid i brought one. What a piece of crap that was. I sold it immediately to someone who wanted it.

 

[GateofD]

pretty sure if i had one, it would have made me blind. it couldn't have been healthy for the eyes

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

My friend across the street had it. I played a ton of Mario Tennis. I thought I played a lot of Faceball but apparently it never officially released. Not sure if I'm misremembering or if it was demo or prototype. I should buy one. I have a retro video game place closer to me than the closest GameStop.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

I had fun with this thing back in the day

At the time it was pretty mind blowing stuff

I liked Mario tennis

I distinctly remember this thing giving me the worst headache after like 30 minutes

 

[Trogdor1123]

Never tried it but always wanted to. I wonder how much they cost now

 

[Unknown?]

Tried it at Toys R Us. I liked it enough but hated the graphics.

 

[Dacvak]

I still haven't played the Wario land game on the VB. I've got a VB, but I need to repair one of the ribbon cables to get the right eye to display properly.

Someday I'll spend the 2 hours to do so.

 

[consoul]

WarioLand is actually a really good platformer. (SMT spin-off) Jack Bros. is good too.

The rest of the catalog is not amazing tbh.
I have a couple of Virtual boys, only one still works correctly. When you read up on how the display actually works, it's astounding they ever worked at all.

 

[KuraiShidosha]

I loved it. Probably my first truly immersive gaming experience. I was born in 1987 so I was really young when I got one. I remember just spending hours in there playing Wario Land, Mario Tennis and Red Alarm. I'd come out and everything in real life was purple and wavy lol good times.

 

[Vyse]

I remember playing the Demo at a Toys R Us. I thought it was pretty cool.

I wonder how it looks if it were emulated on a VR headset.

You are old like me my friend. Played it at Toys R Us as well.

 

[Wonko_C]

It's still funny that it said "Virtual reality" to market it, while it's just a 3D tv to be looked at from close. No movement, no interaction. Just 3D gaming strapped on face.

Exactly. It's a peepbox. It has more in common with the 3DS than with actual VR headsets, and I mean VR headsets from the same time period, not even modern ones.

The sad thing is that almost everybody who hasn't tried VR thinks it's exactly that: 3D gaming with a box strapped to your head. (Myself included.)

 

[Aesius]

One of the few gaming systems I never wanted as a kid. And count me in on the "tried it at Toys R Us" posse. It looked super cool in Nintendo Power, but I hated it immediately when I tried to play it.

 

[drganon]

I played it once at a demo kiosk at target. I'm pretty sure the game was Wario. What I really remember was that it gave me a headache after about 5 minutes of gameplay.

 

[Soltype]

Brother bought one, I really liked wario and tennis. VB Tennis is still one of the my favorite sports games, the ball scaling back and forth was very convincing.

 

[linko9]

My first video game system. I loved it, even though I only had three games (wario, tennis, golf). Obviously a dumb idea, but real fun.

For the longest time Gamefaqs had a "cheat" listed for tennis for how to unlock Rush from Megaman. It involved playing way too much Mario's Tennis. I did it of course, and there is needless to say no Rush in the game. The soundtrack is great though, so time well spent.

 

[VeganElduderino]

I remember seeing and trying that beautiful red beast at Blockbuster! you could tell this was some of the evolution of gaming! I'm so happy to be born in the 80s

 

[kunonabi]

I had fun with all the games I played, loved the controller, and never got any headaches or eye strain from it. Still kinda wish I bought one despite everything but I already bought a Jaguar so buying another doomed console wasn't on the table.

 

[zokie]

thank you Mr Gunpei and NCL should do something about the VB stock collecting dust in their warehouses

 

[Alexios]

Nintendo gets a free pass and that's why this shit sells gazillions and we now have Virtual Boy 6, Nintendo 512, GameCube 3 & Wii U2.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

The Nintendo Virtual Boy is remembered as one of Nintendo's biggest console flops, and honestly, it earned that reputation. Released in 1995, this bizarre "home console" used red LED displays to create its signature stereoscopic 3D effect. But over 30 years later, those very LED modules are the reason most Virtual Boys no longer work.

In this video, we crack open the Virtual Boy, break down why it fails, and perform a permanent LED module fix to bring its 3D visuals back to life. We'll also tackle several other long-standing hardware flaws, restore aging components, and fix the problems Nintendo never did.

—--

Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:13 Mod/repair Overview
6:05 Mod Tutorial
17:15 Features, Pros and Cons

 

[Mindman]

I actually joined an AOL chat room where Nintendo was giving one away to a random user in there and won it.

Horrible system but I regret selling it a few days later!

 

[TKOFromTokyo]

It looked stupid in the commercials and I remember trying it at Circuit City. It was straight up trash.

 

[Paltheos]

"Ahead of its time" Sure, Gamestop. Pray tell at what time period would this exact set of hardware have ever been heralded?

 

[rkofan87]

still can't believe you need the replica of the headache inducing headset to play switch online virtual boy.

 

[Calverz]

Cool video. I think it's great there are options to fix these things for people who want them.

I tried the virtual boy for first time around 18 months ago and honestly it was better than expected. Visuals were much sharper than I thought they would be. Maybe I'd get the problems after extended play. I look forward to trying the switch 2 version when it releases.