Perhaps most of you may already be familiar with the Virtual Boy. One of Nintendo's most unsuccessful systems. In 1995, it was launched. Gunpei Yokoi, along with his 60-headed research team together with Reflection Technologies had worked on the Virtual Boy for over 3 and a half years. During this period, he reportedly kept pushing the project despite concerns about other company officials about its success. Gunpei Yokoi reported to the Japanese press that the system will achieve three million hardware sales during their first year on sale in Japan. It was released on 21 July 1995 in Japan and on 14 August 1995 in North America, with sales being considerably lower than originally perceived (there were 770.000 units sold in total, only 140.000 units of which in Japan). Asides from the strange concept and very high price (US$179.95, in 1995) of the console, buyers may have avoided it because of the warnings about how it can cause eye strain and headaches, especially for young children.
Though I've never actually played a Virtual Boy (was only released in Japan and North America), I've developed a great interest in it after playing Virtual Boy Wario Land on an emulator. I didn't expect very much when first downloading it, but I was really blown away by the visual display, fantastically drawn sprites and ingenious level design. It was a thrill to play, and it's probably the most underrated game in the whole Mario series. I can't honestly say the same thing about Mario Clash and Mario's Tennis, however. They are much less appealing. I've surfed through some web archives of dead Virtual Boy websites, such as here. And there's plenty of great information to read up about it.
Lately, I've been thinking about getting an actual Virtual Boy imported, along with some games. On the upside of the Virtual Boy's low sales numbers, there are still huge stocks of units and games available to date. Though, they won't be around forever, especially since there have been big online sellouts in recent years. I thought it might be worth purchasing one, though looking at the prices on Ebay, the median price for a mint-condition system is $500+, and used systems which are still in decent condition are priced from $200. Of course, the price barrier is why I'm hesitant, as it would be a fair amount of my current savings.
Has anyone on this forum ever used a Virtual Boy? Even if you haven't, I'd really eager to hear people's opinions about this unusual Nintendo console.
Though I've never actually played a Virtual Boy (was only released in Japan and North America), I've developed a great interest in it after playing Virtual Boy Wario Land on an emulator. I didn't expect very much when first downloading it, but I was really blown away by the visual display, fantastically drawn sprites and ingenious level design. It was a thrill to play, and it's probably the most underrated game in the whole Mario series. I can't honestly say the same thing about Mario Clash and Mario's Tennis, however. They are much less appealing. I've surfed through some web archives of dead Virtual Boy websites, such as here. And there's plenty of great information to read up about it.
Lately, I've been thinking about getting an actual Virtual Boy imported, along with some games. On the upside of the Virtual Boy's low sales numbers, there are still huge stocks of units and games available to date. Though, they won't be around forever, especially since there have been big online sellouts in recent years. I thought it might be worth purchasing one, though looking at the prices on Ebay, the median price for a mint-condition system is $500+, and used systems which are still in decent condition are priced from $200. Of course, the price barrier is why I'm hesitant, as it would be a fair amount of my current savings.
Has anyone on this forum ever used a Virtual Boy? Even if you haven't, I'd really eager to hear people's opinions about this unusual Nintendo console.
