3D game machine & VR headset that was created to realize virtual reality

ByJasohill

Attract attention as an immersive head-up displayOculus Rift"But,Acquired to Facebook with about 200 billion yenSony's own VR headset for PlayStation 4 "Project Morpheus"Virtual reality (VR) related technology is showing excitement. However, this VR system is not just the latest technology that was born recently, but there is a sad history that many 3D gaming machines and VR headsets have appeared so far and it has been somewhat disappeared, and the current There is success such as Oculus Rift.

RIP: The fallen heroes of virtual reality - Photo | Red Bull Games
http://www.redbull.com/uk/en/games/stories/1331628307841/rip-the-fallen-heroes-of-virtual-reality


◆ Initial: 3D glasses of Sega and Nintendo's Famicom 3D system


Sega and Nintendo are attempting to incorporate 3D effects into the game from the time the game machine was 8 bits, and the result is SEGA'sSega · Master SystemAvailable in3D glassAnd, Nintendo'sNES 3D SystemOr maybe. They have a built-in liquid crystal shutter in the glass part, and if you use it with special software, you can experience pseudo 3D, but strictly it does not apply to the classification of VR headset.

The television commercial of 3D glass at that time will be the following movie.

Sega Master System - Segascope 3 - D - Segascope 3D TV Spot - Sega Master System - YouTube


The software corresponding to these was very few, we could not gain big support, NES Nintendo 3D system was not sold outside of Japan. In addition, Sega's 3D glasses were said to have been involved in development by Mr. Mark Thani, known as the lead architect of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.

Topical games: Virtuality


In the early 1990s, VR has been actively promoted to the public as a future technology,Virtual WarsYaDisclosureThere is also the influence of Hollywood movies such as, it will be in the limelight. Under such circumstances, the arcade game unit developed by a company in the UK is "Virtuality"is.

The arcade cabinet appeared in the game center for a while at the game center, but since the Virtuality itself was very expensive, the game playable with these was not very high quality, so the boom passed away soon . Virtuality, the developer of Virtuality,Atari·FordWe eventually made a partnership with companies such as, but in 1997 it will go bankrupt.

◆ Empty promise: Sega VR


Like many of the companies at the time, Sega was also undertaking the development of VR related equipment in the early 1990's. While receiving support from Virtuality, Sega will develop a VR terminal for arcade for the amusement park "Joypolis" operated by Sega in Japan. The next thing that Sega was trying to see was the 16-bit home game machine developed by the company "Mega drive"It was development of the VR headset" Sega VR "that can be used with.

The development of Sega VR has progressed enough to show actual equipment at industry events, and advertisements were also posted on game magazines, but the development project itself was canceled just before production began. Although details are unknown, it is said that the processing power of MegaDrive was not enough to realize sufficient 3D video, demo version software was disastrous.

◆ Empty promise 2: Jaguar VR


Virtuality also has partnership with Atari, Atari is a company's 64-bit game machineAtari JaguarHeadset for "Jaguar VR"Was developed. Jaguar VR realized sufficient immersion by head tracking and it seems that Atari's masterpiece game was planned to be released in 3D, but the management condition worsened while Atari struggled to sell Jaguar. Eventually the partnership with Virtuality collapsed and the development project of Jaguar VR will also be canceled.

Such Jaguar VR was in 1995Electronic Entertainment Expo(E3) was originally published as a picture.

Atari Jaguar VR Demo - Jaguar Virtual Reality Demo - E3 Expo 1995 - YouTube


Most of the aircraft was abandoned due to the cancellation of the project, but some occasionally appeared on online auction sites and astronomically priced. In 1998, the former executive of Virtuality applied the technology used in Jaguar VR, and from "Philips"The Scuba"We released a headset called.

◆ PC division: CyberMaxx and VFX-1

ByTrypode

Given the fact that PC has taken the leading edge of game technology all the time, there is no room for surprises that various headsets were sold in the last 20 years. Among the headsets for PCs that is most well-known,CyberMaxxWhenVFX-1is. Both of these were relatively coarse headsets born in the early 1990s and were sold at a price of $ 200 to $ 300. Like most VR headsets at the time, the subject of the liquid crystal display incorporated in the headset was badly blown up, the head tracking reaction did not work well, and the body size was very large and the fitting feeling was also terrible It is.

◆ Easy Making Money: R-Zone


Tiger ElectronicsIs an American toy maker and may be one of the well-known companies in some ages, but that is not known in a good way. Tiger seems to have produced games based on copyrights such as famous movies, home games, arcade games, and so on, until the gameboy which is a pioneer of mobile game machines appears, everyone It seems that it was a popular game as it was carried around. That Tiger released in order to join the "VR boom" that had been rolling in the 1990s was "R-Zone"was.

You can tell what kind of game the R - Zone was by watching the following movie.

Tiger R Zone Commercial - Tiger Electronics R - Zone TV Commercial - Tiger R - Zone - YouTube


In R - Zone, the game image is projected on a transparent plastic display located in front of the right eye. However, this does not have immersive feeling to the extent that it is not comparable with other head mount type displays, and it seems that naturally it was forgotten by gamers immediately as soon as they were released. After that, Tiger is a major toy makerHasbroIt has been acquired by.

◆ Great Failure: Virtual Boy

ByArtefact Group

Nintendo has released the most unsuccessful piece of hardwareVirtual boy, It is not an exaggeration to say. It boasted of a hard, bright red appearance developed in the form of piggybacking on the VR boom that occurred in the mid 1990's, but the red LED was used at a low price and it consumed less power From and to. Also, since the terminal works only at flat places, players often have to be in a cramped posture.

You can see the game titles released in such a virtual boy and the play landscape in the following movies.

20 Games That Defined the Virtual Boy - YouTube


This terminal continues to be ignored from the game market, the price cheap steadily and disappeared from Nintendo's lineup no more than one year after its release.