I wasn't paying attention when the Virtual Boy came out, but I was wondering what exactly happened when the Virtual Boy died. Did Nintendo make an announcement about stopping production, or did the games just stop coming out? I've searched all over trying to find info on how it died, but all I can find is people talking about why it died! I'm looking at all the games that have been cancelled recently for 3DS and wondering if we are seeing history repeating, so wanted to know some kind of timeline of what happened with Virtual Boy.
The Virtual Boy was rushed out to make way for the N64, and I imagine Nintendo lost interest when it completely failed at launch and just left it so they could focus on the N64. Also, with Gunpei Yokoi retiring shortly thereafter (unrelated), no one was left that really cared about the system. I doubt the 3DS will see a repeat. Nintendo just has to have a killer holiday to prevent that from happening, and with their line-up they look to be aiming for just that. MML3 was canned in part because Inafune was no longer at Capcom, in part because of the "transparency" that apparently made the old foggies making decisions uncomfortable, and in part because Capcom didn't think the game would sell enough to continue on. The only other game I know of being outright canned for 3DS was that Assassin's Creed port.
Well a post on GBAtemp inspired me to write this, according to them, these games have all been cancelled: Assassin's Creed Lost Legacy (Ubisoft) My Garden (EA) DJ Hero 3 (Activision) Saints Row: Drive-by (THQ) Omega Five (Hudson) Kororinpa: Marble Mania (Hudson) Bonk (Hudson) Bomberman (Hudson) BloodRayne: The Shroud (TBC) MegaMan Legends (Capcom) Crush 3D (Sega) (TBC) I know the 3DS is selling ok, but with the Wii U coming soon, the story is starting to sound a bit similar. I'm not saying the 3DS will die, and that's not really what my post was about, I just really am curious to know what happened with the VB in it's final months and what the public found out. I would be pretty pissed off if I bought a VB at launch and the games just stopped coming out after a handful of releases. How did Nintendo handle it?
I checked Google Groups with some keywords (" "virtual boy" discontinued", Jan 1st 1995 - Jan 1st 1998) and according to those posts, there was no official announcement by Nintendo that VB was discontinued, the price just dropped to like $25 a unit at some point. Maybe you can find some more info if you can think of better keywords.
I thought video games was my life - I new about the PC Engine and the FM Towns when they came out - I didn't hear about the Virtual boy until LONG after it's death. Maybe I did read something about it, but I was so unimpressed or there were no pictures of it - but it just didn't register on my radar at all. I did have one for a while later as a curiosity but didn't keep it too long.
Great suggestion, I had a quick look too and saw a couple of interesting posts so far, including ones saying they sold them off for $25, as you said. The games for $10 too! I wish I could get that deal now. This post in particular caught my eye: I'm in the UK too, and it didn't really appear on my radar either. I remember hearing a couple of things about it, but never saw one in shops or at friends houses.
The Virtual Boy wasn't released in Europe...which is most likely why I don't remember ever hearing anything about it at the time.
My interpretation was that it wasn't rushed out so much as to not conflict with N64, but to fill the gap created by the N64's multiple delays.
Nintendo didn't handle it. The VB just went out with a whimper. Not many people noticed it came out, and not many people noticed it hitting the bargain bin everywhere a short while later. I doubt the WiiU will have an impact on the 3DS because, well, the Wii U is a console and the 3DS is a handheld. The only point at which I would start worrying about the 3DS would be if it still has low sales after this holiday season. That would mean that (somehow) Super Mario and Mario Kart 3D flopped, and that would pretty much be the end for the system. But worrying because of bunch of crappy shovelware and one cult classic sequel got cancelled? No.
Any game with HUDSON attached is going to be shitcanned anyway becuase Konami finally abosrbed Hudson into their being. So take out the hudson games which have a perfect explanation. Take out Mega Man Legends 3 because that game was never technically green lit and I dont think DJ Hero 3 was ever announced if it was it was before DJ Hero was put on the shelf with Guitar Hero . So really you have 5 canceled games for the 3DS Assassin's Creed Lost Legacy (Ubisoft) My Garden (EA) Saints Row: Drive-by (THQ) BloodRayne: The Shroud (TBC) Crush 3D (Sega) (TBC)
The VB was a big deal in gaming press at the time just prior to launch and just after launch. Nintendo made a small announcement about ending support for the VB after it was clear it flopped, but the news of it did not extend outside of the videogame media.
Omega Five was one of the games that made me decide to buy a 3DS. I loved it, LOVED IT on the 360. I never played Mega Man legends, though, but I was very curious about the new one. I still don't regret getting a 3DS, as I needed a DS anyway, but I still see how this is starting to look like a dire situation. This being said, I was thinking about the Virtual Boy (one of my favourite systems of all time) and how it disappeared - just the other day. I recall seeing many SNES bundles in supermarkets that had a FREE Virtual Boy with purchase, and this went on until 1999, maybe a bit more. I followed the local Nintendo "Magazine" (propaganda pamphlet) Club Nintendo well into the late 90s. The Virtual Boy was pushed, and it was pushed HARD by the magazine. They had full spreads about upcoming games and whatnot. Then, they simply stopped mentioning it. It disappeared from "official" stores, too - and became a budget item like I describe above. That's what I remember. I was like 18, 19, when this happened, though, so my memory is a bit hazy. It's become much harder to collect the Virtual Boy lately, but from 2002-2005, carts were common and cheap, I can tell you that. If the 3DS bombs, Nintendo better damn well have the mother of all handhelds ready for that exact point. Otherwise, they are pretty much fucked. There was a 1995 re-release of the Game Boy (play it loud) and the Game Boy Pocket released in 96 - so there was always a Nintendo portable in the market, along the Virtual Boy, and after its death. I don't see the DSi keeping Nintendo afloat in terms of portables the way the Game Boy Pocket and Color did. Let's hope Nintendo knows what it's doing. Otherwise, many of us 3DS owners are going to have an awesome collectible reminder of the fall of Nintendo to go with our Virtual Boy. I don't see that very likely, though. 3DS will pull through, most likely. It has been a disastrous launch, but great games are coming, which is something the VB never really had.
Thanks for all the answers, that's exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I found a quote from Nintendo, when they dropped the price to $99:
His leaving was most definitely related. Every single account that I have heard was that after the Virtual Boy disaster he was relegated to a window seat position by Nintendo.
I wouldn't read much into the canceled 3DS games yet. This happens all the time post launch of a new system. A good bulk has a reasonable reason for them being canceled. Also I think Crush3D is inaccurate, far as I know it's only delayed.
I always felt that Nintendo survived in the portable market after the death of the Virtual Boy due to the lack of strong competition, and the release of Pokemon. Those games managed to keep the GameBoy alive for a long time.
