
A Virtual Boy console with its controller
The Virtual Boy is a 32-bit tabletop video game console developed and designed by Nintendo, first released in Japan on July 21, 1995 and later in North America on August 14 of the same year.[1] The following list contains all of the games released for the Virtual Boy.
Originally unveiled at Nintendo's Shoshinkai Show in Japan on November 15, 1994 and at Winter CES in North America on January 6, 1995,[2][3] it was never intended to be released in its final form but Nintendo pushed the Virtual Boy in its unfinished state to market so that it could focus development resources on the then-upcoming Nintendo 64 and arrived later than other 32-bit systems such as the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, PlayStation and Sega Saturn but at a lower price,[4][5] retailing at US$179.95 but in mid-1996, Blockbuster was selling Virtual Boy units at $50 each.[6][7][2][8]:513
The system was overwhelmingly panned by critics and was deemed as a commercial failure,[9] selling only 770,000 units before being discontinued both in Japan and North America on December 22, 1995 and March 2, 1996 respectively,[10] making it the second lowest-selling console by Nintendo after the 64DD and its marketing campaign was commonly thought of as a failure.[11] Several additional titles were announced to be released for the Virtual Boy at E3 1996, but ultimately they were never released due to the system’s discontinuation by Nintendo themselves, as were several localizations that were only released in one region.[2][citation needed] The system was never released in Europe.
Games[]
Listed here are all 22[n 1] officially released Virtual Boy games. Of these, eight titles were exclusive to Japan and three to North America. A number of games were either announced or already in development before ultimately being canceled including Bound High!, Dragon Hopper, and Niko-Chan Battle (the Japanese version of Faceball).[2][12]
Regions released | Region description | Released |
---|---|---|
North America | North America and other NTSC territories. | 14 |
Japan | Japan, Hong Kong and other NTSC-J territories. | 19 |
Title[13][14][15] | Genre(s) | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) | Release date[13][14][15] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | North America | ||||
3D Tetris | Puzzle | T&E Soft | Nintendo | Unreleased[n 2] | March 22, 1996[16] |
Galactic Pinball | Pinball | Intelligent Systems | Nintendo | July 21, 1995 | August 14, 1995 |
Golf | Sports | T&E Soft | Nintendo (NA) T&E Soft (JP) |
August 11, 1995 | November 1, 1995 |
Innsmouth no Yakata | First-person shooter | Be Top | I'Max | October 13, 1995 | Unreleased[n 3] |
Jack Bros. | Action | Atlus | Atlus | September 29, 1995 | October 20, 1995 |
Mario Clash | Action | Nintendo R&D1 | Nintendo | September 28, 1995 | October 1, 1995 |
Mario's Tennis | Sports | Nintendo R&D1 | Nintendo | July 21, 1995 | August 14, 1995 |
Nester's Funky Bowling | Sports | Nintendo R&D3, Saffire Corporation | Nintendo | Unreleased | February 26, 1996 |
Panic Bomber | Puzzle | Eighting, Hudson Soft | Nintendo (NA) Hudson Soft (JP) |
July 21, 1995 | December 1, 1995 |
Red Alarm | Shooter | T&E Soft | Nintendo (NA) T&E Soft (JP) |
July 21, 1995 | August 14, 1995 |
SD Gundam Dimension War | Turn-based strategy | Locomotive Corporation | Bandai | December 22, 1995 | Unreleased |
Space Invaders Virtual Collection | Shoot 'em up | Taito | Taito | December 1, 1995 | Unreleased |
Space Squash | Sports | Tomcat System | Coconuts Japan Entertainment | September 28, 1995 | Unreleased |
Teleroboxer | Fighting | Nintendo R&D1, Nintendo R&D3 | Nintendo | July 21, 1995 | August 14, 1995 |
V-Tetris | Puzzle | Bullet-Proof Software | Bullet-Proof Software | August 25, 1995 | Unreleased |
Vertical Force | Shoot 'em up | Hudson Soft | Nintendo (NA) Hudson Soft (JP) |
August 12, 1995 | December 1, 1995 |
Virtual Bowling | Sports | Athena | Athena, Nihon Bussan | December 22, 1995 | Unreleased |
Virtual Boy Wario Land | Platform | Nintendo R&D1 | Nintendo | December 1, 1995 | November 27, 1995 |
Virtual Fishing | Fishing | Locomotive Corporation | Pack-In-Video | October 6, 1995 | Unreleased[n 4] |
Virtual Lab | Puzzle | Nacoty | J-Wing | December 8, 1995 | Unreleased |
Virtual League Baseball | Sports | Kemco | Kemco | August 11, 1995 | September 11, 1995 |
Waterworld | Action | Ocean Software | Ocean of America | Unreleased | December 21, 1995 |
See also[]
- List of cancelled Virtual Boy games
- Lists of video games
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ "Introduction by Nintendo". Nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-07. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Boyer, Steven. "A Virtual Failure: Evaluating the Success of Nintendos Virtual Boy." Velvet Light Trap.64 (2009): 23-33. ProQuest Research Library. Web. May 24, 2012.
- ↑ "Nintendo introduces video game players to three-dimensional worlds with new virtual reality video game system « Press Releases « Planet Virtual Boy". planetvb.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Sheff, David; Eddy, Andy (1999). Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children. online. GamePress. ISBN 978-0-9669617-0-6. OCLC 26214063.
- ↑ KEVIN RAFFERTY, IN T. "Super Mario Takes Leap into Three Dimensional Space." The Guardian (pre-1997 Fulltext): 0. November 16, 1994. ProQuest. Web. July 8, 2013.
- ↑ Q, The (September 1996). "Gaming Gossip". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (86): 34. https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3AEGM_US_086.pdf&page=34. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
- ↑ Edwards, Benj (August 21, 2015). "Unraveling The Enigma Of Nintendo's Virtual Boy, 20 Years Later". Fast Company. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Kent, Steven L. (2002). The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. New York: Random House International. pp. 513–515, 518, 519, 523, 524. ISBN 978-0-7615-3643-7. OCLC 59416169. https://books.google.com/books?id=PTrcTeAqeaEC&printsec=frontcover. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
- ↑ Lisa Foiles. "Top 5 Hardware Super Fails | Top 5 with Lisa Foiles Video Gallery | The Escapist". Escapistmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-07. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Snow, Blake (May 4, 2007). "The 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time". GamePro.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ King, Geoff; Krzywinska, Tanya (2006). Tomb Raiders and Space Invaders : Videogame Forms and Contexts.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "Unreleased/Cancelled Virtual Boy Games". 1 More Castle. 2013-06-25. Archived from the original on 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Virtual Boy Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-12-02. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ 14.0 14.1 "VIRTUAL BOY Soft > 1994". GAME Data Room . Archived from the original on 2018-07-20. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ 15.0 15.1 Seidel, F. (July–August 2000). "Feature: Der verlorene Sohn - Alle erschienenen Spiele auf einen Blick". big.N (LiveEmotion Verlag) (9): 20. https://www.planetvb.com/modules/articles/?s017110003.
- ↑ "3D Tetris (VB)". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
{{cite web}}
:
External links[]
Virtual Boy | ||
---|---|---|
Games | Released | 3D Tetris • Galactic Pinball • Golf • Innsmouth no Yakata • Jack Bros. • Mario Clash • Mario's Tennis • Nester's Funky Bowling • Panic Bomber • Red Alarm • Space Invaders Virtual Collection • Teleroboxer • Vertical Force • Virtual Boy Wario Land • Virtual League Baseball • Waterworld |
Unreleased | Bound High! • Dragon Hopper | |
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