Virtual Boy

The Virtual Boy is a video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo and released in Japan on July 21, 1995, and in North America on August 14, 1995. Promoted as the first system capable of rendering stereoscopic 3D graphics, it featured a red monochrome display viewed through a binocular eyepiece, with games employing a parallax effect to simulate depth. The console struggled commercially, and its limited market performance led Nintendo to discontinue production and game development in 1996, following the release of only 22 games.

The 32-bit Virtual Boy's development spanned four years under the codename VR32. Nintendo entered a licensing agreement with the U.S.-based company Reflection Technology to use its stereoscopic LED eyepiece technology that had been under development since the 1980s. In preparation for mass production, Nintendo constructed a dedicated manufacturing facility in China. Over the course of development, escalating production costs, health concerns related to the display, and the diversion of resources to the Nintendo 64 resulted in the downscaling of the project. Additionally, Nintendo's lead game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, had minimal involvement in the development. The system was pushed to market in an unfinished state in 1995 to focus on the Nintendo 64.