What Went Wrong With The Virtual Boy?

[@ijroderick]

Great presenting and editing in this video as always, but truly a standout job from whoever provided the script. Very thoroughly researched and well written.

[@James-gj8rn]

1. People don't want a device that's portable but not "portable" 2. No one wants eye strain 3. No one wants to look at a red and black colour scheme for hours on end and 4. i don't want to damage my eye sight any more than it already is :'D

[@Atlas_Redux]

You can't damange your eyesight for sitting too close to anything. It's an insane myth that is absolutely amazing that people still believe in.

[@bstove24]

@@Atlas_Redux Staring at a screen for hours can actually cause damage to your corneas.

[@Atlas_Redux]

@@bstove24 IT'S. A. STUPID. MYTH. Read actual research, and not Quora answers from uninformed toddlers.

[@andrew_stamps]

@@bstove24 No it cant. Do you even know what part of the eye the cornea is?.

[@MrBeardsley]

The main reason kids in the ‘80s and early ‘90s sat so close to the TV while playing games back then was most of us didn’t have screens much bigger than 20 inches.

[@elchomper.1063]

My 32" feels small. Makes playing fallout 3 a struggle sometimes

[@MrBeardsley]

@@elchomper.1063 I got a 57” TV last year, smartest thing I’ve ever done as both a gamer and a movie nerd. Would’ve gone a little bigger but I didn’t want to buy a new stand.

[@samholdsworth420]

Correct. 19" crt lol Although in the early nineties I think we got a 27-inch. I thought it was HUGE

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@@samholdsworth420 That was probably about the larges that anybody bothered with as it wasn't reasonable to make them much bigger. Larger "big screen" TVs tended to use different technology to allow for such a large screen in a size that would actually fit in somebody's home without requiring several burly movers to move it around.

[@WhiskeyNixon]

When the 3DS was still in production, I wanted so much for Nintendo to re-release Virtual Boy games on 3DS that I wrote them a letter and sent it to them in the mail asking for the same. They didn't do it. :(

[@Islandswamp]

I’m sorry. But you did your best and you should be proud

[@RobertPallister]

18:05 - Hey! There are 8 of us thank you very much!

[@Kabboowee]

Right!

[@masterbspace]

I’m glad I have a virtual boy in my collection. Don’t use it often but it’s a great display piece in my collection

[@tonesdad0408]

Wish I would've got one bro

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@@Boogie_the_cat The virtualboy was a really nice looking system. It's the lack of games, fact that most children shouldn't use them and price more than anything else that doomed it. But, the aesthetics of it are actually pretty nice for the era. I plan on getting one for myself at some point, mostly to sit on a shelf and get pulled out from time to time as there still isn't a particularly good way to properly replicate the experience.

[@teddyboukagain9985]

What went wrong??? EVERYTHING.

[@wadmodderschalton5763]

The Virtual Boy: A system that flopped so hard that Nintendo has quietly and unofficially "disowned" the system, which is why none of the games have been rereleased, remade or remastered on their modern consoles. Also, I wouldn't be surprised that there are any PAL Virtual Boy prototypes out there in the wild in some warehouse in Europe or Australia or something.

[@calebwyman5510]

The only virtual boy I’ve ever seen is going for $200. They’re now very valuable collectibles.

[@MikeM-np4od]

I remember we got a Virtual Boy for our after school program (day care for all those single parents out there) when I was in 3rd grade. We played it for maybe 15 minutes and went back to Legos.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

Kids that age definitely should not have been using them. While they are generally pretty safe for adults, they can cause issues for children.

[@SeanGrantstormpinball]

The problems that the designers of the Virtual Boy tried to tackle are some of the ones that the VR hardware and software developers of today are still trying to figure out. I played Dreamscape VR games at an AMC movie theater in New York City before seeing a movie and was thoroughly impressed. The game I played was incredibly cool. I'm trying to find the name of it but it was an FPS where I believe I was defending a space station from waves of aliens. My friend played too, and we were able to have co-operative gameplay within the same room. The gear that we wore included an intercom feature so we could hear each other clearly in our headsets. Some of the options were more about experiences than games, one I think involved walking a tightrope between buildings. Others had licenses like Star Wars and How to Train Your Dragon. The company seemed well funded and made connections with important companies within the movie industry. I think they partnered with Spielberg, and thats how they got the Dreamworks IPs. My point is that its another example of how hard it is to have a sustainable VR company, even if you have great technology and solid games. It seems like a furnace that developers like Facebook have to keep shoveling money into hoping that it will finally be able to sustain itself. Can you guys at Triple Jump do a piece on Dreamscape VR? There is very little about them on the Internet, only a couple of articles and a Wikipedia page. I'd love to hear their story. They're not entirely dead yet either. Even though they closed all of their locations in the United States, they still have 2 locations left. One in Geneva, Switzerland, and the other in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

[@TeamSoraPresents]

Honestly, the Virtual Boy was mostly too far ahead of its time. Now that the technology is actually there, Nintendo could try it again if they wanted.

[@Saint_Dan132]

i really like the new format shows and layout of the channel well done

[@graphicsgod]

The Virtual Boy was so bad, that two people that worked on it, died at the same age in "mysterious circumstances".. hmm.

[@andyc4024]

one was 56 the other 53 "same age" maths not your strong point hey.

[@AndDeathForAll82]

I should’ve gotten this and a Jaguar back in the ‘90s when KayBee was liquidating them for $30 each. Also, Nintendo not putting VB games on 3DS when they had the chance was absolute bullshit. It seemed so obvious.

[@shona-sof]

Consoles mocked more: -Stadia - Ouya - N-Gage - That Tiger electronics card reader thing...

[@MovieFanatic4500]

I gotta say... I like yall making more different types of content while still being a great gaming channel. These deep dives into the history of games, platforms, societal impacts, and your usual content are fantastic!!!

[@nightsquats]

Yeah I was a teenager when this came out and I wanted to love it but apparently dodged a bullet as I never got my hands on one. I loved the potential and vision of such an idea but the execution was its own execution. ;-)

[@itsjohniley]

About 2 years ago a branch of CEX in Gateshead had a Virtual Boy for sale at £450! It was then dropped to £400 then about a 2 months later it disappeared, either someone bought it or they just binned it! 😆

[@TheSpacepigeon]

My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

[@Banquet42]

Up And At Them.

[@TheSpacepigeon]

@@Banquet42 Up and Adam! After closer inspection, I think you will find these are loafers.

[@louisewilliams1258]

It obviously has a cult/niche following, as it goes for $250.00 to 700 on eBay. 😮

[@Atlas_Redux]

@@louisewilliams1258 That's because it's a collectors item, like anything rare, has nothing to do with people liking them.

[@VictorVonGrooove]

I worked at Babbage's when that came out. They sent us a playable demo for everyone to try. I played it for 20 minutes and got physically sick because of how it played. Everyone who asked if it was worth buying, I suggested that they give it a try and I would leave a bucket next to their feet.

[@JPD2587]

I played this at my local Microplay and knew it was awful even when I was 7.

[@Marc_Araujo]

I was 8 and knew it was garbage the first time I saw its commercial on tv.

[@carloszerpa2312]

@@Marc_Araujo they had it at a blocbuster near my house

[@sirprintalot]

loving all these video game industry storytime videos btw, keep them coming!

[@jeffreyjeffrey007]

Nice change of pace from lists; have seen multiple mini-docs about this system from the usual suspects. This one is definately up there, informative and not too cheeky. Well done.

[@MrBeardsley]

Having played a Virtual Boy at a department store display for about five minutes as a kid and getting a splitting headache, I was not surprised it turned out to be a massive flop. Even toxic optimists Nintendo Power barely gave it any love.

[@SeanGrantstormpinball]

A very thorough recount of a doomed system. Even if everything had good completely right, even current, more powerful systems like the Meta quest and the Apple Vision Pro, still face some of the exact same design challenges. I have played some advanced VR games and I've been thoroughly impressed. They just always face logistic issues like space and safety. Even dedicated spaces for them like VR Arcades can never seem to come up with sustainable business models, so that keep coming and going. I think that the Metaquest might have the best shot, and they definitely have deep pockets, but I'd have to believe that there was enough strong software for it before I would take the plunge. Thanks for putting together should a well researched and entertaining piece!

[@SeanGrantstormpinball]

@@Boogie_the_cat I think my logic was sound and you kind of proved it. You just described a different reason as to why it couldn't be profitable... a different business model, that of the developers rather than the arcades that would house the final products. But yes, the machines are expensive, and you likely need human staff to help players get themselves set up with the helmets, gloves and whatever other peripherals are involved. I was referring to the more recent iterations of VR games, whereas you were talking more about first-gen. Both we're both right. I just should've went into more detail. In 2018, I remember seeing the movie Solo with my friend at the AMC at Kips Bay 32nd Street. I live in New York City. They had an entire VR arcade near the entrance of the movie theater. It was called Dreamscape VR and it was incredible. The games were great and I just did some research and found out that while the Dreamscape company had made partnerships with known movie related IPs and established a relationship with AMC Theaters, it now has only 2 locations open. One in Geneva, Switzerland and the other in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I am trying to find a full game list, but the one that I played was a FPS where I was in a room where aliens would come in and we would have to shoot them. I think we were defending some kind of space station. My friend and I were both able to play together co-operatively. The location we were playing in was a pop-up. We went to play there again before another movie, but all of the games had been removed. I remembered that it took a long time for us to get set up before the game was able to start, but once it did it was really worth it. I hope that Triple Jump or someone else is able to do a piece on the story of this company, because it seemed initially well funded and they were successful with the quality of their products, but I think they just couldn't get past the logistical problems of getting their users set-up in a timely manner, and then also having to deal with the motion sickness that some people have. I also went to a VR panel weekend where I heard a lot of people talk about the future of VR a few years ago and they had some demos set up. I played a version of Fruit Ninja with an actual sword (in this case a stick), and while it was awesome I know that no company would want to take on the liability of having a kid swinging a stick around in their house, semi-blindly while wearing a VR headset. I played another game where I was in a starfighter like in X-Wing or Wing Commander. One of the coolest details was that if I looked down at my legs, I could see that I was wearing a space fighter uniform. This really is the future, they just have to work out the logistical kinks!

[@SergioPL]

I have two Virtual Boys with 16 games. Side note: even Nintendo sometimes advertise wrong the position of the stand of the system (backwards).

[@JohnSmith-zw8vp]

They put the Virtual Boy on the cover of their 75th issue...so they had to be confident that it did have some chance of some success

[@jamesmcmackin8773]

The real legacy of the Virtual Boy is that when I play Fallout 4 and New Vegas I always set my Pip-Boy to burning red in its honor.

[@johnmottram1004]

Love this series, thanks Triple jump

[@charlii_the_angel]

Wake up honey Ben 's posted a brand new "What went wrong with "X"' video!!!!!❤

[@sfa6742]

I remember seeing this in Electronics Boutique when I was like 12-13 years old and after playing a bit I got dizzy and so sick I threw up on the floor

[@lewisclark1122]

I played a Virtual Boy once. Afterwards I felt like I had just drunk half a bottle of vodka, so disoriented and sore headed was I.

[@shigshug8581]

It's basically a gimmick that nobody cared about and nobody knew about.

[@Chalk0073]

Real old school G's just laid down in bed face up and simply rest the VB on their heads to play instead hunching over the mount.

[@sefzxm6486]

even today, with the best possible hardware and software available, vr is still just an illusion.

[@gracekim1998]

that's the point

[@lpnp9477]

What else would it be dude You expecting a real world inside your headset or something

[@UltraZelda64]

The Virtual Boy was an interesting but bad idea. It wasn't fun having to sit hunched over to put your head up against a pair of screens only to look at an atrocious red and black wireframe image. It was "portable" only in the sense that it didn't need a separate TV, but you were incredibly limited in how you could move when trying to use it.

[@RosyTheRed]

I knew this was next. I think this series is yearly.

[@mjdf122]

I’ve seen and have all from 1980-Now everything went wrong with the Virtual Boy

[@SkiBumMSP]

I did play on a Virtual Boy back when it first came out, although it was a borrowed unit. Yeah, that red display was pretty bright, although there was a part of me that thought it was actually kinda cool from a heavy metal point of view, but not something I would want to stare into for more than the 15 minutes to 1/2 hour or so at a time. At the around the time when the Virtual Boy was being killed off, I remember going into a Walmart and seeing a whole pallet of the things, with a big price tag of "$30" on it. Looking back, I should've bought one, at least as a collectors item. As the video said, there really were no really good games for it which at the time probably why I did not buy one, even at $30. Of course, back then, I did not think they would end up being an interesting piece of video game history and somewhat of a collector's item. If I did buy it, it would probably still be sitting in my closet, still in the box, unopened.

[@gracekim1998]

I have heard about this console...I'm guessing it wouldn't work for people wearing glasses 😅

[@Rando1975]

I remember I was browsing a local K-Mart in 1996 when someone actually bought a Virtual Boy. And this was just weeks after Nintendo officially killed the thing. Pretty sure the guy didn't know he was buying a dead system.

[@prostakuk]

For guys that were probably infants when Virtual Boy came out this was a nice documentary, what's with the numbers on this? Hope the audience find it! From someone just about old enough at the time to have wanted it - in the UK at least every media outlet was utterly negative about it, it was clear from the off it was a dud. Even as an 8 year old I got the idea that headaches and eye strain weren't worth it, however much I still wished one of my richer mates would be gifted one.

[@LuminalSpoon]

14:56 Ayyyyy George Wood 😂

[@louisewilliams1258]

It has a niche/c.u.l.t market. Goes for 250 - 700 $ on eBay.

[@Bowen_Landry]

...that wasn't what I thought you were going to say he experimented with... ;)

[@LaurenWilson-p2t]

Unpopular opinion: I owned a VB when I was a kid, and I actually really liked it! Wario, golf, and tennis were a good time

[@Martynde]

I’d think the NGage was more ridiculed.

[@ravinraven6913]

that means people had heard of it....if no ones heard of it, then no ones ridiculing it...yea?

[@verablack3137]

I actually loved my Virtual Boy, but I also got it very cheaply, I don’t mind the display it is no Oculus Rift but, it was pretty neat for the time. I did hate the controller though

[@Me-dr9dv]

*Looks at video's cover* Yeah, that's pretty much why.

[@exocolt15]

That commercial is awful

[@Last_Keystonian]

*wolfenstien not Doom but we get how crazy it still is 😲

[@graphicsgod]

I can enjoy it emulated with 3d glasses! But the device hurts my eyes and head to use. Never played it more than 20 minutes at the store back in the day.

[@xcrack6364]

I definitely wasn’t the design, games and Red.

[@AgingScallywag]

For all that sucks about Virtual Boy, I've been really enjoying playing Virtual Boy games on 3DS

[@CyclonesWorld]

There is a big problem withe Virtual Boy. It had focus and eye distance adjustments. In 1995. Modern VR headsets don't. Nintendo was ahead of the curve on something that no one gives a shit about. Yeah you can buy prescription lenses for these VR headsets now if your vision sucks, but Nintendo had a solution to something that every ignores now. I might be in a smaller number here, I loved my Virtual Boy. Didn't produce any kind of light my parents would notice under the door which made it super easy to stay up late as a kid playing Mario Tennis.

[@PharaohDom]

Mom got us one of these when they were massively discounted at KB Toys. I quikcly understood why. Some of the games were fun, though. The actual system itself was just a clusterfuck from all reasonable design aspects.

[@robertpatterson4357]

VB WarioLand was good and it influenced Super Mario Bros. Wonder, I stand by that.

[@Djordje_Jovanovic]

0:25 Atari Jaguar? Phillips CD-i?

[@meechp123]

It was red, that’s why. We all tried it at the local Blockbuster back in the day and it was an immediate bust. No one liked it.

[@kidgruesome407]

I noticed how you compared the virtual boy and n64 libraries. you next point out the small amount of launch titles at 4........but you neglect to mention the n64 only had 2 launch titles- half as much.

[@spring71-b1b]

I legitimately just purchased one a week ago. Collectors get these quick before they go up in price even more

[@britneyspearsvillarosa]

I remember Virtual Boy in 1995 and as a 10 year old and loving Nintendo. (NES, SNES, and GB), I didn't want this .

[@gametourny4ever627]

I was also 10 in 1995 when this came out and remember a friend getting one and talking it up so much and when we went over to play it, I was like what is the big deal with this and never played it again. Sometime in the last 5 years, I picked one up and had the ribbon cables soldered so that it was working really well. I pull it down once in awhile for Vertical Force, Wario, Mario Tennis, Telerero Boxer, and my personal favorite Galactic Pinball. The music in that game is really good and super underrated.

[@britneyspearsvillarosa]

@@gametourny4ever627 I won't waste money on the Virtual Boy, I'll buy PSX , PS2 and better Nintendo classic consoles like NES and SNES lol

[@gametourny4ever627]

@@britneyspearsvillarosa I don’t blame you. Those other systems have way better libraries. It was more of a curiosity for me later and I was happy I found some unexpected fun and entertainment from it. I guess I went in with really low expectations and came out with it being better than what I thought going in. Some of the games are garbage though for sure. Lol

[@britneyspearsvillarosa]

@@gametourny4ever627 My late wonderful dad loved Nintendo but he didn't want to damage my 10 year old eyesl

[@gametourny4ever627]

@@britneyspearsvillarosa That’s awesome your dad loved Nintendo. The only game I ever bonded with Dad on was the original Diablo. I remember him walking in and being blown away about what I was playing on his PC back in 1997 and immediately took over. Lol. We then took turns and had a blast for about a year there.

[@kidgruesome407]

just one problem. the games were good. teleroboxer jack bros, mario clash, tennis. i had one and got it at toysr us for like 30$ on clearance. def induced eye strain though.

[@AwesomeNinjaXD]

Worst part id that it's barely VR. At least half of the games are 3rd person.

[@davidmylchreest3306]

To be fair, the technology surely inspired the 3DS after it.

[@motleykingdom9394]

I think it is safe to say that this guy did NOT actually have a Virtual Boy when it came out, and is just making up stuff to sound interesting in a click bait video. In reality this was an amazing system at the time, most gamers didn't have any issues with the red colors and in fact we liked it, plus the game library (no matter how small) very much so made the system worth it. On most the games the 3d was NOT gimmicky and Red Alert did give a full 3D feel. The only game I played that I didn't love was Waterworld but that game was horrible on other systems too (shame cause I enjoy the movie and love the stunt show).

[@LoFuttato]

So the answer is: everything!

[@cubeflinger]

The master system did it years before in colour.

[@NumberOneHorseDrowner]

Virtual Lab was made in 8 days by one person. There's an interview about it, but be warned it contains sexual assault.

[@JoeCool7835]

Only 22 games on the Virtual Boy... still better than the Hyperscan's total of 5.

[@NumberOneHorseDrowner]

Red is a great color.

[@andrew_stamps]

i played it back in the 90's as a kid it wasnt that terrible it was fine, not great but not bad.

[@Saint_Dan132]

i had a vr headset at the age of about 8 it wasnt virtual boy it waas like goggles and you could move about does anyone remember this this would have been between 1996 and 1917

[@Islandswamp]

Almost 30 years not 20…

[@Bowen_Landry]

jokes on them....the gameboy already had it's way with my eyes before this red machine came out lol.

[@lewisclark1122]

Actually to be fair - the controller was pretty good.

[@herzogsbuick]

i will say at the outset, that my cousin had a virtual boy, and i fucking loved it. so poo poo to you, whoever you are, who didn't.

[@Tgn315]

Ouch, my eyes

[@The_Farwall]

Hi Ben :D Ben vide-os are good.

[@ravinraven6913]

I seen this once in a electronic section of some random store. It let you play in store, but god it was awful! So uncomfortable and the color scheme was dumb. I am a kid that can't sit still! It was like a tank shooting game, I couldn't concentrate, everything about it was dumb and worse than bad. To me the only real Virtual boy, is actually the virtua boy. or whatever they call that emulator.

[@Saint_Dan132]

everything?!!!

[@ogre706]

Virtual Boy was awesome. 👍

[@ladydrace]

Love this series.

[@sparky4878]

25:12 think got your Famicom and Super Famicom mixed in the graphic

[@davidgonzales9039]

Migraine VR

[@stoozdee]

A lot.

[@boydriceisawesome2520]

so everything gone wrong with it except that they tried to do something better lol meh ig well done for trying but ffs other bad consoles at least are not a health hazard well most of them and i would buy a sega saturn before i buy a virutal boy!

[@koldking]

Everything

[@herzogsbuick]

my god you repeat yourself a lot. do you think the screen was terrible? i can't tell. and the lcd watch is "playing" doom just like my monitor is "playing" this video. this video is written like when you google a recipe, click on it, and the first 15 paragraphs mention the recipe, the aromas, the ingredients, etc, and you have to scroll and scroll to find any content.

[@turboshazed7370]

R Zone is infinity times worse. But yeah the Virtual Boy was a massive red and black pile of feces. (SOME good games tho)

[@aliensweathands]

👽

[@frankbrodie5168]

I owned neither a Virtual Boy or a Nintendo 64. I'll tell you now that I considered buying a Virtual Boy but NEVER considered buying a N64 because of that frankly worst controller of all time. The N64's only saving grace in the history of gaming is that future generations can play the N64 games without ever having to suffer that monstrosity of a controller. Something the Virtual Boy will clearly never have the advantage of.

[@haze8969]

Hhhw

[@Martynde]

Thirty minutes to pick low hanging fruit.

[@ravinraven6913]

have you not seen any of their videos before? The same thing can be said about almost all of their videos...they are just copying the format of another youtube channel....so the fact you're here saying that, says you don't even know why you came here...

[@Martynde]

Yeah I get that. I just feel like there’s little point in continuing to bash the Virtual Boy at this stage.

[@IcarianX]

​@@MartyndeIt's a channel about ranking games and creating lists... Best not to set your expectations too high.

[@SuperPiposaru]

nooooo dont heccin pick on the virtual boy!!! 🥺

[@mancuniangamecat8288]

You don't need a half hour video to say it was a terrible product.