Am I immune to the virtual boy or is it unfairly hated? (Virtual boy)

[sworddude]

The games aren't bad and some are pretty good

The joke with the virtual boy why so many people hate it is because you can't use a virtual boy for over 30 minutes withouth your eyes literally burning out. it becomes a physical hazzard when you would actually use it for a bit of an extended amount of time wich isn;t that long.

I'm pretty sure the eye hazzard and negative press were one of the main reasons why sales were terrible and not many more games were made.

Was it really a hazzard for the eyes though? Like with medical confirmation?  I just want to check to make sure.  Or was it just rumors in the press? Because I know the huge siezure warning on the box was a huge thing back then but even 3DS has it now.  It was the first time a game company was honest about that epileptic people could have siezures playing it.   Do you think that's part of the negative press.  Maybe it scared customers off? 


I know i've played about 2 hours straight and I don't have a headache yet.  My eyes don't hurt either.  I know that's a rarity with the console though.  Maybe my eyes are hardened from my 10 hour binges watching Call of Duty.   And I crank the brightness on my TVs so maybe i've just nuked my eyes and made them strong against lights.   Im not sure


Thanks for all the imput everyone.

As far as virtual reality goes ps vr or the 3ds is way less on the eyes than the virtual boy for most people. The virtual boy was pretty painfull to use for many people there is no comparison it was one of it's main flaws. immersive 3d was in a bit of an to early stage. i've heard of some complains for the 3ds as far as 3d features go but it wasn't as extreme as with the virtual boy.

I quote on wiki for the virtual boy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Boy#cite_note-49

Many reviewers complained of painful and frustrating physiological symptoms when playing the Virtual Boy. Bill Frischling, writing for The Washington Post, experienced "dizziness, nausea and headaches."[47] Reviewers attributed the problems to both the monochromatic display and uncomfortable ergonomics. Several prominent scientists concluded that the long-term side effects could be more serious, and articles published in magazines such as Electronic Engineering Times and CMP Media's TechWeb speculated that using any immersive headset such as the Virtual Boy could cause sickness, flashbacks, and even permanent brain damage.[48] Nintendo, in the years after Virtual Boy's demise, has been frank about its failure. Howard Lincoln, chairman of Nintendo of America, said flatly that the Virtual Boy "just failed."[5]

[marvelvscapcom2]

The games aren't bad and some are pretty good

The joke with the virtual boy why so many people hate it is because you can't use a virtual boy for over 30 minutes withouth your eyes literally burning out. it becomes a physical hazzard when you would actually use it for a bit of an extended amount of time wich isn;t that long.

I'm pretty sure the eye hazzard and negative press were one of the main reasons why sales were terrible and not many more games were made.

Was it really a hazzard for the eyes though? Like with medical confirmation?  I just want to check to make sure.  Or was it just rumors in the press? Because I know the huge siezure warning on the box was a huge thing back then but even 3DS has it now.  It was the first time a game company was honest about that epileptic people could have siezures playing it.   Do you think that's part of the negative press.  Maybe it scared customers off? 


I know i've played about 2 hours straight and I don't have a headache yet.  My eyes don't hurt either.  I know that's a rarity with the console though.  Maybe my eyes are hardened from my 10 hour binges watching Call of Duty.   And I crank the brightness on my TVs so maybe i've just nuked my eyes and made them strong against lights.   Im not sure


Thanks for all the imput everyone.

As far as virtual reality goes ps vr or the 3ds is way less on the eyes than the virtual boy for most people. The virtual boy was pretty painfull to use for many people there is no comparison it was one of it's main flaws. immersive 3d was in a bit of an to early stage. i've heard of some complains for the 3ds as far as 3d features go but it wasn't as extreme as with the virtual boy.

I quote on wiki for the virtual boy.


Many reviewers complained of painful and frustrating physiological symptoms when playing the Virtual Boy. Bill Frischling, writing for The Washington Post, experienced "dizziness, nausea and headaches."[47] Reviewers attributed the problems to both the monochromatic display and uncomfortable ergonomics. Several prominent scientists concluded that the long-term side effects could be more serious, and articles published in magazines such as Electronic Engineering Times and CMP Media's TechWeb speculated that using any immersive headset such as the Virtual Boy could cause sickness, flashbacks, and even permanent brain damage.[48] Nintendo, in the years after Virtual Boy's demise, has been frank about its failure. Howard Lincoln, chairman of Nintendo of America, said flatly that the Virtual Boy "just failed."[5]

I have done a tad of research and i've found that a lot of the fear of the virtual boys healthy effects were caused by fear from the manual leaflets included with the console in japan and some in America.  Many of which under law were forced to list so many different don't and warnings of the console which made people assume it was unhealthy.   I have a quote here that's pretty interesting.  Of course it's from a Nintendo Employee that was in favor of the VB so that should be taken into consideration lol   

"It was a very strict law,” he adds.

Because of this law, Nintendo decided to implement a built-in software timer into its games that would remind users every 15 minutes to pause and rest their eyes. The same reminder found its way into the manual. “The manual in effect became a list of ‘don’ts.'” wrote Yokoi. “The people who bought the product had no idea about the provisions of the PL Act, and so when they read the instructions, they got the image that this product was bad for your health.”

Back in the United States, Reflection continued to consult with Nintendo and Mitsumi on the Virtual Boy display. Nintendo wanted confirmation from Reflection that its technology would not harm its customers’ eyesight. Under the advice of Reflection, Nintendo hired Dr. Eli Peli of the Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston to study the potential effects of the Virtual Boy’s display on human vision.


The Virtual Boy’s disclaimers could be a tad alarming.
Peli would not directly comment on the results of his research for this article due to a NDA with Nintendo, but Wells says that the doctor found that the technology was generally harmless for eyesight–with one caveat. Children whose optic system had not yet fully developed (which happens around ages 5-7) could develop lazy eye if the two displays were misaligned vertically. So Reflection encased the Virtual Boy’s displays into a rigid plastic case and precision steel frame. That way, there was no chance of that occurring.

“Far from being bad for your eyes,” wrote Yokoi, “The Virtual Boy was in fact pretty good for them. But we didn’t have time to properly present these findings, and so we gave up trying to include them with the product.”


And another quote I found here from another virtual boy critic

First off, many people will cite the statement that the Virtual Boy will cause you to go blind. While it is true that the VB will cause eye strain if used for extended periods (depending on the individual, usually after 30 minutes of constant use or less), the VB will only cause eye damage to children 7 years and younger who have developing eyes. Eye strain becomes easier if the hardware is malfunctioning (out of focus, misaligned mirrors, etc).



So that seems to concur with the scientist that Nintendo hired's findings.   


I wasn't able to find concrete scientific findings that It can damage the eyes of an adult.  But I really do think this fear leaflets and the warnings on both the box, the manuals, the warning pop up in Japan.  Was all just enough for people to associate it with being harmful.   I think it's probably the main reason it failed



Those quotes you shared scare me a bit though, so i'm going to look deep into this.  I hope I can still play it.  Brain damage part is scary.  And even though my eye sight is already so-so I don't want to make it any worst.   So far I don't have any symptoms except I got dizzy once from disorientation but that's normal going from a dark shade to a lighted room. 

[marvelvscapcom2]

I just wanted to let everyone know of today's really awesome score that I got.   


Today I won a Nester's funky bowling on Ebay for a surprising 17 dollars.   Considering it's a 50-60 dollar game it was very shocking as a buy it now.  I assume the guy either didn't know what he had or was in a rush for money.   But It was a win win


I'm excited to try it as it's one of the few great games for the console.   

[pacgamer89]

i lover the virtual boy. i got one in the late 90's and played it non stop for 3 hours while we were on are way to vacation and then 3 hours back and never once had a headache from it.

[marvelvscapcom2]

i lover the virtual boy. i got one in the late 90's and played it non stop for 3 hours while we were on are way to vacation and then 3 hours back and never once had a headache from it.

Did you end up seeking to buy one again when you began collecting or do you plan on buying one for the memories? Also did it come in the big black box?  The rental box from blockbuster is very rare and awesome.  

Thanks for sharing.

It totally came in that big black box with the foam insert. It was great.

I don't plan on buying it, but part of me does wonder about trying it again. I remember setting it up into a good position while I sat on the ground (which we did often in the gaming area of my house at the time) but I don't remember it being super uncomfortable. I was also like 12 or 13, and kids are used to being in bad postures anyway. I played a good amount of Mario Tennis, and I thought the 3D was really well done with it. The red and black didn't bother me a bit either... I guess I was just really immersed into it. It's definitely hard to look at screenshots of it now, but I wonder if it's actually as decent as my nostalgia tells me it was, haha.

One question I want to ask both of you guys because i'm doing a documentary soon about the Virtual Boy kinda like Shane Dawson's mind of Jake Paul series.  Digging deep into something that's hated to try to uncover a lot of the stigma behind the ocnsole because I have been researching a lot about it's rise, it's fall and it's hardships and so much of it seems like a perfect storm of negativity and so much is left on the table.  It died so fast and a lot of it is secrecy now.  I found very little info and almost all testings on it's effects have been NDA and black listed.  It's some secretive stuff.


I do have one theory though and it's where my question for you guys comes in


When you first played virtual boy.  When your mom rented it and you first tried it.   Had you had prior knowledge of the eye sight damage warnings,  eye strain in children under 7 warnings or Japan's law to make product quality assuring much more strict?   When you first played it did you know of the stigma behind the red lights hurting other people's eyes or did you go in fresh without that in your mind? 


Thanks for any input     I am just curious because I have a overlayed theory. 


My main theory is that so many people had eye pains when playing due to a mental phenomneon called the power of suggestion.  It has been scientifically shown that when a large group of people or even 1 or 2 people say "This is ____"  even if the 3rd or 4th person may have not felt that way.  Their brain can strick them into thinking it is that way to conform to that social norm and blend with a group.  It's a human's natural adaptive mentality.  To the point of hallucinations and even false beliefs.   

V Sauce had a amazing video on this.  Scientists have used pills or Non Alcoholic Beer as a popular example.  Where paid actors will pretend to be drunk and the person not in on it will also feel the effects even if they are told that the drink is non alcoholic or that the pills are sugar pills. 


This is why I ask if you had knowledge or had friends tell you it hurts your eyes before you went in.  Because both of you said you weren't bothered after hours of looking at the red monochrome graphics.   I wonder how pure your preception and bias was going into that moment.   And if public perception tainted others in a massive way during it's launch

[oldgamerz]

good luck on that documentary you talked about doing marvelvscapcom2

[desocietas]

When you first played virtual boy.  When your mom rented it and you first tried it.   Had you had prior knowledge of the eye sight damage warnings,  eye strain in children under 7 warnings or Japan's law to make product quality assuring much more strict?   When you first played it did you know of the stigma behind the red lights hurting other people's eyes or did you go in fresh without that in your mind? 


Thanks for any input     I am just curious because I have a overlayed theory. 

Nope, didn't know anything about any warnings about the system. Just remembered us renting it, and I enjoyed it a lot and had us rent it several more times.

[shadowzero]

Ive bought a variety of boxed items from a local seller through Let go.  One day he messages me and says I've got a VB here you interested?  It was then I went back to Christmas of VB launch were I spent all of my xmas gift money on VB and a few games.  I knew within minutes of playing that I had made an investment error.  I kindly thanked him and said no thanks I did my time.