Virtual Boy
- Cause of death
- Killed by indifference
- Made by
- Nintendo
It was monochrome red, it was not portable, and using it gave people headaches.
The Virtual Boy promised 3D gaming and delivered a tabletop visor that rendered everything in red and black, could not be used lying down, and came with a warning about eye strain and a built-in reminder to take breaks. Nintendo shipped roughly 770,000 units against a target in the millions and withdrew it within about a year. It remains the shortest-lived console Nintendo has ever released.
Standing in the archive
Rank 121 of 127 by lifespan. Virtual Boy outlasted 3% of everything else on file.
Cite this entry
"Virtual Boy." How Long It Lasted, https://www.howlongitlasted.com/thing/virtual-boy.
Died nearby
- Airbus A38014y 1m · killed by indifference
- Amazon Fire Phoneabout a year · killed by indifference
- AOL Instant Messengerabout 20 years · killed by indifference
- Atari Jaguarabout 2 years · killed by indifference
- Coca-Cola Spicedunder a year · killed by indifference
Sources
- Virtual Boy — Wikipedia (archived)
- Top 10 Brands That Failed — WatchMojo (archived)
Last checked by a human on 24 July 2026