Seeing Red
Nintendo's Virtual Boy
Reeks: Platform Studies
Jose P. Zagal ; Benj Edwards
- The
- curious
- history,
- technology,
- and
- technocultural
- context
- of
- Nintendo’s
- short-lived
- stereoscopic
- gaming
- console,
- the
- Virtual
- Boy.With
- glowing
- red
- stereoscopic
- 3D
- graphics,
- the
- Virtual
- Boy
- cast
- a
- prophetic
- hue:
- Shortly
- after
- its
- release
- in
- 1995,
- Nintendo's
- balance
- sheet
- for
- the
- product
- was
- "in
- the
- red"
- as
- well.
- Of
- all
- the
- innovative
- long
- shots
- the
- game
- industry
- has
- witnessed
- over
- the
- years,
- perhaps
- the
- most
- infamous
- and
- least
- understood
- was
- the
- Virtual
- Boy.
- Why
- the
- Virtual
- Boy
- failed,
- and
- where
- it
- succeeded,
- are
- questions
- that
- video
- game
- experts
- José
- Zagal
- and
- Benj
- Edwards
- explore
- in
- Seeing
- Red,
- but
- even
- more
- interesting
- to
- the
- authors
- is
- what
- the
- platform
- actually
- was:
- what
- it
- promised,
- how
- it
- worked,
- and
- where
- it
- fit
- into
- the
- story
- of
- gaming.Nintendo
- released
- the
- Virtual
- Boy
- as
- a
- standalone
- table-top
- device
- in
- 1995—and
- quickly
- discontinued
- it
- after
- lackluster
- sales
- and
- a
- lukewarm
- critical
- reception.
- In
- Seeing
- Red,
- Zagal
- and
- Edwards
- examine
- the
- device's
- technical
- capabilities,
- its
- games,
- and
- the
- cultural
- context
- in
- the
- US
- in
- the
- 1990s
- when
- Nintendo
- developed
- and
- released
- the
- unusual
- console.
- The
- Virtual
- Boy,
- in
- their
- account,
- built
- upon
- and
- extended
- an
- often-forgotten
- historical
- tradition
- of
- immersive
- layered
- dioramas
- going
- back
- 100
- years
- that
- was
- largely
- unexplored
- in
- video
- games
- at
- the
- time.
- The
- authors
- also
- show
- how
- the
- platform's
- library
- of
- games
- conveyed
- a
- distinct
- visual
- aesthetic
- style
- that
- has
- not
- been
- significantly
- explored
- since
- the
- Virtual
- Boy's
- release,
- having
- been
- superseded
- by
- polygonal
- 3D
- graphics.
- The
- platform's
- meaning,
- they
- contend,
- lies
- as
- much
- in
- its
- design
- and
- technical
- capabilities
- and
- affordances
- as
- it
- does
- in
- an
- audience's
- perception
- of
- those
- capabilities.Offering
- rare
- insight
- into
- how
- we
- think
- about
- video
- game
- platforms,
- Seeing
- Red
- illustrates
- where
- perception
- and
- context
- come,
- quite
- literally,
- into play.
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