8BitKid: Living Bit by Bit

Nintendo just announced plans to bring the Virtual Boy library to the Wii Virtual Console in late Q3. The much maligned (and in my opinion, misunderstood) console is going to be given a second chance. Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, said, “the Virtual Boy was a console that was ahead of its time. The public was not ready to experience that level of gaming. However, as we have clearly shown with the Wii, gamers are now craving a more immersive experience, and we feel that this is the perfect time to give them the opportunity to rediscover the innovation of the Virtual Boy.”

The Virtual Boy was launched by Nintendo in 1995, and provided the user with a 3D gaming experience through the use of a specialized lens system that was housed in headgear. The user would look into the unit and would control the gameplay via a wired controller. Only 14 games were released in the US. Many gamers complained about eyestrain, headaches, and about the generally poor experience it offered due to the fact that all games could only use the red as the color palette. The much-derided system had a relatively short lifespan; being discontinued the following year.

For the resuscitation, Nintendo will be selling a new set of VR goggles that will plug into the Wiimote much in the same way as the classic controller. This add-on will retail for $39.99 when the titles hit the Wii store. As an added bonus, the 5 Virtual Boy games that were only previously sold in Japan will be localized and available for the first time to US gamers as well.

Fils-Aime summarized the decision this way, “we revolutionized gaming with the Wii, and we are looking forward to leveraging that success to get the chance to frustrate a whole new generation of gamers with the Virtual Boy.”

- This article is a complete farse. Happy April Fools’ Day! Enjoy an original commercial for the system: