Why was the Virtual Boy in red and black?
A headstrap mounted a rather small display which could display either red or black images. The reason for this was simply a matter of cost; LEDs were prohibitively expensive at the time, and the only LEDs that could be bought for an affordable price were red ones, since they were used in digital scanners of the era.
How much did the Virtual Boy weigh?
760 g
Specifications
| Hardware | |
|---|---|
| Processor | NEC V810 32-Bit RISC Processor at 20 MHz clock speed 1MB of DRAM, 512 of KB P-Sram 1 KB Cache |
| Serial Port | 8 Pin Cable Bandwidth 50-100 KBit/second |
| Weight | 760 g |
| Dimensions | 8.5″H x 10″W x 4.3″D |
Why did the Virtual Boy use red?
Yokoi retained RTI’s choice of red LED because it was the cheapest, and because unlike a backlit LCD, its perfect blackness could achieve a more immersive sense of infinite depth. RTI and Nintendo said a color LCD system would have been prohibitively expensive, retailing for more than US$500.
What did Gunpei Yokoi do?
Mr. Yokoi was the first head of research and development and the first game designer at Nintendo. His greatest accomplishment was the hand-held Game Boy. About 55 million have been sold worldwide since its introduction in 1989.
Why did Gunpei Yokoi leave Nintendo?
He wanted to continue tossing around ideas based on Nintendo’s original policy of making cheap toys. However, as profits increased this became less and less possible. This was the only reason Mr. Yokoi left Nintendo.
Was the Game Boy creator a janitor?
The inventor of the Game Boy, Gunpei Yokoi, was originally Nintendo’s janitor and maintenance man.
What happened to the Virtual Boy?
The Virtual Boy was discontinued that year without any announcement. In June 1996, Nintendo reported to Famitsu worldwide sales of 770,000 Virtual Boy units, including 140,000 in Japan. Next Generation reported that 13,000 Virtual Boy units were sold in December 1996.
What kind of controller did the Virtual Boy use?
The Virtual Boy, being a system with heavy emphasis on three-dimensional movement, needed a controller that could operate along a Z axis. The Virtual Boy’s controller was an attempt to implement dual digital “D-pads” to control elements in the aforementioned “3D” environment.
What is a Virtual Boy game?
Design News described the Virtual Boy as the logical evolution of the View-Master 3D image viewer. The Virtual Boy was released on July 21, 1995, in Japan and on August 16, 1995, in North America with the launch games Mario’s Tennis, Red Alarm, Teleroboxer, and Galactic Pinball.
How long did it take Nintendo to develop the Virtual Boy?
Development of the Virtual Boy lasted four years, and began originally under the project name of VR32. Nintendo entered a licensing agreement to use a 3D LED eyepiece technology originally developed by U.S.-based company Reflection Technology. It also built a factory in China to be used exclusively for Virtual Boy manufacturing.