Compared with the still distant 64-bit Ultra 64 system, it appears that Nintendo Co Ltd regards its Virtual Boy virtual reality games system very much as a relatively low-volume niche product, because the thing was launched in the US yesterday with none of the publicity that has attended the other new 32-bit and 64-bit games systems. The toy carries a list price of $180. Virtual Boy is a 32-bit RISC-based system – the chip has never been identified but is presumed to be a MIPS Technologies Inc R-series part given that Nintendo is using MIPS chips in the Ultra 64 – using two-high resolution mirror-scanning light-emitting diode displays – which were developed by Reflection Technology Ltd, Waltham, Massachusetts, to produce a red-on-black three-dimensional experience said to be not possible on conventional television or liquid crystal screens. Virtual Boy runs on six AA batteries but an AC adaptor is on the way and will be sold separately. Virtual Boy costs $180 with one game, Mario’s Tennis, also featuring Donkey Kong and Yoshi. Nintendo is investing $25m in the launch, and says it hopes to sell 1.5m of the consoles and 2.5m games by the end of the year.
