Virtual Boy: What were they thinking?

[quote name='javeryh'][quote name='Tromack'][quote name='javeryh'][quote name='basketkase543']Its really sad though that the designer who made the Gameboy also made the Virtual Boy and he got into a depression afterward which contributed to his leaving Nintendo.[/quote]

Isn't he dead now? And that's not really sad in a boo-hoo kind of way, it's realy sad in a pathetic sort of way. Waaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!! Virtual Boy isn't as successful as Game Boy - time for some depression!!!!!!! :roll:[/quote]

Wow. Making fun of the dead is awesome.[/quote]

OK, I may have been a little harsh but I was just pointing out that the failure of the Virtual Boy is kind of a lame reason to go into serious depression. Toughen up a little...

On a side note, I'm looking into getting one of these things now. I played it back in 1995 and I thought it was sort of neat but WAY overpriced. For $20 or $30 I'm willing to give it another shot...[/quote]

You just don't understand Japanese culture. Some think that Yamauchi asked him to "resign" because of his failure, even though he was just as pivotal (if not more so) in the rise of Nintendo as Shigeru Miyamoto. Gunpei Yokoi was building the company into what it is today since at least 1970.

edit: Just as a side note, some of his most notable creations as head of R&D1 was the Game & Watch, the cross-pad (which worked so well that Yamauchi had it patented) as well as work on the design of the NES system. The GameBoy was just the pinnacle of his career, it was not his whole career - as many believe. Nintendo would not exist as it is today without Yokoi. Even so, after the VB, he was condemned to sticking with the VB booths at trade shows and he wasn't allowed to design for the N64. And in the end, he was even expected to step down by the very man who had relied upon him so heavily in building the company to the success which it had become. That is Japanese culture, like it or not.
 
[quote name='MorPhiend']You just don't understand Japanese culture. Some think that Yamauchi asked him to "resign" because of his failure, even though he was just as pivotal (if not more so) in the rise of Nintendo as Shigeru Miyamoto. Gunpei Yokoi was building the company into what it is today since at least 1970.

edit: Just as a side note, some of his most notable creations as head of R&D1 was the Game & Watch, the cross-pad (which worked so well that Yamauchi had it patented) as well as work on the design of the NES system. The GameBoy was just the pinnacle of his career, it was not his whole career - as many believe. Nintendo would not exist as it is today without Yokoi. Even so, after the VB, he was condemned to sticking with the VB booths at trade shows and he wasn't allowed to design for the N64. And in the end, he was even expected to step down by the very man who had relied upon him so heavily in building the company to the success which it had become. That is Japanese culture, like it or not.[/quote]

I understand what happened - I still think it is lame. Didn't he have a family or friends and other things going on in his life besides work? I guess unless you are saving lives or something I think it is lame to define your worth according to the job you have. Yeah it's a part of you but there are other more important things in life to be depressed about. I'm sure at his funeral his family and friends weren't thinking "Gee, I really wish old Gunpei was here right now to design another game for me to play..."
 
[quote name='javeryh'][quote name='MorPhiend']You just don't understand Japanese culture. Some think that Yamauchi asked him to "resign" because of his failure, even though he was just as pivotal (if not more so) in the rise of Nintendo as Shigeru Miyamoto. Gunpei Yokoi was building the company into what it is today since at least 1970.

edit: Just as a side note, some of his most notable creations as head of R&D1 was the Game & Watch, the cross-pad (which worked so well that Yamauchi had it patented) as well as work on the design of the NES system. The GameBoy was just the pinnacle of his career, it was not his whole career - as many believe. Nintendo would not exist as it is today without Yokoi. Even so, after the VB, he was condemned to sticking with the VB booths at trade shows and he wasn't allowed to design for the N64. And in the end, he was even expected to step down by the very man who had relied upon him so heavily in building the company to the success which it had become. That is Japanese culture, like it or not.[/quote]

I understand what happened - I still think it is lame. Didn't he have a family or friends and other things going on in his life besides work? I guess unless you are saving lives or something I think it is lame to define your worth according to the job you have. Yeah it's a part of you but there are other more important things in life to be depressed about. I'm sure at his funeral his family and friends weren't thinking "Gee, I really wish old Gunpei was here right now to design another game for me to play..."[/quote]

You may think it's lame, but that's not the point. It isn't him. It is their culture. Anyone in their culture (especially of that generation - the current generation might be different) would have done things the same. Besides, I've never personally heard from anywhere that he became depressed. I just always understood that he was shamed and expected to remove himself from the company.
 
[quote name='MorPhiend']Besides, I've never personally heard from anywhere that he became depressed. I just always understood that he was shamed and expected to remove himself from the company.[/quote]

Well that changes everything. That is a cultural thing that I probably won't understand. Being shamed into leaving your job (so stupid) and going into a depression are totally different things...
 
[quote name='javeryh'][quote name='MorPhiend']Besides, I've never personally heard from anywhere that he became depressed. I just always understood that he was shamed and expected to remove himself from the company.[/quote]

Well that changes everything. That is a cultural thing that I probably won't understand. Being shamed into leaving your job (so stupid) and going into a depression are totally different things...[/quote]

Yeah, either way though, he was a great man.
 
I think most people who bad mouth the Virtual Boy really have never sat down to play it. Most of it I think comes from people thinking that since the system didn't sell well and is monochrome, then it must suck. The VB has some real great games though.

I own a complete US and Japanese VB collection (well, I don't own the $1,500 Virtual Bowling game but have everything else) and most of the titles are very good. Space Invaders, Nesters Funky Bowling, Galactic Pinball, Space Squash and Jack Bros. are some of the best.
 
Japanese culture is based on their work...however you think he would have receieved a get out of jail card free for all the past achievements. Certainly very unfair.
 
Personally, I think that the virtual boy design was merely ahead of it's time. The tachnology of the day hadn't gone 3d yet, so there were no intergrated 3d processors, and the LCD screens suffered from poor refresh and single color. Combined with the weight of the module it was just too much.


But think about what's available today, the PSP and N-Gage both have dedicated 3d hardware, and light/portable color LCD screens. You could redesign the unit, and offload much of the weight to either the controller component, or a separate chest pack unit. The library of games/licenses to pull from is there, especially in the FPS genre. I think what will be shown is the failure of the Virtual Boy will kill the ability for any other similar system to get investment funding.
 
[quote name='jkam']Japanese culture is based on their work...however you think he would have receieved a get out of jail card free for all the past achievements. Certainly very unfair.[/quote]

Yeah, especially since Yamauchi himself is quoted as saying, "Making a mistake once or twice is okay. That’s why we have savings.” I guess that must stand only for the company as a whole, and not the individual.
 
[quote name='dental_regurgitation']I'm told they can cause blindness.

EDIT: I played it in stores and really enjoyed a space shooter they had for it... kind of like Starfox.[/quote]

The problem was that it was like staring off into the distance for a really long time, so it could cause eye strain. If you took a break every 15-30 minutes and just took your eyes away from it for a minute you'd be fine. It was recommended that children under 7 didn't play it because their eyes were still developing and it could actually cause damage for them to do that.

Oh, and the game you're talking about is red alarm. pretty fun, though I wish there was actual textures and not just lines.
 
I really regret not having picked up the Virtual Boy when I had the chance. I'm a big action figure collector and I remember spending money on tons of figures (Ghost Rider, old Marvel, Batman variations) that just sit in a box now--but I could have picked up the Virtual Boy for just $25 at Target.
Sigh!!!

Oh, and my favorite mini-game in Wario-Ware is the Virtual Boy one--I just love it! When I first saw that, I couldn't believe it--somehow I just didn't expect it.

BrerDan
 
[quote name='dental_regurgitation']I'm told they can cause blindness.

[/quote]

I'm told a lot of things can cause blindness, but that hasn't ever stopped me! :lol:
 
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