Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Encyclopedia Book
DaddaRuleKonge
This is book is made for people who collect for or are interested in
the VirtualBoy. I made this book cause` I like to catalog and catego-
rize stuff, and to learn more about the system.
I have tried to make the book well presented and easy to look
through. If you are happy with the book then please look at some of
the web-sites on the “Reference Guide” page. Find a site that you
like and give them some spending money.
If you are annoyed, or the owner of some of the content i took from
you, send an email to me: sennep@hotmail.com. The book is free,
and I hope the information and pictures I use comes under free-use.
I hope you will get some use of this book, and maybe help you in
your quest on collecting, or just having fun with this great system.
All rights are NOT reserved. EVERY part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. I do not own anything in
this book. You use part of this publication on your OWN RISK though. As places in this book may have a copyright by the original owner.
CONTENT
Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Refrence Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Virtual Boy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1. Virtual Boy Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2. Unreleased Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3. System packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4. Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5. Unreleased Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6. Check-List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
6
Refrence Guide
Most of the information is pure transcript. I have tried to give credit to the web-sites i have used. I know that
having a poor knowledge of the english language is no excuse to take others material. But what`s a guy to do.
Information is free, right? If owners of content in this book feel used, then please e-mail me, and i will make the
necessary adjustment to suit your wish.
Web-site: http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/
“a 3-D site for a 3-D world”
The biggest and one of the few Virtual Boy sites. This is the site I mainly
used, not including Wikipeida, when researching for the Virtual Boy. It is a
great site for information and pictures of the console. Also clean and nice
to look at.
Web-site: http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/index.html
A great site dedicated to providing detailed information, history, pictures,
videos and objective reviews for both the classic and current generation
systems, including the Virtual Boy.
Nintendo Wiki
Web-site: http://nintendo.wikia.com/wiki/Nintendo_Wiki
A big wikipedia site on everything Nintendo, including Virtual Boy.
8
wikipedia.com
In the early 1990s, Nintendo and Sega Initial press releases and interviews about
had seen success with their 16-bit con- the system focused on its technologi-
soles but the games market had stalled. cal capabilities, avoiding discussion of
There was still a period of delay before the actual games that would be released.
the 32-bit consoles would launch, and The company entered into an exclusive
competitors such as the PlayStation were agreement with Reflection Technology
readying for launch. In this context, Nin- to license the technology for the Scanned
tendo and Sega hoped “to reignite the Linear Array displays.
market for their games.”
Problems emerged when Nintendo at-
The New York Times previewed the Vir- tempted to turn its vision into an afforda-
tual Boy on November 13, 1994. The ble console, searching for low-cost hard-
console was officially announced via press release hardware components. Yokoi opted for red LEDs be-
the next day, November 14. Nintendo promised that cause they were the cheapest; Nintendo said a color
Virtual Boy would “totally immerse players into display would have been prohibitively expensive.
their own private universe.” The system was for- Color was also said to have caused “jumpy images
mally unveiled the next day at the Shoshinkai Show. in tests.” Even with cost-saving measures in place,
Nintendo of America showed the Virtual Boy at the Nintendo priced the Virtual Boy at a relatively high
Consumer Electronics Show on 6 January 1995. US$180. While slightly less expensive than a home
console (and significantly less powerful), this was
While Nintendo’s Research & Development 3 divi-
considerably more costly than the Game Boy hand-
sion (R&D3) was focused on developing the Ninten-
held.
do 64, the other two engineering units were free to
experiment with new product ideas. The Virtual Boy With seemingly more advanced graphics, the Virtual
was designed by Gunpei Yokoi, the general manager Boy was not intended to replace the Game Boy in
of Nintendo’s R&D1, and the inventor of the Game Nintendo’s product line, as use of the system requires
& Watch and Game Boy handheld consoles. He saw a steady surface and completely blocks the player’s
the Virtual Boy as a unique technology that competi- peripheral vision. According to David Sheff’s book
tors would find difficult to emulate. Additionally, the Game Over, Yokoi never actually intended for the
console was intended to enhance Nintendo’s reputa- console to be released in its ultimate form. However,
tion as an innovator. Nintendo pushed the Virtual Boy to market so that it
10
could focus development resources on the Nintendo
64. Design News described the Virtual Boy as the
logical evolution of the View-Master 3-dimensional
image viewer.
A number of technology demonstrations were used
to show what the Virtual Boy was capable of. Driv-
ing Demo was one of the more advanced demos; its
30-second clip showed a first-person view of driving
by road signs and palm trees. This demo was shown
at E3 and CES in 1995. The start-up screen of the
Virtual Boy Prototype was shown at Shoshinkai in
1994. The demo of what would have been a Star Fox
game showed a Star Fox-like Arwing doing various
spins and motions. Cinematic camera angles were
a key element, as they were in Star Fox 2. It was
shown at E3 and CES in 1995.
12
Control Connectivity
The Virtual Boy was During development, Nintendo promised the ability
meant to be used sit- to link systems for competitive play. The system’s
ting down at a table, EXT (extension) port, located on the underside of
although Nintendo the system below the controller port, was never of-
said it would release ficially supported since no “official” multiplayer
a harness for players games were ever published, nor was an official link
to use while standing. cable released. (Although Waterworld and Faceball
One of the unique features of the controller is the were going to use the EXT port for multiplayer play,
extendable power supply that slides onto the back. the multiplayer features in the former were removed
It houses the six AA batteries required to power the and the latter was canceled.)
system. This can be substituted with a wall adapter,
though a “slide-on” attachment is required for the
switchout. Once the slide-on adapter is installed, a
power adapter can be attached to provide constant
power.
The Virtual Boy, being a system with heavy empha-
sis on three-dimensional movement, needed a con-
troller 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 afore-
mentioned 3D environment. The controller itself is
shaped like an “M” (similar to a Nintendo 64 con-
troller). One holds onto either side of the controller
and the part that dips down in the middle contains
the battery pack.
In more traditional 2-dimensional games, the two
directional pads are interchangeable. For others
with a more 3D environment, like Red Alarm, 3D
Tetris, or Teleroboxer, each pad controls a different
feature. The symmetry of the controller also allows
left-handed gamers to reverse the controls (similar
to the Atari Lynx).
13
Games
Nintendo initially showcased three games for the
Virtual Boy. They planned to release three titles at
launch, and two or three per month thereafter. Giv-
en the system’s short lifespan, only 22 games were
released. Of them, 19 games were released in the
Japanese market, while 14 were released in North
America.
When asked if Virtual Boy games were going to be
available for download on the Virtual Console for
the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo of America President
Reggie Fils-Aime said he could not answer, as he
was unfamiliar with the platform. He noted that, giv-
en his lack of familiarity, he would be hard-pressed
to make the case for inclusion of the games on the
Virtual Console.
1. 15
3D Tetris 6.9
Developer T&E Soft
Publisher Nintendo
Release date (us) March 22, 1996
Genre Puzzle
“Value” $39.99
16 1.
8.1 Galactic Pinball
Developer Intelligent Systems
Publisher Nintendo
Release date (us) August 14, 1995
(jp) July 21, 1995
Genre Pinball
“Value” $10.50
6.1 Golf
Developer T&E Soft
Publisher (JP) T&E Soft/Nintendo
Release date (us) November 1995
(jp) August 11, 1995
Genre Sports
“Value” $14.82
1. 17
Jack Bros. 8.4
Developer Atlus
Publisher Atlus
Release date (us) October 1995
(jp) September 29, 1995
Genre Action
“Value” $272.60
Jack Bros. was the first game in the Megami Tensei series to be
released in the United States.
Jack Bros. allows players to play as one of characters - Jack Frost,
Jack Lantern, or Jack Skelton. The game uses an over-head style
similar to the Gauntlet series of video games and uses a three-
dimensional red-and-black presentation.
Rarity US: 7
Rarity JP: 4
Rarity JP: 7
18 1.
7.3 Mario Clash
Developer Nintendo R&D1
Publisher Nintendo
Release date (us) October 1, 1995
(jp) September 28, 1995
Genre Platform, Action
“Value” $21.24
1. 19
Nester’s Funky Bowling 6.5
Developer Saffire Corporation
Publisher Nintendo
Release date (us) February 26, 1996
Genre Sports
“Value” $29.99
Red Alarm takes place 70 years in the future (from the game’s
release), where a computer named KAOS threatens to take over
the world and destroy mankind. The player’s mission is to enter
KAOS using a Tech-Wing Fighter plane and destroy it.
The game is set in a full 3D environment, using wire frame graph-
ics similar to those used in games like Atari’s Battlezone and Star
Rarity US: 2 Wars arcade games, as well as Starglider and X.
Rarity JP: 2
20 1.
6.4 SD Gundam Dimension War
Developer Locomotive Corporation
Publisher Bandai
Release date (jp) December
Genre Turn-based strategy
“Value” $650.00
Rarity JP: 10
Rarity JP: 8
1. 21
Space Squash 8.5
Developer Tomcat System
Publisher Coconuts Japan
Release date (jp) September 29, 1995
Genre Sports
“Value” $46.67
Rarity JP: 6
Teleroboxer 7.1
Developer Nintendo R&D1
Publisher Nintendo
Release date (us) August 14, 1995
(jp) July 21, 1995
Genre Fighting
“Value” $46.67
22 1.
6.9 V-Tetris
Developer Bullet-Proof Software
Publisher Bullet-Proof Software
Release date (jp) August 25, 1995
Genre Puzzle
“Value” $xx
Rarity JP: 1
1. 23
Virtual Bowling 7.3
Developer Athena
Publisher Athena
Release date (jp) December 22, 1995
Genre Sports
“Value” $900.00
Virtual Boy Wario Land for the Virtual Boy is very similar to
Wario’s other platforming roles.
Virtual Boy Wario Land is generally considered as one of the
better games for the Virtual Boy, if not the best. The game was
originally meant to have the name Wario Cruise, and the name
appeared on the Virtual Boy system’s box and in Nintendo Power
Rarity US: 3 magazine.
Rarity JP: 5
24 1.
5.7 Virtual Fishing
Developer Pack-In-Video
Publisher Pack-In-Video/THQ
Release date (jp) October 6, 1995
Genre Sports
“Value” $xx
Rarity JP: 5
1. 25
Virtual League Baseball 5.2
Developer Kemco
Publisher Kemco
Release date (us) September 11, 1995
(jp) August 11, 1995
Genre Sports
“Value” $14.99
Waterworld 3.7
Developer Ocean of America
Publisher Ocean Software
Release date (us) November 21, 1995
Genre Action
“Value” $50.00
26 1.
Unreleased Games
planetvb.com
These pages consict of some of the unreleased games that were planned and developed in the Virtual Boy life
span. Several incomplete, or maybe even finished prototypes exist, sincee some games were close to production
but weren’t released because it would have cost more money to bring them out than it would have brought in.
Plus there were some unreleased games shown on tradeshows or reviewed by magazines like Nintendo Power
and those protos must have gone somewhere. If you would like to get a more detailed decription or content of the
games, or information on other unreleased games, please visit the web site: planetvb.com.
3D Tank
Developer Boss Game Studios
3D Tank was supposed to be a 1st person sci-fi tank sim. Statements regarding how
far the development on 3D Tank had come are conflicting. None of the assets from the
game have been attainable for the public, or even seem to have survived.
The pictures on the right, are mockups, created by Defunct Games in 2002, to give an
idea of what the game might have looked like.
Bound High!
Developer Nintendo/Japan System Supply
Planned Release (jp) February 23, 1996
Originally developed by Japan System Supply, Nintendo liked the game idea of Bound
High! and took over the project later. In the game, the player control Chalvo, a bounc-
ing robot who travels through space In full 3d-D motion in pursuit of invaders.
At the time of cancellation, the game already was completely finished.
2. 27
Dragon Hopper
Developer Intelligent Systems
Planned Release 26 August, 1996
The game is a 3D Action Adventure played from a direct overhead view, where one
control the dragon Dorin. The game contains adventure elements like exploring the
levels, interacting with helpful creatures and battling foes.
A prototype definitely exists, the game was shown on Space World 1995 and E3 1996
and was even previewed by Nintendo Power.
Faceball
Developer Bullet-Proof Software
Planned Release (jp) Mars, 1996
Faceball was going to be one of the games to support the unreleased Virtual Boy
GameLink cable. Like the Faceball games on other consoles, the Virtual Boy version
could be described as a shooter with smiley balls.
The game is often referred to as “NikoChan Battle”.
GoldenEye
Developer Rareware
If GoldenEye was in the making at Rare or Nintendo is still unclear, but one thing is
for sure, the game would have had nothing to do with Rare’s N64 title. Instead of a
first person shooter, the Virtual Boy version is an action racing game, in which one
could have taken seat in one of Bond’s dream cars.
There is only one known screenshot of the game.
28 2.
Shin Nihon Pro Wrestling
Developer Tomy
Planned Release (jp) December, 1995
There’s not much to show from Shin Nihon Pro Wrestling Gekitou Densetsu besides
a single screenshot.
There are rumours that this game has been released in Japan in very small numbers,
also speculated in some magazines, but it is doubtful.
VB Mario Land
Developer Nintendo
Practically, VB Mario Land is a prototype of Mario Clash. Mario Clash was once a
Jump’N’Run with adventure elements, which is the now unreleased VB Mario Land,
but this prototype also contained a mini game, a 3D version of the classic Mario Bros.
game, which was later released as a stand-alone game called Mario Clash. The game
is very similar to the first Super Mario Bros. on the NES, it features a similar levels
structure and even has a small castle and a flagpole.
Virtual Block
Developer Bottom Up
Planned Release (jp) December, 1995
Virtual Block was going to be a 3D version of Breakout. One where controlling two
paddles, from which one had let a ball bounce up to the blocks. Each of the two Digital
Pads was used for one of the paddles and that made it very difficult to play.
Virtual Block was playable on Nintendo Space World 1995, so a Prototype definitely
exists.
2. 29
Virtual Bomberman
Developer Bottom Up
Planned Release (jp) 29 February, 1996
Virtual Double Yakuman was going to be a Mahjong game for the Virtual Boy. After
Game Boy and Super Famicon, the VB would have got its own version of the “Double
Yakuman” series, called “Virtual Double Yakuman”.
Much isn’t known about this game, but one could have chosen between a classic bird
eye view or a 3D perspective.
Virtual Gunman
Developer Victor
Planned Release (jp) Mars, 1996
Virtual Gunman was going to be a first person shooter like, for example Virtua Cop.
The player progresses through five levels, in which numerous enemies move towards
him.
The game was shown on Famicon Space World 1995.
30 2.
Virtual League Baseball 2
Developer Kemco
Planned Release (jp) Mars, 1996
This wasa going to be the successor of Virtual League Baseball, or Virtual Pro Base-
ball ‘95 as it was called in Japan.
The design of the japanese version has realistically shaped players like in Virtual
League Baseball instead of the deformed ones.
Worms
Developer Team 17
The develoment of the game didn’t come very far, Team17 stopped working on it a
few weeks into the pre-production when the Virtual Boy more or less got cancelled
in Europe. A statement from Team 17’ said; “work never really started on Worms for
the Virtual Boy. We basically declined to develop it after we had a mess around and
look at the machine which we felt was doomed to failure (and were largely proved
correct)”.
Zero Racers
Developer Nintendo
Planned Release (us) Fall ‘96
Zero Racers was going to be a sequel to F-Zero from the Super Nintendo. The play-
er take seat in verhicles strongly resembling spaceships, and speed through up- and
down-, left- and right-turning tunnels.
A prototype exists, because the game was previewed by Nintendo Power.
2. 31
System packages
planetvb.com
The Virtual Boy was released on July 21, 1995 in Japan and on August 21, 1995 in North America with the
launch titles Mario’s Tennis, Red Alarm, Teleroboxer, and Galactic Pinball. It was not released in PAL mar-
kets. In North America, Nintendo shipped Mario’s Tennis with every Virtual Boy sold, as a pack-in game.
Nintendo had initially projected sales of 3 million consoles and 14 million games.
Confronted with the challenge of showing 3-dimensional gameplay on 2-dimensional advertisements, the
company partnered with Blockbuster and NBC in a coordinated effort. A $5 million campaign promoted
NBC’s fall lineup alongside the Virtual Boy. American viewers were encouraged via television advertisements
on NBC to rent the console for US$10 at a local Blockbuster. This made it affordable for a large number of
gamers to try the system, and produced 750,000 rentals. Upon returning the unit, renters received a coupon
for $10 off the purchase of a Virtual Boy from any store. 3,000 Blockbuster locations were included in the
promotion, which included a sweepstakes with prizes including trips to see the taping of NBC shows. Despite
its popularity, the rental system proved harmful to the Virtual Boy’s long-term success, allowing gamers to see
just how un-immersive the console was. Taken as a whole, the marketing campaign was commonly thought
of as a failure.
32 3.
Virtual Boy (U.S. Release) Content
Release date (jp) August 14, 1995 • VUE-001 Virtual Boy
MSRP $179.95 • VUE-003 Stand
Items sold 630,000 • VUE-005 Controller
• VUE-006 Game Pak
The North-American came with the same acces- (Mario Tennis)
sories of the Japanese release, but also the game, • VUE-010 Eyeshade
Mario Tennis. The game came with only the cart • VUE-012 Eyeshade
and the manual. The box was never released (out- Holder
side the blockbuster “not-for-sale” version). • VUE-USA Manual
Besides the regular US and japanese versions of
the Virtual Boy, there were also special ones sent
to stores together with the store displays. It is
known as the Mosaic version.
3. 33
Accessories
planetvb.com
The VirtualBoy did not release many accessories. These three pages include some of the more known or
common accessories for the system. For more on accessories, please visit planetvb.com.
AC Adapter Set
Manufacturer Nintendo
MSRP $19,95
For playing without batteries. Includes a 9V adapter (identical to the NES and SNES
ones) and a tap to connect the adapter to the Virtual Boy controller.
Rarity: 4
AC Adapter Tap
Manufacturer Nintendo
Release date (jp) 21 July,.1995
MSRP ¥600
34 4.
Eyeshade
Manufacturer Nintendo
MSRP ¥500
Replacement eyeshade for the Virtual Boy. Used to rest your face on while playing
and for dimming environment light.
Rarity: 6
Soft Case
Manufacturer STD Entertainment
Soft carrycase that holds the Virtual Boy system plus some games.
When the VB failed, the manufacturer repacked the carry cases and sold them as “32-
Bit System Transporter”. But they kept the same warranty card, which referred to the
item as a “Virtual Boy Carrying Case”.
Rarity: 6
Stereo Headphones
Manufacturer Nintendo
Release date (jp) 1995
Stereo headphones for the Virtual Boy. Not special in any way, but official.
Rarity: 4
4. 35
TravelMaster
Manufacturer Southern Case
The TravelMaster is a hard case that is very similar to the official Blockbuster case.
Both cases where made by the same company
Rarity: 8
The Virtual Boy Adaptor was for playing without batteries. It was a 9V adapter with a
tap for connection to the Virtual Boy controller.
Rarity: 4
Rarity: 4
36 4.
FlashBoy
Developer Richard Hutchinson
Distributor Planet Virtual Boy
Release December 13, 2007
Price € 90
Package Content • FlashBoy Cartridge
• Box
• A to B (mini) USB cable
• Quick Reference Card
• CD-R (software, manual, ROMs)
In August 2006, Richard Hutchinson, who also created hardware like the Vec-
Flash, a Vectrex flash cartridge, before, started working on a Virtual Boy flash
cart based on his Vectrex cart. After more than a year in development, the Flash-
Boy, a commercially available Virtual Boy flash cart was made.
The FlashBoy Plus is the second entry to the FlashBoy family and expands the
previous design by an internal save battery and allow Virtual Boy homebrew de-
velopers to make use of game saving mechanisms in their games. Or, better put,
it will finally allow people to actually use save game functionality of homebrew
and commercial games on hardware.
The FlashBoy is a very easy, fast and inexpensive way to test homebrew projects
on real hardware. Also, users can store all their original games safely in their
boxes and just load the ROMs to the FlashBoy to play, or play all those rare
games they just can’t afford to buy.
4. 37
Unreleased Accessories
planetvb.com
While the Nintendo Virtual Boy library may be limited to a mere 22 official releases, several of the unfinished
and unreleased titles which were due to hit the system have since surfaced online. Joining these elusive proto-
types is different hardware accessories, either appearing on action sites or seen as promos in magazines.
Adjustable Stand
Manufacturer Nintendo
MSRP ¥3,000
Virtual Boy stand made of steel, which could be adjusted in its height.
Release was planned to be on August, 3rd 1995.
GameLink® Cable
Manufacturer Nintendo
Link Cable like the one of the Game Boy. Used to connect two Virtual Boys for mul-
tiplayer games. The only games which support the link cable are homebrew releases.
US Release was planned for early 1996.
38 5.
Rechargeable Battery Adapter
Manufacturer Nintendo
As the name says a rechargeable battery adapter for the Virtual Boy, an alternative to
batteries.
The only hint at this adapter can be found in issue 73 of Nintendo Power magazine
(Page 73, bottom).
Shoulder Harness
Manufacturer Nintendo
A Virtual Boy stand, which is worn aroud the neck. For playing the Virtual Boy freely.
Although there is no other info on the shoulder Harness than this early drawing, it is
said to have been very far in development.
5. 39
U.S. Games List
These two small pages consist of every VirtualBoy games. The games are listed in two categories: North-
American and Japanese. The Checklist are made for people to cross out the games they have. “C” measn the
cart. “I” is the manual/information. “B” is the box. And “S” is for collectors who collect sealed games.
40 6.
Japan Games List
This is the list of Japanese releases. The NTSC-J releases can be easily recognised on the different cover de-
sign. The list is organized alphabetically by the games’ localized English titles, or their rōmaji transliterations.
6. 41