So, the other day I was working on some of the magazines I scan and upload to my site's wiki, and came across one Club Nintendo magazine from Mexico, which had a special report from Shoshinkai '94, event where the Virtual Boy was unveiled for the first time (iirc). This report/coverage, included a short interview with Gunpei Yokoi, here's the original scan: In english it would read like this: (CN being Club Nintendo, GY being Gunpei Yokoi) CN: Could you tell us what is the main difference between the Virtual Boy that exists today, and the VR32 you imagined back then? GY: Well, actually one of my ideas was that the Virtual Boy would not need any glasses or goggles, nor any other device as the ones already seen. However, that would have set the Virtual Boy's price very high. CN: Alright now, talking about the programmers, will it be easier for them to program games for this system, or will it be harder? GY: It will present the same technical difficulties as when programming a Super Famicom game. CN: Is the 3D concept on the Virtual Boy just to come with a new concept in videogames or just aesthetic? GY: Creating something new was definitively it, but the end result was something pretty as well. It is important to say that both characters and stages are seen in 3D, but the style will also be different from what gamers have experienced, since there may be titles where you play from left to right, up to down, and also front to back. CN: Are there any other companies producing for the Virtual Boy? GY: We showed the Virtual Boy to the licensers in private before showing it to the public, and in the upcoming weeks they will receive system specs so they can start working on it. CN: Could somebody feel sick/dizzy after playing with this system as it already happens with videogame goggles? GY: Not at all, in the design of this new system, specialized medics took part, and we followed their specifications and now know that the Virtual Boy won't cause any kind of illness/sickness. Besides, we already conducted some tests and there was no negative reaction. Nintendo is very self-concious about it's responsability with gamers. CN: How many people where involved in the development of the Virtual Boy? GY: The team was formed by 16 people. CN: Any last comments, Yokoi San? GY: The equipment/team is now ready. Now we just have to work on the software (games), and I assure you that they will be really good. CN: We could not let him go without the classic autograph for the collection, of course not! (Then below is a text which says something like "Super Global Success! Confrimed!")
Nintendo was really lucky to have him as part of the company for so long. Even though the VB was not a success, I can't help but wonder what sorts of things he would have come up with after the Wonderswan.
I recall owning this issue. Brings back memories, mate, awesome scan. Do you happen to lack/need any specific issues so that I might look for them and scan them if I have them?
Yes, sure they were. The man was a visionary ray: Thanks Xerdo, that's what I aim for , you can find the complete scan of this issue right here: http://www.start-game.com/wiki/Club_Nintendo_MX_Año_04_N°01_Enero_1995 I also came around more SNES CD stuff (besides the pages I already scanned and showed here a while back), might share those later. I have about 110 mags, still to scan, most of those are Club Nintendo (edited in Chile, distributed to Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, etc.), the rest are Top Kids (Argentina) and a few others. I have just a few of the mexican Club Nintendo, I recently received about 50 already scanned mags as donation from an ex-member of a (now inactive) group which scanned CN mags. I'll make a list after uploading the ones left, and I'll let you know, I might need some specific issues :nod:, thanks for the offer!
Top Kids! I remeber both the TV Show and the magazine, they used to play Mortal Kombat 2 on the SNES all the time, it was good while it lasted. The Mortal Kombat action figures that came with the magazine were amazing, but some of them were absolute shit (like Goro).
I've got almost all the issues, missing just 1 or 2. Never got to watch the show as it wasn't aired here in Uruguay, but have watched some parts of it on YouTube. I even got in touch with a guy who won one of those SNES "Arcade" Systems the gave out each month. I loved the Scorpion action figure (the one that came without the mask), that one was of somewhat good quality. Kano was cool as well. But hell, don't even get me started on Goro, or Kintaro for that matter, both were pure crap. I remember taking out Goro's hair (which was a piece of plastic nailed to his head) and sticking in one of Kano's knives haha. Along with those, the other 2 worst pieces of shit "action" figures were Jax and Shang Tsung (MK1).
So, still going on with my scans, and came across this other article with an interview with Gunpei Yokoi on another Club Nintendo (issue from March 1996): Translated: (CN being Club Nintendo, GY being Gunpei Yokoi) CN: Yokoi San, could you tell us how well has the Virtual Boy been received worldwide? GY: Well it hasn't yet penetrated the market as we expected it to, but with the development of more games we will reach our goals. CN: How is the game development coming out in your opinion? Are developers taking advantage of the Virtual Boy hardware and learning how to push it to its limits or not yet? GY: Well the concept of 3D is still pretty young, that is why each day we find ourselves with new ideas for new titles to develop, that is also the reason why not many titles have been developed for the system yet. CN: What can you tell us about the Nintendo systems for 1996? GY: Before the Virtual Boy I developed the Gameboy, let's hope the Virtual Boy becomes a Gameboy for the people, and as for the Nintendo 64, it is our most modern machine and we trust a favourable future is approaching for it. CN: Will there ever be a moment in the near future where the Virtual Boy connects with the N64, such as the Super Gameboy connected to the Super Nintendo? GY: It is possible, from a technical point of view, and it may be done in the future, since Virtual Boy games in development are watched through a monitor, but to have that in the market right now would be very expensive, maybe in the future it could be cheaper, who knows... CN: Is there any secret project you would like to tell us about? GY: We can't say anything yet, but there are a lot of projects in mind, which we may be able to announce next year (referring to 1996). It could be something ranging from games to new consoles. CN: A CD-ROM maybe? GY: Well we are not in favor of the CD technology yet, since even though it has lots of favorable points, such as the low production costs, it also has many unfavorable ones, such as long loading times, and what we aim for is to improve the fun factor for gamers, and since it takes a long time to load we consider it shortens the excitement of the game, that is why we don't support the technology. CN: We are very impressed with the Nintendo 64, what will be the future of videogames? GY: For the moment we are going to focus on what we have, that is to say, Nintendo 64, SNES, and Virtual Boy, and we are also thinking about other entertainment machines. Gamers will have lots of entertainment, that is for sure. CN: Arigato gozaymas.
