Since I joined up here I can’t recall a discussion about this, so I thought it might be fun to ask: How difficult do you think it would be to reproduce the Virtual Boy? I’m talking about a slimmed down, modern remake of our beloved system.

I look over all these system-on-a-chip solutions, expired patent systems, and Chinese clone systems, and wonder what a brand new VB would look like. Would it be possible to make it smaller? How much would it cost to product it? Would it be possible to add a “color” mode for future homebrew projects?
Would it be possible to build it to accept ROMs to aid development? Are there even modern equivalents to the parts used in the VB? Does Nintendo still hold the rights to the system, its hardware, and its name?

I am a simple gamer and I enjoy my VB. I am not a hardware expert, nor do I pretend to understand some of the deeper technical discussions that go on around here. I just thought it would be fun to toss this concept out there and see what type of comments it generates.

Cheers!

I’ve considered it a few times… but it’d be a LOT of work for basically what we already have. It’d certainly make sense to do it in an FPGA, and I’m sure the entire VB could fit in a moderate size modern FPGA. It’d also make sense to have it use ROM files, rather than cartridges, because almost all FPGAs now only support up to 3.3V (so you’d need to level shift 3.3V<->5V, and have the 60 pin connector, when that could otherwise all be omitted).

I think enough is known about the hardware that it’s a realistic project if someone was determined. But for it to be perfect, you’d need everything to be cycle accurate, which would take a LOT of effort and trial/error. That may not take too much for the V810, since most of that is specified. But for the VIP especially, if you process everything in your own way, it could take more or less time than how it’s done in the original hardware, which would affect the timing of the flags, which may affect what actually happens in the game.

As far as patents go… I think the VB is still protected for a couple more years, though I’m not sure that would affect this kind of project. I think this would essentially fall under the same category as emulators.

There are some advantages. Of course since you’re making the hardware, you can do whatever you want. You can add color, debugging capabilities, RAM, co-processor, overclock it, etc. And I think it could look like anything you wanted. You could make it fit in your pocket and have a cable to up to LCD 3D glasses… or have it plug into a 3D TV/monitor. Or it could be a handheld system with a 3DS style display. Or…?

All that said… VB emulators are pretty good, and they exist now. While not as cool as a true hardware “VB on a chip”… with some effort, the emulators could be made nearly perfect, which could be ported over to an already available embedded system with a 3D display (or connectivity to a 3D display), such as a 3DS or phone w/ 3D display (and maybe a Bluetooth controller). I think the emulators would need some optimization to run 100% full speed, but that’s still much less effort than building from scratch in an FPGA.

DogP

I have also thought about it. I think that a clone of the VB should be similar to the real VB in all aspects due to its simplicity, but obviously the design should be less fragile. The goal should be simply to make the VB and its games more accessible to people interested in it. There should also be an easy way of using it as a 3D display device for a PC and video output so we wouldn’t have to bother with cameras.

But I’m not sure what medium it should use for software. Cartridges are obviously expensive. Am I the only one who doesn’t have a memory card unit? Or is everyone on laptops?

http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=18858

HorvatM wrote:
But I’m not sure what medium it should use for software. Cartridges are obviously expensive. Am I the only one who doesn’t have a memory card unit? Or is everyone on laptops?

SD card. Or MicroSD. Or just a USB plug with a gig of onboard flash.

Sounds like a super cool project, but seems like a looooot of effort. I’m not qualified to help at all except to buy things. 🙂

jrronimo wrote:

HorvatM wrote:
But I’m not sure what medium it should use for software. Cartridges are obviously expensive. Am I the only one who doesn’t have a memory card unit? Or is everyone on laptops?

SD card. Or MicroSD. Or just a USB plug with a gig of onboard flash.

Sounds like a super cool project, but seems like a looooot of effort. I’m not qualified to help at all except to buy things. 🙂

Should be able to put most of the games on a single SD card. Yeah I’m not too experienced either with microprocessor design.

Did you see my post on the other thread about the “3D video glasses”? They come with built-in stereo earbuds…

This is easier than you all think. The SONY Personal 3D Viewer is a wearable 3D, HD display. Just plug this into a PC and run your favorite VB emulator.

EDIT: I would probably paint mine red XD

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