Friday 14 March 2014

The 3rd dimension the Final Frontier

So you may be wondering what that means.
Every game out now is in the 3rd dimension...and probably some newfangled one as will soon replace that.

Anyway back in yesteryear...1995 one company made a daring plan break out of the lame 2D world and into the futuristic awesomeness of 3D. What they came up with was the amazing failure known as the Nintendo Virtual Boy.

Now keep in mind at the time of its announcement every kid at my school literally exploded in enthusiasm...seriously it was a mess...

The system promised amazing 3D graphics, immersive games and worlds the like of which we'd never seen, and intuitive controls. What we got was an awkward goggle apparatus like thing, strange red and black graphics, and a lot of headaches.

Oh yea this is so 3D
The system was designed poorly and looked very similar to an 80s View-Master. It had to be played at a table, and you could only see the view screens by looking into the device. I say screens because the 3D was actually just two separate view ports, which displayed information on a separate level giving the illusion of 3D. You couldn't even see the controller while playing it was terrible.

The system ultimately failed, and was discontinued only three months later, and has since become a black spot in Nintendo's otherwise glorious history.

Interestingly enough they used similar technology in a future project called the 3DS, and the controller was reworked and adapted into the Nintendo Gamecube two systems with great commercial success.
 
Is this not the most terrifying thing ever?

4 comments:

  1. I'm always so in awe of technology, especially in video games - the way they can imagine these worlds and bring them to life is amazing. Even though this was a failure, it still boggles my mind that someone came up with it. And, hey, I bet who shelled out for one of these back in the day now has a pretty pricey collectible on their hands! Everybody wins!

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  2. I wish I had a great apprciation for gaming and could at least be social and game with people sometimes, but I al literally the worst gamer ever haha. The best I can do is Wii Bowling...Good for me right?
    It's awesome to see that you have such a passion for it and have decided to share it with all of us. Keep on rockin in the free world and keep up with this passion!

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  3. Unfortunately, I am not a gamer like you, but my little brother is. I have enjoyed your blog as it has helped me to understand some of the stuff he is talking about. Great Blog Shane!

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  4. I'm not a gamer, but just reading about how everything is developed with new technology is amazing.
    I'm glad you actually get to enjoy all of this!

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