Virtual Boy (Cartridge)
I’m counting down 40 game formats to celebrate Mario’s upcoming 40th anniversary. Today, it’s one of the most fascinating chapters in Nintendo’s past: the Virtual Boy.
The Virtual Boy wasn’t Nintendo’s first step into 3D gaming at home – shoutout to the Famicom 3D System from 8 years earlier – but it was arguably their boldest.
It used its own proprietary cartridge, with games up to 2MB in size. While this was far smaller than CD-ROM rivals at the time, it was enough to power simple, red-and-black stereoscopic 3D visuals, creating a unique, if occasionally headache-inducing experience.
It had a red-only display due to cost and visibility – red LEDs were cheaper and brighter than blue or green in the mid-1990s. Virtual Boy games also didn’t use battery backup saves. All progress had to be kept through passwords or replay – a throwback even for its time.
Ultimately, it was a commercial flop, selling just 770,000 units (most in North America) before being discontinued less than a year after launch. But it laid important groundwork for future experiments in VR, and still stands as a design icon with its own cult following.
Only 22 games were released, and three were Mario-related:
Mario Tennis (1995)
This was a launch title that played it straight. This wasn’t Mario’s first court appearance, however – that honour goes to 1984’s Tennis, where Mario starred as the referee!
Mario Clash (1995)
Mario Clash re-imagined the arcade classic Mario Bros. in 3D, with depth-based gameplay that let you lob shells between foreground and background layers. One of the few Virtual Boy titles truly built for the platform’s strengths.
Virtual Boy Wario Land (1995)
This unique Wario title – never remade, never re-released – was said to be the system’s best game. It originally began development under the title Wario Cruise, with an island theme that evolved into a treasure-hunting adventure.
There was also a cancelled Mario game, known online as VB Mario Land. Teased at CES 1995 and in gaming magazines for months, it was eventually scrapped – likely due to the system’s poor commercial performance.
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