Editing Virtual Boy
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{{quote2|We saw the future, and it was black and red.|''{{wp|Official Nintendo Magazine}}''}} | {{quote2|We saw the future, and it was black and red.|''{{wp|Official Nintendo Magazine}}''}} | ||
[[File:Virtual Boy Official Logo.PNG|left|200px]] | [[File:Virtual Boy Official Logo.PNG|left|200px]] | ||
The '''{{wp|Virtual Boy}}''' is a video game system developed by [[Nintendo]] | The '''{{wp|Virtual Boy}}''' is a video game system developed by [[Nintendo]]. It consisted of a red box on black legs with a black visor that players would look into for gameplay. It was created by [[Gunpei Yokoi]], and his 60-headed research team, together with Reflection Technologies. Virtual Boy game images are 3D and are displayed using mirror-scanning technology. They appear on LEDs in four shades of red with a black background. The image is reflected off oscillating mirrors, which create the apparent thickness of the image. This type of graphics was once referred to by Nintendo as "true 3D." Digital stereo sound is emitted from the self-contained speaker system found on either side of the visor. The console was a commercial failure for many reasons, including its lack of portability and the headaches caused from gameplay in a matter of minutes, which is why the Virtual Boy automatically paused gameplay every 15 minutes. | ||
[[File:Virtual Boy Color Palette.png|frame|left|The four colors the Virtual Boy is able to display]] | [[File:Virtual Boy Color Palette.png|frame|left|The four colors the Virtual Boy is able to display]] | ||
The Virtual Boy was released | The Virtual Boy was released in 1995, exclusively in Japan and North America, to keep fans occupied during the long wait for the [[Nintendo 64]]. The Virtual Boy had an original retail price of about US$179.95 upon its release.<ref>Edwards, B. (August 21, 2015). [https://www.fastcompany.com/3050016/unraveling-the-enigma-of-nintendos-virtual-boy-20-years-later Unraveling The Enigma Of Nintendo’s Virtual Boy, 20 Years Later]. ''Fast Company''. Retrieved April 25, 2020.</ref> Due to its failure in the Japanese and American video game markets, the Virtual Boy was never released in Europe or Australia, and it was discontinued less than a year after its release. It shipped only 800,000 units and sold 770,000 of them during its lifetime.<ref>[http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/111823/the-10-worst-selling-consoles-of-all-time-page-2-of-2/ GamePro - 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time (pg. 2/2)]</ref> | ||
The Virtual Boy has an EXT. port that was most likely made to support two-player mode. Games such as ''[[Mario's Tennis]]'' support this mode, but the cable | The Virtual Boy has an EXT. port that was most likely made to support two-player mode. Games such as ''[[Mario's Tennis]]'' support this mode, but the cable went unreleased since the system was discontinued so quickly. | ||
Years later, Nintendo released a handheld system with 3D support, the [[Nintendo 3DS]]. | Years later, Nintendo released a handheld system with 3D support, the [[Nintendo 3DS]]. | ||
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A proof-of-concept for a ''Donkey Kong Country'' title was made for the Virtual Boy.<ref name="DK Vine">Cameron. "[https://dkvine.com/?p=games&page=dkvb§ion=red_dead_reflection Red Dead Reflection]". ''DK Vine''. Retrieved October 16, 2020</ref> While a quote from [[Leigh Loveday]] on [[Rare]]'s Scribes mailbag referred to it as a Virtual Boy port of ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'',<ref>[https://rarewhere.neocities.org/2000_2002/aug10_01.html August 10 2001 Scribes mailbag]. ''Rarewhere''. Retrieved October 16, 2020</ref> various subsequent statements by employees involved on the project, most notably [[Paul Machacek]], clarified that were no concrete plans for ''Donkey Kong Country'' game on the system and that what Loveday referred to was a short demo to test the capabilities of the Virtual Boy.<ref name="DK Vine"/> Speaking of the demo, Machacek stated "''I did it for 3 months & was cross-eyed with headaches by the end. I implemented a simple horizontally scrolling jungle background with split-level platforms & DK running around "being DK". All art was pre-rendered and lifted from DKC. [...] We only ever got something running against a jungle background on VB & whilst that art had been lifted from DKC it had already gone through some “monochroming” for [[Donkey Kong Land|DKL]] on gameboy which seemed a more apt place to directly take monochrome art from [...] We never got a full playable level working. Merely a short side scrolling split-level jungle background with DK walking/running/jumping on it. There were some rats running about as well (which i lifted from a GB {{wp|Battletoads}} game!) Enjoy{{sic}} ...imagine [https://twitter.com/Paul_Mach1/status/1104010982408548352 these images] in various shades of red with some rats running around DK. That's pretty much what it looked like. While i could see. Honestly that thing gave me neck-ache as well come to think of it.''" Work on the demo ended and no plan for a full-blown game was developed after it became obvious that the Virtual Boy was a commercial failure.<ref name="DK Vine"/> | A proof-of-concept for a ''Donkey Kong Country'' title was made for the Virtual Boy.<ref name="DK Vine">Cameron. "[https://dkvine.com/?p=games&page=dkvb§ion=red_dead_reflection Red Dead Reflection]". ''DK Vine''. Retrieved October 16, 2020</ref> While a quote from [[Leigh Loveday]] on [[Rare]]'s Scribes mailbag referred to it as a Virtual Boy port of ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'',<ref>[https://rarewhere.neocities.org/2000_2002/aug10_01.html August 10 2001 Scribes mailbag]. ''Rarewhere''. Retrieved October 16, 2020</ref> various subsequent statements by employees involved on the project, most notably [[Paul Machacek]], clarified that were no concrete plans for ''Donkey Kong Country'' game on the system and that what Loveday referred to was a short demo to test the capabilities of the Virtual Boy.<ref name="DK Vine"/> Speaking of the demo, Machacek stated "''I did it for 3 months & was cross-eyed with headaches by the end. I implemented a simple horizontally scrolling jungle background with split-level platforms & DK running around "being DK". All art was pre-rendered and lifted from DKC. [...] We only ever got something running against a jungle background on VB & whilst that art had been lifted from DKC it had already gone through some “monochroming” for [[Donkey Kong Land|DKL]] on gameboy which seemed a more apt place to directly take monochrome art from [...] We never got a full playable level working. Merely a short side scrolling split-level jungle background with DK walking/running/jumping on it. There were some rats running about as well (which i lifted from a GB {{wp|Battletoads}} game!) Enjoy{{sic}} ...imagine [https://twitter.com/Paul_Mach1/status/1104010982408548352 these images] in various shades of red with some rats running around DK. That's pretty much what it looked like. While i could see. Honestly that thing gave me neck-ache as well come to think of it.''" Work on the demo ended and no plan for a full-blown game was developed after it became obvious that the Virtual Boy was a commercial failure.<ref name="DK Vine"/> | ||
==Appearances in the ''Super Mario'' franchise== | ==Appearances in the ''Super Mario'' franchise== | ||
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===Early design=== | ===Early design=== | ||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
Virtual Boy-First Concept Drawings.png| | Virtual Boy-First Concept Drawings.png|The first concept drawings for the Virtual Reality project | ||
Virtual Boy-Mirror Scan Diagram.png|Basic design of how the 3D images were to be displayed | Virtual Boy-Mirror Scan Diagram.png|Basic design of how the 3D images were to be displayed | ||
Virtual Boy-Shoshinkai Patent.png|Shoshinkai patent 1994 | Virtual Boy-Shoshinkai Patent.png|Shoshinkai patent 1994 | ||
Virtual Boy-Shoshinkai Controller.png|Early | Virtual Boy-Shoshinkai Controller.png|Early controller; Shoshinkai 1994 | ||
Virtual Boy-Japan Prototpe.jpg|Japan prototype | Virtual Boy-Japan Prototpe.jpg|Japan prototype | ||
Virtual Boy-Pre Production Controller.png|Pre-production controller | Virtual Boy-Pre Production Controller.png|Pre-production controller |