Rick Dangerous Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 The Virtual Boy was a critical and commercial failure, one of Nintendo's few. That being said, like other niche consoles it holds a place in the heart of many. Because it was a Nintendo system there were at least a few good games for it (Warioland being my favorite, an excellent platformer.) There is also a decent homebrew scene for the virtual boy, and even someone who created link cables for two player action that Nintendo never got around to making. So please, share your virtual boy memories, news, collections, and thoughts here! Information on the Virtual boy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Boy http://nintendo.wikia.com/wiki/Virtual_Boy Resources: https://www.planetvb.com/modules/news/ http://www.mellottsvrpage.com/index.php/virtual-boy-cartridges/ Some footage: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 I absolutely love this system. I actually prefer the aesthetics of VB 3D over the polygonal stuff that actually became popular. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 "20 games that defined the Virtual Boy"? That's almost the complete library. Anyway, I love the VB as well, and am currently making a casino game for it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 20 gMes? There was actually that many? I got in on the scene late on blowout. Mine cost $30 and $5-10 per game, for the five I got. At $180 it wasn't going to sell, at $100 it possibly could. I got it because Nintendo, but honestly Nintendo hated it and went out of their way to kill it. They even went out of their way to spread lies and misinformation about it, to the point of actually programming in that stupid "rest your eyes" thing every 30 minutes. No, properly adjusted it caused no problems, unless possibly if your eyes are bad to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarilovesyou Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 What a bomb this was, played it a few times in the local games shop bitd. The graphics were too Gameboy for us, lol...but really, the colour thing wasn't as bad as the price they wanted for it...wasn't cheap at all. And it was never blown out on discount either in thise parts, so more or less it was just a big wtf moment. But that went to show you how much people wanted a 'VR' system...but weren't willing to cut the corners Nintendo did to have it. And we are only now getting to exploit VR the way we wanted to back then. Of course I would pick one up today, just for the novelty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 I really enjoyed the VB back in the day. Red Alarm, V Tetris, Teleroboxer, Wario Land and Galactic Pinball got the most play time from me. Its games are still pretty solid, but it's difficult to play the thing comfortably as an adult. I never got to try it when I still had my Rift, but you can run VB emulation in VR and it supposedly works very well. If you have to play it with the 3D effect, then this seems like the best way to do it today (assuming you can get a VB controller adapter working on your PC). I'd love to get my system VGA modded so I can stream and capture it while still using the original controller. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 I miss it, would love to own one again but the lens failure and fragile stand brace plastic breaking issues kind of spook me. I'd get a flash kit though, the prices just aren't worth it outside of a few. But really, thanks to leaked prototypes of finished/near finished but hacked to finish games, homebrew of insane quality,a nd other thing the library has grown to justify it entirely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 i remember playing on a demo unit at Toys R Us when they came out in the States and liking what I played, for the most part. I'm kicking myself still for not picking one up when they were practically giving them away at the toy stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted September 28, 2018 Author Share Posted September 28, 2018 Yeah I remember seeing them for $25 at EB and kick myself now for not grabbing one. I have a nice rental unit in a case that is like new (must not have been rented much!) haha. The stands are no longer an issue, but yes if one of these breaks repair (moreso than parts these days) can be a challenge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubsy3000 Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 (edited) Virtual Boy was an interesting experiment but there was know way VR was ready at the time. The Best VR experiences then were $4000 dedicated machines and they still weren't the best. Affordable VR was going to have issues and Virtual Boy proved that right. Also $30 for a stand???? Edited September 28, 2018 by Bubsy3000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eltigro Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 I played it a few times at the kiosk at Target, but didn't like being in a public place and not being able to see around me... not paranoid, just like to be aware of my surroundings. Would have been fine at home, I'm sure. Also, since I worked I liked it for what I played of it. The games on the kiosk were okay. I didn't play it long enough to get neck pain or eye issues... see the above to know why. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eltigro Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 heh.. think I was in the middle of adding something to that and hit "post" without finishing it... Also, since I worked... at Target at the time, even if I was off and standing around playing at a video game kiosk I could get in trouble because customers would complain that an employee was taking up the demo machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F34R Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 I only have Tennis and Pinball lol. Dunno where any of the others ran off to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 I think I'm a VB freak, it never once gave me trouble owning it. I could sit at the dinner table, slide up, and play and I didn't get any eye damage or headaches from it ever. I could go for a long while on the games I had. I'm pretty sure I had Mario Tennis, Mario Clash, Red Alarm, Teleroboxer, Wario Land, Galactic Pinball, V-Tetris(j), 3D-Tetris, Vertical Force, Panic Bomber, Baseball, and Golf. I may be forgetting something but I know I had those. I never did get the later Jack Bros or Funky Bowling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted January 19, 2019 Author Share Posted January 19, 2019 Wondering if anyone saw this; Virtual Boy Arcade Joysticks: https://kotaku.com/someone-made-an-arcade-stick-for-the-virtual-boy-of-al-1831617484 Here is the guy who is making them, Benj, a notable video-game historian: http://www.benjedwards.com/ Will probably order the two stick one soon, just need to save a few bucks He is doing sticks for other systems, including a more mass scale project for the SNES. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 I want a two stick version very badly. Somewhere, I have a design for a VB joystick I did up, in the era before 3D printers. I should revisit that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick3092 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I pulled my VB out of storage probably about a year ago for the first time in a long time. It's now showing signs of the ribbon cable issue. Repairing that is a bit above my skill level. Luckily there is a guy local that repairs them. I really should get in touch with him and get that fixed sooner than later. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Hyper fighting just came in! The pride of my VB collection What is the ribbon cable issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Wow that's very nice. I read that an authorized another run of the fighting game will happen, have a different bit of art for the sticker etc though so people who want to whine about their scarsity trophy can relax too. On the 26th I was able to finally get my own VB again but it has the classic failed glue so the visuals were just mostly failed on it. Earlier ago on Monday afternoon I shipped it off to get the treatment of directly soldering each one on each line to its connection held with solder to last. It's USPS fairly close by and using priority mail both ways so I should be playing this weekend. Having the restored screen also because of soldering brings a freash amount of clarity and brightness due to the soldering being done instead of other methods. The VB I got came in this hard briefcase that cleaned up nicely I'll keep using, sadly no stand but I'll replace it. It does have though the AC Adapter entirely, the controller, battery box, and then 3 boxed games and all inserts except manuals and one with the dust clip (Mario Tennis, Mario Clash, Galactic Pinball). The show stopper though is the For Display Only Mario Tennis box still all shrink wrapped to protect it by Blockbuster it appears as the entire system on each part was covered in their ugly hellish blue and white security stickers. I'll be looking to source a stand for this and a Flashboy Plus. Beyond that I'm not going to ignore buying games on it, but it will be the cheaper stuff for either region but US preferred. OH and for fun Mario Tennis box attached. Looking forward to owning a chunk of the little library once again since Golf, Teleroboxer, Wario Land and a few others are still fairly cheap loose at least. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Nice collection! I'll snap a pick of mine soon as well. The above (Space Invaders, Hyper Fighting) are high quality repro's made in the US. The originals too rich for my blood...haha. Have a small but growing collection of games. Next on my "to buy" list is a reproduction of Jack Bros, and loose w/ manual copies of Teleroboxer, Golf, and Nester's Funky Bowling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Nice collection! I'll snap a pick of mine soon as well. The above (Space Invaders, Hyper Fighting) are high quality repro's made in the US. The originals too rich for my blood...haha. Have a small but growing collection of games. Next on my "to buy" list is a reproduction of Jack Bros, and loose w/ manual copies of Teleroboxer, Golf, and Nester's Funky Bowling Hyper Fighting and I think it was on planetvb, if not I don't know, but a forum post indicated permission from the author to make a new run of the games for people interested and so the uptight folks about limited runs don't cry foul they'll do a new bit of art for the sticker and the rest for it. I'd like to get my hands on that since for some bizarre reason you can't even get a copy of the ROM online from what I can tell outside of that annoying demo. So it's that way or overpay, because with no rom flashboy wouldn't do any good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick3092 Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 What is the ribbon cable issue? Each eye display/LCD panel is attached to the main unit via a ribbon cable to allow for the movement of the focus adjustment. It's pretty common for the glue holding them down to let go, and the cables stop making good contact. And will cause all kinds of graphical glitches. Some people have supposedly fixed them by putting them in a oven at low temps. But others have said that's only a temporary fix. A more permanent fix involves directly soldering the ribbon cable. That is the fix I'm planning on getting done. I'm just going off memory from when I researched this like a year ago. But if you google it, you'll find all kinds of info on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 The only times my friends and I ever used it...there were drugs involved. If not for that, the thing never would have gotten used. And drugs are especially bad mmmK? (I picked my up at TRU when I worked there in the 90s...I remember also buying an Interact wearable subwoofer vest thing. They were both on clearance, I think I walked out with both for under $40. The VB I wish I still had, just for giggles. The vibrating vest thing...what a POS.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) https://www.gofundme.com/virtual-boy-collectors-game-cases Proper Virtual Boy cases in RED. Loving it. Lets get this one funded fellas! Jeremy said that any money down will go towards your eventual purchase price. Edited February 20, 2019 by travistouchdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 Only 15k for a plastic case, yeah, no. I'm fine with what you see in the image above anyway DS case red + foam board = cut to fit storage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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