6. Virtual Boy
Sandwiched somewhere in between Nintendo's triumphant releases of its Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1993) and its Nintendo 64 (1996), a long-forgotten gaming console has been marooned on an island of obscurity. Its name: Virtual Boy.
At a time when video-game graphics were still in puberty, developers were racing for the next big graphics breakthrough, and virtual reality was an uncharted wilderness. In 1994, Nintendo engineer Gunpei Yokoi created a system that displayed real three-dimensional images rather than rendering the illusion of a third dimension, which was the case in all systems up to that point.
Virtual Boy got a lot of hype, but its performance didn't live up to it. When looking into the display goggles, the popping picture was a simple red-on-black background. The company had determined that adding more colors would have been too pricey, causing it to retail for over $500 as opposed to the $179.95 it actually sold for initially.
Nintendo promised the development of a cable link-up, which would allow two players to connect and play each other at the same time. But it never materialized. Initial sales of the system came in 40% below Nintendo's estimates. After only 14 games were released in the US, the line was discontinued.
Minyanville: Virtual Boy = Overhyped Product
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Compute
