somehow i missed this article: http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2010/03/feature_the_making_of_the_nintendo_virtual_boy

I’m pleased that the article goes into detail about users experiencing headaches when using Virtual Boy being mostly a matter of RTFM. Nothing says “I’m an opinionated, short-tempered dimwit” than getting a headache from Virtual Boy.

Guy Perfect wrote:
I’m pleased that the article goes into detail about users experiencing headaches when using Virtual Boy being mostly a matter of RTFM. Nothing says “I’m an opinionated, short-tempered dimwit” than getting a headache from Virtual Boy.

Yeah but it was offset by a false statement:

“this was possibly a side-effect of the harsh red visuals but it’s just as likely that these users weren’t adjusting…”

It is NOT possibly “side-effect-of-harsh-red-visuals”. Anyone military or private-pilot knows red lights work just fine to operate in night situations; the only side-effect is it preserves “night vision”. You don’t see any army-brats whining or pilots smacking into things because of the “harsh red visuals”.

As if.

>:(

vb-fan wrote:

Guy Perfect wrote:
I’m pleased that the article goes into detail about users experiencing headaches when using Virtual Boy being mostly a matter of RTFM. Nothing says “I’m an opinionated, short-tempered dimwit” than getting a headache from Virtual Boy.

Yeah but it was offset by a false statement:

“this was possibly a side-effect of the harsh red visuals but it’s just as likely that these users weren’t adjusting…”

It is NOT possibly “side-effect-of-harsh-red-visuals”. Anyone military or private-pilot knows red lights work just fine to operate in night situations; the only side-effect is it preserves “night vision”. You don’t see any army-brats whining or pilots smacking into things because of the “harsh red visuals”.

As if.

>:(

Nevertheless, it was an interesting read. I do appreciate it stating that most of the owners didn’t complain about headaches and that it was just blown out of proportion by the media. I’m heavily paraphrasing that, of course, but it’s true.

i never cared to follow the virtual boy until a few years ago. i do recall playing one at a store at some point before the price drop. i even recall seeing games in bins for $5 each and watching as rental stores liquidated their stock, but for some reason the system just did not interest me back then. i didn’t read up on it, collect magazines about it, or follow it in the news. today, i continually read about it causing headaches, neck and back problems, yet i’ve never seen a single article cite a source. from my point of view, based on using the system and reading up on it for the past couple of years, these claims seem rather fabricated to me, based on the assumptions of modern writers. as a hobbyist of video game journalism, it upsets me.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/nintendos-worst-console-wins-some-new-admirers#full…of

The 3D stereoscopic goggles brought on headaches and nausea, the awkward headset caused sore necks and the monochrome red display led to eye strain. When Nintendo’s experiment with virtual reality – the Virtual Boy video game system – proved a commercial failure

this article opens with it and again does not cite a source or present that information as a quote.

they go on to say “the Virtual Boy was launched in 1995 but quietly shelved a year later amid reports of migraines and dizziness, apparently caused by excessive use.”

i would like to see some proof that the system was reported this way back in the mid 90’s. does anyone have any print articles they could scan that specifically mentioned these issues as a legitimate problem? can anyone recall any actual studies that proved this was an issue? in these regards, does anyone of this board feel sick while playing or experience muscle pain directly associated with the VB?

Good article, but I still can’t understand why they abandoned the headmount so soon. I mean just because you have a headstrap you don’t have to walk around with it, it just makes it easier playing while leaning back in a chair or on a couch, dammit.

I’ve contacted an industry journalist regarding the “Virtual Boy is painful” thing. Would you guys be interested in working with him on an article to set the record straight about proper use of the Virtual Boy?

Guy Perfect wrote:
I’ve contacted an industry journalist regarding the “Virtual Boy is painful” thing. Would you guys be interested in working with him on an article to set the record straight about proper use of the Virtual Boy?

I certainly would be up for that, it is just such BS, the 3DS gives you more of a problem viewing the system in 3D than the VB does and look how well that is doing sales wise!