Virtual Boy

The Nintendo Virtual Boy, released in 1995, was gaming's most ambitious and infamous attempt at virtual reality before modern VR headsets. Designed by Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi, this tabletop console used parallax scanning to create stereoscopic 3D images in striking red and black. The Virtual Boy offered genuinely unique experiences: Mario's Tennis demonstrated intuitive 3D depth perception, Teleroboxer provided immersive first-person boxing, and Virtual Boy Wario Land is often considered one of the best 2D platformers ever made. However, the system's limitations proved fatal—the monochrome red display caused eye strain, the awkward tripod design prevented comfortable extended play, and the price was steep for its limited library. Nintendo discontinued the Virtual Boy after less than a year, having sold only around 770,000 units. Despite its commercial failure, the Virtual Boy demonstrated concepts that would become standard in VR decades later and remains a fascinating collector's item.