The Virtual Boy’s One-Pixel-Per-Eye VR Trick
TL;DR Summary
Gizmodo explains how Nintendo's 1995 Virtual Boy created a VR illusion not by full 3D rendering but with two tiny, monochrome red displays (each just one pixel wide) and fast-moving mirrors that sweep a column of pixels 50 times per second. Each eye sees a slightly different perspective, enabling depth perception through brain fusion. The device is table-mounted, not a headset, and true color would need blue LEDs. Despite the clever optics, eye strain and a small library doomed it to failure, with only about 22 titles released; the piece highlights Gavin Free of the Slo-Mo Guys.
- Take a Look at How Nintendo’s Virtual Boy Displays Worked at 1,750,000 FPS Gizmodo
- New Video Reveals The Inner Workings Of Nintendo's Ill-Fated Virtual Boy Time Extension
- The Slow Mo Guys take a deep dive with the Virtual Boy GoNintendo
- A high-speed camera reveals how the Virtual Boy’s unique displays worked. The Verge
- This is how the Virtual Boy works Gamereactor UK
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