What's the best selling Nintendo VirtualBoy game and how many copies of it were sold?

[slidee]

Hi all. What's the best selling Nintendo VirtualBoy game and how many copies of it were sold? I am assuming it is Mario's Tennis seeing as how it is a pack in. Does anybody know how many copies were sold. I don't need an exact amount... just a brief estimate and a reference of some kind. Thank you!

[SplashChick]

Pretty sure it's Mario's Tennis.

Just because it's such an odd question, why on earth do you need to know?

[buzz_n64]

Well, the Virtual Boy sold 770,000 units with Mario's Tennis (wiki), so there's your answer on top selling game. I'm sure people bought other games for it, on the other hand, they slapped themselves right after that. lol

I have that game, and Galactic Pinball. The only game I enjoyed on it was Wario Land at the store, but that doesn't mean my eyes didn't still hurt.

[SplashChick]

Well, the Virtual Boy sold 770,000 units with Mario's Tennis (wiki), so there's your answer on top selling game. I'm sure people bought other games for it, on the other hand, they slapped themselves right after that. lol

I have that game, and Galactic Pinball. The only game I enjoyed on it was Wario Land at the store, but that doesn't mean my eyes didn't still hurt.

Oh stop exaggerating, I love my Virtual Boy. It doesn't make my eyes hurt unless I play for a long time with no breaks, but other than that everything is just bright afterwards.

[scooterb23]

SplashChick, congrats on having superior eyes than everyone else. Now, could you rephrase that post so that you aren't directly attacking the guy for sharing his story?

Slidee - just be mindful... wikipedia may not be considered a reliable source if you are using the info for a school paper. Unfortunately, everything I have found either quotes wikipedia, or does not mention their sources.

As a PROTIP...you may want to try and scour some old game magazine back issues from that time. Sales info wasn't as public as it is now, but you never know. I was able to get away with using Gamepro in a college level paper as a "professional journal source" for a paper on violence in video games and its effect on children.

Good luck.

[Garry Silljo]

Oh stop exaggerating, I love my Virtual Boy. It doesn't make my eyes hurt unless I play for a long time with no breaks, but other than that everything is just bright afterwards.

How do you know he's exaggerating? Prove it!

Edit: On topic I would always assume the pack would be the highest selling, since they never changed the pack in like other systems have before. For example find a higher selling Wii game than Wii Sports. For a non pack in I'd wager that Wario or Mario Clash was the highest selling game. I'm basing that on nothing but a guess. I base that guess of the trend of consumers to attract to franchises/licenses as opposed to singels such as Teleroboxer.

[eskobar]

How do you know he's exaggerating? Prove it!

Edit: On topic I would always assume the pack would be the highest selling, since they never changed the pack in like other systems have before. For example find a higher selling Wii game than Wii Sports. For a non pack in I'd wager that Wario or Mario Clash was the highest selling game. I'm basing that on nothing but a guess. I base that guess of the trend of consumers to attract to franchises/licenses as opposed to singels such as Teleroboxer.

Come on .... eyes that HURT ??? :help: just common sense, he's really exaggerating.

And about the second best selling game i assume that it was Wario Land but i don't have the sales figures :P

[unbroken]

LOL Splashchick must of eyes of steel. The virtuaboy literally sets my eyes on fire after about 5 minutes of playing.

[DeputyMoniker]

The virtuaboy literally sets my eyes on fire after about 5 minutes of playing.

Sources?

[Swamperon]

LOL Splashchick must of eyes of steel. The virtuaboy literally sets my eyes on fire after about 5 minutes of playing.

So tempting to put "Pics or it didn't happen" but I shall resist. ;)

I really must pick up a Virtual Boy at some point, just to see how badly it affects my eyes.

[Aussie2B]

While I wouldn't attack one individual's personal experience like SplashChick, I do think that the majority of the complaints about the Virtual Boy these days, whether it be how it affects the eyes or the quality of its games, are largely from people who have little to no experience with the machine. It's become a cool thing to say "lol its sooo bad" just like how you got all these 13-year-old kids laughing about how bad E.T. is when they've never touched a 2600 in their life. Just about anyone who has extensive experience with the Virtual Boy will tell you that it has an excellent quality vs. crap ratio, and assuming you set up the display correctly and follow Nintendo's suggestion to take a break every 30-60 minutes (the games even notify you when you should step away for a few minutes), it shouldn't be a big pain on the eyes. Obviously some people will be extra sensitive just as some people can tolerate slower frame rates or first-person movement better than others, but it's not some fact that it hurts everyone's eyes nor do you have to be some freak of nature to not be bothered by it.

[Daria]

While I wouldn't attack one individual's personal experience like SplashChick, I do think that the majority of the complaints about the Virtual Boy these days, whether it be how it affects the eyes or the quality of its games, are largely from people who have little to no experience with the machine. It's become a cool thing to say "lol its sooo bad" just like how you got all these 13-year-old kids laughing about how bad E.T. is when they've never touched a 2600 in their life. Just about anyone who has extensive experience with the Virtual Boy will tell you that it has an excellent quality vs. crap ratio, and assuming you set up the display correctly and follow Nintendo's suggestion to take a break every 30-60 minutes (the games even notify you when you should step away for a few minutes), it shouldn't be a big pain on the eyes. Obviously some people will be extra sensitive just as some people can tolerate slower frame rates or first-person movement better than others, but it's not some fact that it hurts everyone's eyes nor do you have to be some freak of nature to not be bothered by it.

Pst... read some of her other posts.

[MachineGex]

Pst... read some of her other posts.

^ I Agree
Although not seen as much as their male counter-part, the female troll does show itself from time to time. Be careful, female trolls can be every bit as dangerous, usually (but not always) extra dangerous one week out of every month.

[Aussie2B]

I'm well aware of the drama following SplashChick as of late. :P I just can't resist defending the poor, little Virtual Boy, even if it potentially gives SplashChick more argument fodder.

[SplashChick]

SplashChick, congrats on having superior eyes than everyone else. Now, could you rephrase that post so that you aren't directly attacking the guy for sharing his story?

Slidee - just be mindful... wikipedia may not be considered a reliable source if you are using the info for a school paper. Unfortunately, everything I have found either quotes wikipedia, or does not mention their sources.

As a PROTIP...you may want to try and scour some old game magazine back issues from that time. Sales info wasn't as public as it is now, but you never know. I was able to get away with using Gamepro in a college level paper as a "professional journal source" for a paper on violence in video games and its effect on children.

Good luck.

Yes, I'm sure my brutal verbal attack of "Oh, stop exaggerating" cut him like a knife.

Aussie2B is exactly right, it's somewhat of a fad to make fun of the VirtualBoy. People who played it once in a store back when it first came out(like buzz) don't have enough experience with the machine to make such judgments. Calling the VirtualBoy terrible or saying that it makes your eyes bleed in 5 minutes are examples of exaggerations.

[buzz_n64]

Yes, I'm sure my brutal verbal attack of "Oh, stop exaggerating" cut him like a knife.

Aussie2B is exactly right, it's somewhat of a fad to make fun of the VirtualBoy. People who played it once in a store back when it first came out(like buzz) don't have enough experience with the machine to make such judgments. Calling the VirtualBoy terrible or saying that it makes your eyes bleed in 5 minutes are examples of exaggerations.

In my case I'm not exaggerating. I do have sensitive eyes. I saw Spy Kids 3D in theaters, sorry I did, and my eyes hurt as well. I've played the Virtual Boy a few times in stores, I forget all the games I played, but I stopped trying it after a while because of the bad experience I've had with it, and didn't buy it. I was tempted to buy it when they discounted it to like $20 I believe, but didn't. I own one now, but I bought it used at the swamp meet in broken condition. I have not played it in many years, but I have a good memory of when I was 12 or 13 years old.

[JSoup]

I loved the Virtual Boy, but I never owned one myself. My eye sight was so bad back then, the eye melting powers of the VB had no effect one me.

[danny_galaga]

Sources?


LOL Splashchick must of eyes of steel. The virtuaboy literally sets my eyes on fire after about 5 minutes of playing.

[nerdy grammar lesson]Do you mean literally, or figuratively? Example, if you say someone stabbed you in the back, normally you are speaking FIGURATIVELY. You mean that someone has betrayed you. The origin is from Brutus ACTUALLY stabbing Julius Caesar in the back. Since he was a friend, the IDEA of stabbing someone in the back has come to be a symbol of betrayal. If someone LITERALLY stabbed you in the back, then you would be off to hospital, or the morgue.[/nerdy grammar lesson]

Anyway, I would love to see a pic of your eyeballs on fire LOL

[Sonicwolf]

How do you know he's exaggerating? Prove it!


You really want splash to prove things don't you... LOL

Anyways, the Virtual Boy doesn't hurt my eyes too bad. Sometimes they get a little strained but its not as bad as some people say... Then again, its probably different from person to person.

[kupomogli]

My bestfriend owned one which I remember he just left it over at my house the entire time.

The only four games he had was Mario Tennis, Red Alarm, and Mario Bros.

I thought Red Alarm was the best one. Played a lot like Star Fox. Anyways. My eyes ended up hurting after a playing session as well. Unless I also sat somewhere that I sat to the exact height of the stand and Virtual Boy itself, my neck and/or back would be hurting once done with even a small gaming session as well.

*edit*

Wow. I just noticed I said four games but only listed three. Anyways the other one he had was Teleroboxer which sucked. So much that I forgot to mention the game.

[scooterb23]

Calling the VirtualBoy terrible or saying that it makes your eyes bleed in 5 minutes are examples of exaggerations.

My eyes do hurt after playing for 5-10 minutes. That's why I love automatic pause.

I guess my empirical evidence wins the day!

[pseudonym]

I have a VB and I can't play it more than 15-20 minutes before my eyes start hurting, playing for an hour or more I've ended up having a splitting headache more than once.

No idea about the original question though, I would guess Mario Tennis like a few people already said.

[bombman]

This forum looks a lot like Virtual Boy.

[buzz_n64]

This forum looks a lot like Virtual Boy.

Because of the red and black color scheme, or the fail of arguments?

[SplashChick]

This forum looks a lot like Virtual Boy.

Lol I did not even notice that.

[Ed Oscuro]

This forum looks a lot like Virtual Boy.
No it doesn't.

SubSilver FTW.

p.s. how daaaaaaaaaaare us ask unusual trivia questions

I admit I'm not a fan of spending all my time here doing that nowadays, but I've learned a lot of cool things that way. It was educational. :O

[Gameguy]

For the original question does it make a difference if we're talking about the North American system or the Japanese system? If the system sold better in Japan maybe a Japanese release outnumbers Mario's Tennis. I don't know what the pack in was for Japan if there was one, is it also Mario's Tennis?

[bombman]

For the original question does it make a difference if we're talking about the North American system or the Japanese system? If the system sold better in Japan maybe a Japanese release outnumbers Mario's Tennis. I don't know what the pack in was for Japan if there was one, is it also Mario's Tennis?

I didn't get a pack in with mine. Pack in consoles aren't very prevalent over there anyway.
If the prices are anything to go by, then Panibon was best selling, because you can get it nowadays for like 300 yen if that.

[vivaeljason]

Just adding in my $0.02 regarding the Virtual Boy -- didn't hurt my eyes, but would give me severe headaches after more than twenty minutes.

[MrRoboto19XX]

My general experience with the Virtual Boy isn't totally negative, but lacks in full positivity so to speak.

I don't think it's a terrible console, it's just that it was flawed. At the time, Nintendo releasing a system with flaws was practically unheard of, hence the negative press/opinion.

I have a few games for mine, Mario Tennis, Virtual Baseball, Waterworld, and the Golf game whose name I can't remember. Mario Tennis is probably the best of the lot. As for my eyes, the only problem I encountered was how after playing for a while, I would see a "grain" so to speak, it was as if my eyesight was through 8 mm, hah.

[tom]

I got a VB and 13 games of which I like Wario Land, Mario Clash and Insmouse Mansion best. Virtual Fishing and Virtual Golf are quite good too.
The VB was never released in Europe, another good showing of Nintendo how they never cared about Europe.

[vivaeljason]

I got a VB and 13 games of which I like Wario Land, Mario Clash and Insmouse Mansion best. Virtual Fishing and Virtual Golf are quite good too.
The VB was never released in Europe, another good showing of Nintendo how they never cared about Europe.

I think that sparing Europe from the piece of crap that was the VB shows how much they DO care.

[SplashChick]

I still think it's totally messed up how they made Yokoi resign for this though.

[DeputyMoniker]

EDIT: Nevermind.

[JSoup]

I still think it's totally messed up how they made Yokoi resign for this though.

Was it actually confirmed that they made him? Most of the accounts I've read involved him just quitting on his own.

[vivaeljason]

Was it actually confirmed that they made him? Most of the accounts I've read involved him just quitting on his own.

He quit on his own, but I always assumed that he was basically told "quit or we'll fire you." If you've seen the Icons episode about Yokoi, it's clear that he was basically persona non grata at the end of his Nintendo tenure.

Having just checked "The Ultimate History of Video Games," Steven Kent makes no clear indication that Yokoi was fired (or quit under pressure), and notes that the typical policy would have been for Yokoi to be embarassed (via manning the Virtual Boy booth) and then returned to his former status, implying that Yokoi's departure was of his own choice.

[SplashChick]

I think the way he was treated was very unjustified, considering he brought them the Game Boy, which is far and away the most successful and longest running piece of video game hardware in history.

[Aussie2B]

Japanese corporations rarely fire people, and employees rarely quit. At least in the area of real careers, not McJobs. The norm in Japan is to get a job with a company straight out of college and stick with said company for the rest of your working life. But if an employee really screws up or is seen as useless, they're given a "window" job. So basically Yokoi was being ignored and not allowed to do anything worthwhile, and being the creative innovator that he was, he couldn't tolerate having an inconsequential, unfulfilling role at Nintendo. But I'm fully confident that Nintendo would've kept him employed without complaint for the rest of his life if had chosen to stick around and waste time. Check out this article if you want to learn more about their job culture:

http://www2.shizuokanet.ne.jp/usr/sabu/window.html

[scooterb23]

You were supposed to wait for someone to say "Sources?" Before actually giving the sources ;)

[LaughingMAN.S9]

In my case I'm not exaggerating. I do have sensitive eyes. I saw Spy Kids 3D in theaters, sorry I did, and my eyes hurt as well. I've played the Virtual Boy a few times in stores, I forget all the games I played, but I stopped trying it after a while because of the bad experience I've had with it, and didn't buy it. I was tempted to buy it when they discounted it to like $20 I believe, but didn't. I own one now, but I bought it used at the swamp meet in broken condition. I have not played it in many years, but I have a good memory of when I was 12 or 13 years old.


LOL

im lol'ing because you just confirmed something i thought only a made up dream from my childhood. i now remember seeing the virtual boy on sale as ToysRus for $20, and like you, i was also tempted to buy (or tell my father to buy it for me).....but even at the tender age of 11, i knew something was very, very, wrong here, lol so i opted to get contra hardcorps for the genesis or something, i dont even remember lol.


i always wondered since that day if i had just made up that memory, since, i couldnt understand how a relatively new system that i distinctly remembered months earlier being near full price and now probably within the same year, it being practically given away....now i know that i wasnt crazy.....THANK YOU SIR 8-)

[SplashChick]

A NIB VirtualBoy is worth over $100 now, so maybe you were...

[LaughingMAN.S9]

thats nice.

[Ed Oscuro]

Japanese corporations rarely fire people, and employees rarely quit. At least in the area of real careers, not McJobs. The norm in Japan is to get a job with a company straight out of college and stick with said company for the rest of your working life. But if an employee really screws up or is seen as useless, they're given a "window" job. So basically Yokoi was being ignored and not allowed to do anything worthwhile, and being the creative innovator that he was, he couldn't tolerate having an inconsequential, unfulfilling role at Nintendo. But I'm fully confident that Nintendo would've kept him employed without complaint for the rest of his life if had chosen to stick around and waste time. Check out this article if you want to learn more about their job culture:

http://www2.shizuokanet.ne.jp/usr/sabu/window.html
You have to keep in mind that the Game Boy's success was formulated before 1989, and the Virtual Boy was a good five years after that - after the burst of the Japanese economic bubble. From what I've read things started to change in this area, and they certainly are different now from how they were in 1989 as far as lifetime employment goes. I'm don't believe that's the most relevant possibility here, though.

Now, I haven't an original source but the common wisdom is that the guy (people?) behind Panasonic's M2 3DO purchase was sent elsewhere. It stands to reason.

Even if a company in Japan is entirely traditional in the respect of not firing outright, there's nothing glorious to a capable designer like Yokoi Genpei about being "hammered down," even gently, and not being able to use their full potential. In his case, business politics at Nintendo would have made it impossible for him to do as he wished, but his skills made him a good candidate for seeking employment elsewhere - as he did, leading to the WonderSwan.


A NIB VirtualBoy is worth over $100 now, so maybe you were...
$100 NIB for anything Nintendo seems laughably small. A $20 investment could have been leveraged rather more capably at the time. That $20 VB would have required some additional cartridges, and by the time you were done fleshing out a basic VB collection, even at bargain-basement prices, you're treading water as far as value goes today even factoring in inflation (unless you kept everything sealed up). I suppose it's always possible that the VB will get a jump in value a ways down the road, however.

[A Black Falcon]

The Virtual Boy is awesome. I've have one for a while now and have never noticed anything more than perhaps a very slight, barely noticeable headache which might not have anything to do with the VB, because I don't feel that way every time I play or something. Really, I don't have any reaction to it.

On the other hand, the 3d effect is awesome and very convincing, and there are some really good games on the system too. I think that the whole 'eye damage' thing is indeed vastly, VASTLY overstated, no question, and it hurt the VB back when it came out and keeps hurting it now, and that's really too bad. There are a few people who do get headaches after playing it, but it's not most people... and sure, the manual had lots of big red-box warnings in it, and taking breaks is recommended. But if you're in the majority of people who don't feel bad just looking into the thing, simply follow the instructions and you'll be fine.

Oh, remember to adjust the dials on top each time you play. You want it focused well and with all four of the icons in the corners visible; the goal shouldn't be for the biggest picture, but the clearest. Ignore this step and you probably will make headaches or something more likely, the system tells you to do it every time you turn it on for a reason.

As for sales, yeah, of course the pack-in, Mario Golf, has to be the best selling game. What was second, though? I'd guess Wario Land too, but have never seen actual rankings... I can say that I remember that Wario Land was in first in the Nintendo Power rankings for the Virtual Boy for pretty much the whole time from when it came out until when they dropped that ranking, though, and those rankings were supposedly a mix of several things that included what people said on the contest-entry cards, sales numbers, and maybe some other stuff. That should be an indication that it sold best, of the non-packin titles.

[Aussie2B]

You have to keep in mind that the Game Boy's success was formulated before 1989, and the Virtual Boy was a good five years after that - after the burst of the Japanese economic bubble. From what I've read things started to change in this area, and they certainly are different now from how they were in 1989 as far as lifetime employment goes. I'm don't believe that's the most relevant possibility here, though.

I have no idea what kind of argument you're making here. o_O Yes, Yokoi had numerous successes before the Virtual Boy, but the Virtual Boy was a big enough of a flop that it didn't matter to Nintendo, as unfair as that was. And I agree, it's no surprise that Yokoi left, but I'm not convinced that Nintendo gave him the window job as some kind of subtle pressure to leave. I have no idea what the Japanese economic slump has to do with it. We're talking about the facts of one individual's situation. I wouldn't be surprised if the bad economy has increased the number of people being laid off, plus the the youth of Japan is starting to consider the possibility of pursuing more than one career in their lives, but plenty of companies are still throwing money away on window jobs since the whole "you're with the team until the very end" mentality is still ingrained into their society.