Psychology
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.
The $49,000 Goggles: How VPL Pawned the Future to a French Arms Dealer
VPL Research sold $49,000 goggles, coined the term “virtual reality,” and still went broke — after pledging its entire patent portfolio to a French arms company and missing the payment. The gear was real. The receipts went to someone else.
They Sold the Future for $9,400 in 1990. It Weighed Five Pounds
In 1990, NHK’s Today’s Japan strapped a nation into the future: Jaron Lanier, VPL’s EyePhone, and a $9,400 headset that weighed five pounds. The pitch hasn’t changed since — only the housing color and who gets to own your face.
Fuji Real 3D W1 – top or flop?
The Fuji W1 already hit shelves in japan last year, but it took a while untill you could see it everywhere else. Now i got my very own one and tested it a bit. OK it is not really directly related to Virtual Reality and also not really an artifact i used...
A VR Who’s Who From 1994 – uniVRsum
1994 marks the peak of what many view as the first "Big Bubble" in VR popularity. There were literally hundreds of (mostly) entrepreneurial startups taking a wild fling and what seemed to be a game-changing technology. You could strike sparks anywhere! By 1997 most...
The State Of Consumer VR
Two milkshakes make the whole issue of virtual reality motion sickness moot. There's not much more commentary to add here...
Recent Job Posting: Seeking – Principal Teledildonics Integration Engineer
According to several women writers, a hot hi-tech hiring wave will be seeking: Teledildonics Integration Engineers and API Programmers (FAPs.) While porn has been trying to edge into Virtual Reality Sex, and VR keeps trying to penetrate the porn market, maybe the...
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,...
The Realism Of 3D Movies
Speechless!!
The Great Bubble
2013 has brought much excitement to the VR world, especially the perception of great breakthroughs in Head Mounted Display products. Can we take a deep breath, then hold up a distant mirror to the cautionary history of VR from 1993-1998. Back...
Digital VR Rehab
For years, therapists would attempt to treat smokers and alcoholics using real-life triggers. Let addicts see a lighter or an empty bottle, or even a photo of something smoking or drinking related, to trigger cravings, then teach them coping strategies. It was limited...
The Cart Before The Horse, Once Again – Project Glass
Google has been tearing through the bandwidth over at the Patent Office in defense of Project Glass, April's much touted announcement of Google's entry into the world of augmented reality and head mounted displays. One especially clever patent...
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...
Beware the funny hair… its a tech cult giveaway
Matt Novak, in Smithsonian's Paleofuture blog, draws some interesting contrasts between Jaron Lanier's 1991 Omni Magazine interview and his current book: "You Are Not A Gadget: A Manifesto." While the Omni article portrays Lanier as "...a man...
Apple Plans Ahead
24 years ago Apple ran this advertisement predicting a tablet based voice assistant. The futuristic ad takes place in September 2011. With yesterday's announcement of Siri, they missed their prediction by only one month (out of 24 years.) Wish all my...