Game Systems
The $200 Headset Sega Killed for Being “Too Real
In 1993 Sega cancelled its $200 VR headset and blamed the product for being “too realistic.” The truth, per the Stanford Research Institute: it made kids sick. Decades later, the one game it was too scared to ship finally runs — on somebody else’s headset.
W-Industries Unscripted
W-Industries (Virtuality) always seemed to have a PR person riding herd on any video material that was released about the company or products. Everything the public saw was tightly scripted and edited. But... here's a 1992 video from...
Virtual Reality (1991) – “Many Believe It Will Revolutionize The Way We Live”
ABC Primetime covers the VR scene in Sept. 1991. Although this news report conflates computer animation footage with Virtual Reality, it also features interviews with Jon Waldern, Fred Brooks, Howard Rheingold, Mike McGreevey, and C L Dodgson (virtually,...
Sega VR – Mighty Barfin’ Power Rangers (we are the 40 percent)
Sega (all hail Sonic!): 1991 brought the announcement of Sega VR, a $200 headset for the Genesis console, a prototype finally shown at summer CES 1993, and consigned to the trash heap of VR in 1994, before any units shipped. Sega claimed that...
Yea, though he has walked through the Valley of Silicon, he fears no evil. Jaron Lanier’s rebound…
"Inside Jaron Lanier is a precocious eight-year-old who got together with some friends and built a spaceship," wrote Howard Rheingold in his 1991 book, Virtual Reality, the definitive history of VR to date. "Now he wants us all to take a ride...
Mnemonic’s MRG2.2 Upgrade – Augmented Reality + Kinect
Several months ago I shipped off an MRG2.2 to Mnemonic in the Ukraine. He said he wanted to do a few mods and some experimenting. Little did I know that he would put together a totally sweet augmented reality system, where the view inside the...
Retrospective photo review of Forte VFX1 Virtual Reality system
Forte VFX1 was the most advanced, complex and expensive consumer VR system that appeared on the market during VR craze in mid-nineties. Introduced in 1995, VFX1 was in the shops all around the world in 1996. [scrollGallery=id:1;] Hardware...
W Industries – In the Beginning…
Chris Hand from Leicester Polytechnic offers a delightful history of W Industries, the company who brought us the various Virtuality VR game systems. His history begins in the early 80's and takes us only to early October of 1991, not long...
The Games That Would Be King
From 1991 to 1996 W Industries Virtuality systems defined the image of VR in the location based entertainment arena. Here in the US, Horizon Entertainment was their sole distributor. W Industries was remarkably innovative with their use of technology, but...
Virtuality Sphere (HQ)
Sphere is a game that was made for the Virtuality 2000 Series sitdowns (SD). You control a tank and have to capture a sphere in the battlefield while avoiding to be shot by other tanks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6r2kdZydzE
Virtual Boy – Another Perspective…
I don't really agree with the Virtual Boy being VR's "nail in the coffin". I think it was just one of many crappy products. Maybe it could have saved the VR hype for a while if it was a big success, but as it is it's just one of the many VR obscurities...
Number 5 in PC World’s “Ugliest Products in Tech History” – VIRTUAL BOY
Nintendo's 1995 Virtual Boy was a whole cartridge based game system inside a desktop-mounted-head stereoscopic immersive display. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi of Gameboy fame, and offered for $180 retail, the market was less than kind. It was withdrawn from...
Jaron Lanier Explains Why There’s Still Not A VR Bubble
Jaron walks us through all eleven reasons, from Gates Envy to Movie Projectors. Strangely enough I agree! The Top Eleven Reasons VR Has Not Yet Become Commonplace
Virtusphere – Virtual Hamster
This looks like the closest thing yet to a real-life holodeck! The Virtusphere is (as the name suggests) a large hollow sphere which sits on a set of computer monitored wheels. This allows the sphere to rotate a complete 360º whilst still allowing the...
Yet Another Fashion Emergency – J D Roth Talks Virtuality on GamePro TV
The ill fated GamePro TV did a 1991 "Cutting Edge" feature on the original Virtuality arcade systems, including footage from their premier multi-player Dactyl Nightmare title. Be careful not to fry your eyeballs on host J.D. Roth's outfit; did...