List of Virtual Boy games
The Virtual Boy is a 32-bit tabletop video game console developed and designed by Nintendo, first released in Japan on July 21, 1995 and later in North America on August 14 of the same year.[1] The following list contains all of the games released for the Virtual Boy.
Originally unveiled at Nintendo's Shoshinkai Show in Japan on November 15, 1994 and at Winter CES in North America on January 6, 1995,[2][3] it was never intended to be released in its final form but Nintendo pushed the Virtual Boy in its unfinished state to market so that it could focus development resources on the then-upcoming Nintendo 64 and arrived later than other 32-bit systems such as the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, PlayStation and Sega Saturn but at a lower price,[4][5] retailing at US$179.95 but in mid-1996, Blockbuster was selling Virtual Boy units at $50 each.[6][7][2][8]:513
The system was overwhelmingly panned by critics and was deemed as a commercial failure,[9] selling only 770,000 units before being discontinued both in Japan and North America on December 22, 1995 and March 2, 1996 respectively,[10] making it the second lowest-selling console by Nintendo after the 64DD and its marketing campaign was commonly thought of as a failure.[11]
Several additional titles were announced to be released for the Virtual Boy at E3 1996, but ultimately they were never released due to the system’s discontinuation by Nintendo themselves.[2] The system was never released in Europe.
Games
Listed here are all 22[lower-alpha 1] Virtual Boy games. Eight titles were exclusive to Japan, as three were for North America.
Regions released | Region description | Released |
---|---|---|
NA (North America) | North America and other NTSC territories. | 14 |
JP (Japan) | Japan, Hong Kong and other NTSC-J territories. | 19 |
Title[12][13] | Genre(s) | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) | Release date[12][13] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NA | JP | ||||
3D Tetris | Puzzle | T&E Soft | Nintendo | March 22, 1996 | Unreleased |
Galactic Pinball | Pinball | Intelligent Systems | Nintendo | August 14, 1995 | July 21, 1995 |
Golf | Sports | T&E Soft | Nintendo (NA) T&E Soft (JP) |
November 1995 | August 11, 1995 |
Innsmouth no Yakata | First-person shooter | Be Top | I'Max | Unreleased | October 13, 1995 |
Jack Bros. | Action | Atlus | Atlus | October 20, 1995 | September 29, 1995 |
Mario Clash | Action | Nintendo R&D1 | Nintendo | October 1995 | September 28, 1995 |
Mario's Tennis | Sports | Nintendo R&D1 | Nintendo | August 14, 1995 | July 21, 1995 |
Nester's Funky Bowling | Sports | Nintendo R&D3, Saffire Corporation | Nintendo | February 26, 1996 | Unreleased |
Panic Bomber | Puzzle | Eighting, Hudson Soft | Nintendo (NA) Hudson Soft (JP) |
December 1995 | July 21, 1995 |
Red Alarm | Shooter | T&E Soft | Nintendo (NA) T&E Soft (JP) |
August 14, 1995 | July 21, 1995 |
SD Gundam Dimension War | Turn-based strategy | Locomotive Corporation | Bandai | Unreleased | December 22, 1995 |
Space Invaders Virtual Collection | Shoot 'em up | Taito | Taito | Unreleased | December 1, 1995 |
Space Squash | Sports | Tomcat System | Coconuts Japan Entertainment | Unreleased | September 28, 1995 |
Teleroboxer | Fighting | Nintendo R&D1, Nintendo R&D3 | Nintendo | August 14, 1995 | July 21, 1995 |
V-Tetris | Puzzle | Bullet-Proof Software | Bullet-Proof Software | Unreleased | August 25, 1995 |
Vertical Force | Shoot 'em up | Hudson Soft | Nintendo (NA) Hudson Soft (JP) |
December 1, 1995 | August 12, 1995 |
Virtual Bowling | Sports | Athena | Athena, Nihon Bussan | Unreleased | December 22, 1995 |
Virtual Boy Wario Land | Platform | Nintendo R&D1 | Nintendo | November 27, 1995 | December 1, 1995 |
Virtual Fishing | Fishing | Locomotive Corporation | Pack-In-Video | Unreleased | October 6, 1995 |
Virtual Lab | Puzzle | Nacoty | J-Wing | Unreleased | December 8, 1995 |
Virtual League Baseball | Sports | Kemco | Kemco | September 11, 1995 | August 11, 1995 |
Waterworld | Action | Ocean Software | Ocean of America | December 21, 1995 | Unreleased |
Notes
- ↑ This number is always up to date by this script.
References
- ↑ "Introduction by Nintendo". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
- 1 2 3 Boyer, Steven. "A Virtual Failure: Evaluating the Success of Nintendos Virtual Boy." Velvet Light Trap.64 (2009): 23-33. ProQuest Research Library. Web. May 24, 2012.
- ↑ "Nintendo introduces video game players to three-dimensional worlds with new virtual reality video game system « Press Releases « Planet Virtual Boy". planetvb.com. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
- ↑ Sheff, David; Eddy, Andy (1999). Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children. online. GamePress. ISBN 978-0-9669617-0-6. OCLC 26214063.
- ↑ KEVIN RAFFERTY, IN T. "Super Mario Takes Leap into Three Dimensional Space." The Guardian (pre-1997 Fulltext): 0. November 16, 1994. ProQuest. Web. July 8, 2013.
- ↑ Q, The (September 1996). "Gaming Gossip". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 86. Ziff Davis. p. 34.
- ↑ Edwards, Benj (August 21, 2015). "Unraveling The Enigma Of Nintendo's Virtual Boy, 20 Years Later". Fast Company. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
- ↑ Kent, Steven L. (2002). The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. New York: Random House International. pp. 513–515, 518, 519, 523, 524. ISBN 978-0-7615-3643-7. OCLC 59416169.
- ↑ Lisa Foiles. "Top 5 Hardware Super Fails | Top 5 with Lisa Foiles Video Gallery | The Escapist". Escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
- ↑ Snow, Blake (May 4, 2007). "The 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time". GamePro.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
- ↑ King, Geoff; Krzywinska, Tanya (2006). Tomb Raiders and Space Invaders : Videogame Forms and Contexts.
- 1 2 "Virtual Boy Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2006-12-02. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- 1 2 "VIRTUAL BOY Soft > 1994". GAME Data Room. Retrieved 2018-07-20.