Where Are They Now?
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.
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...
Bookshelf: Sex, Drugs and Tessellation
Hot off the press is Ben Delaney's authoritative new book, Sex, Drugs, and Tessellation which collects 6 years of wisdom from Ben's CyberEdge Journal, the go-to virtual reality publication from 1991 through 1996. Ben has always been both a proponent of,...
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...
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...
Is It VR Yet?
Harvey Newquist tires of waiting for the New York Post headline to scream: "Wife Dumps Husband For Cybersex Lover" or "Computer Casanova Seduces Virtual Valerie." Money quote: Does the average person get to see or use any of this stuff? Can you go any...
Psychedelics and the Creation of Virtual Reality
VR pioneer, Mark Pesce discusses the relationship between Virtual Reality and psychedelic substances. MAPS: Do you ever use psychedelics for problem-solving tasks? Where you have a specific question in mind, and then you take psychedelics in...
How To Make VR “Real” – Advice From 1991
I wrote this for a 1991 Meckler conference presentation. Still smiling at my naivete! It's tough trying to manage one of these businesses. Every time one of my vendors/bankers/landlord/ etc., asks what we do, and I say "Virtual Reality," their eyes...
Night vision goggles of Red Army!
Suddenly, I found the information that USSR army, just before World War 2 developed electronic head-mounted infra-red night-vision goggles for tank crew! It is not exactly a virtual reality subject, but nevertheless it's early days of...
A Day In The Life
Scenes from a typical day in the virtual world of tomorrow: You wake up and attend to your daily bathroom rituals, which unfortunately will never be replaced by any virtual reality process... Thus, after your real world morning ceremonies are...
And I’m Never Going Back To My Old School
Two snippets from the old, old school of VR, circa 1991, pitching a reputable UK firm - Division (acquired by PTC in 1999.) Featured are a couple of helmets from VPL Research using LEEP optics and cloth/velcro enclosures. One HMD appears to have been...
The Writing Was On the Wall…
When did we first get a clue that VR might not fully live up to its promise? The National Academy of Science's "Committee on Virtual Reality Research and Development" roster is a non-virtual who's-who of the VR world circa 1994. They certainly...