The Virtual-Boy.Net FAQ:

Over the years we have received countless of questions about the Virtual Boy.
Most can be found in FAQs made by other fans which we'll list at the bottom.
Most interesting questions resulted in additions to this site's sections content.
Those remaining we will lay out on this page hoping they will help you out.
Disclaimer: Starting in 2006, we won't be able to respond to your email anymore if your question is already answered in this FAQ. This is not because we enjoy being rude, but because of the high volume of emails with the exact same questions we get daily. You can press the Ctrl and F keys on your keyboard to search for the words in your questions.

Q. What is this?
A. It's a FAQ.

Q. What's a FAQ?
A. An acronym.

Q. Which stands for...?
A. Acronyms stand for another word.

Q. No, I mean what does FAQ stand for?
A. Frequently Asked Questions.

Q. I see, well I bet you get a lot of requests for hard- & software?
A. An average of about one a day in the past five years.

Q. Wow. That's quite a bit, isn't it annoying all those people wanting to buy Virtual Boy items from you?
A. Not really, I understand people trying to get the rare games, I started with just one game in the summer of 1997 myself too, most requests are for the common fun games though. I get spare games every now and then and those I sell to people that asked for them, trading has been a big hobby of mine since I got internet in 1999 as then I found out there were more than just the 14 American VB games.

Q. How did you get those hard to get games you have then? Got a sales trackrecord?
A. I was lucky, very lucky and am grateful for it. Yes, 7 3-D Tetris, 7 Nester's Funky Bowling, 7 Waterworld, 5 Virtual Fishing, 5 Insmouse, 5 Space Squash, 5 Space Invaders, 3 Virtual Lab and countless copies of the common games, the first of each being for myself of course! 100+ deals later I'm still enjoying it (and so are all buyers) contact me anytime.

Q. Ok, shall we get started with other people's questions now?
A. Be my guest.

Q. What does VB mean on this site?
A. *grabs shotgun*

Q. Virtual Boy VIRTUAL BOY!! I was just kidding!!
A. ... I knew that *cough*

Q. My copy of Red Alarm for VB is strange. Every few seconds, in the background, in very small letters, it will say "Nintendo Virtual Boy" then "T & E Soft" "Red Alarm" Is this normal, or do I have a rarity?
A. This is a normal part of the game, T & E Soft thought adding this would look futuristic, so you have the normal retail version.

Q. Does the Virtual Boy produce a real virtual reality image?
A. Not really virtual reality (freedom of movement is included there), it creates more virtual reality-esque 3-D images.

Q. Does Nintendo still make Virtual Boy's, games, etcetera?
A. No they don't, Nintendo stopped production of anything Virtual Boy by the end of 1996, not even a year after the VB's launch (both for Japan and the USA).

Q. Are Virtual Boy units and software still available?
A. Yes, on the upside of the Virtual Boy's low sales number and the fact that Nintendo expected to sell over one million units and three million games worldwide for the first half year after the VB's launch, there are still huge stocks of units and games left, but for the past years there have been big sellouts in Japan & America, so get a VB while you still can get it quite easily.

Q. I took my Virtual Boy game straight from the box into the unit, I had to push hard to get the cartridge in, but now when I turn on the power it won't play, what's wrong?
A. Be carefull, if the game doesn't slide right into the cartridge opening, you might have forgotten to take the cartridge plastic sleeve off!

Q. (1) Why is it only with black and red colorshades?
A. The used technology (red crystal) was and still is very expensive, too expensive to add blue and green arrays (this would triple the original costs), so NIntendo chose red colors, especially because they are more detailed/sharper on a black background.

Q. (2) How many colorshades are there then?
A. Four different shades of red (with 32 levels of Intensity) and one black ofcourse.

Q. Howcome the Virtual Boy causes light headaches with some people after playing it for awhile?
A. Some people are more sensitive for this than other, but the cause is that the Virtual Boy's two screens get bombarded with a great number of images (called frames) per second, the two screens don't display the exact same image, one of the two is shifted a bit more than the other, thus creating the 3D display when you look at both at the same time, but for some people this causes an awkward feeling resulting in a most often light headache.

Q. Why did Nintendo promoted it as a portable system?
A. The VB works on batteries so in reality you can take it anywhere, a shame the VB was just a tad too big & heavy for this, and also the Virtual Boy was meant to be the Game Boy's "little" handheld brother (hence the name).

Q. How would you go about cleaning a VB cart? I talked with someone at Nintendo a while back, but got a run~around answer, telling me "Sir, you shouldn't ever NEED to clean your VB games; just replace the protective sleeve after each use..." That's all well and good, I take GREAT care of my collection. However, I also buy VB games from flea markets and the like, and they usually come to me w/out a "cover". For all I know, the previous owner dunked it in SODA twice a day, ya' know what I mean? Please let me know what (if anything) you use to clean those tiny holes.
A. My Nintendo instinct always tells me to blow on cartridges to clear any apparent dust. But that's probably not the answer you're looking for. To be honest I think the Nintendo representative is right, but what I do to clean them when needed is run a Q-tip past the contacts (with or without a cleaning compound) and make sure to dry the contacts off right away. Yet somehow I feel that is not the right way to do it so I try to evade this, why? Because Nintendo has even patented the Virtual Boy cartridges because amazingly they are self-cleaning!! Each hole in a VB cart actually has two pins that touch each other. As you shove the cart into the system, the pin in the system goes between the carts pins scraping down both sides of each of it's pins. It essentually scrapes dirt off of the cart that way.

Q. I have heard that Nintendo was developing a sequel to F-Zero for the VB called G-Zero. Am I misinformed, or was this game ever in the works?
A. Sadly they were developing it, and the game must have been really near to completion too (if not complete), but it was never released. You are actually referring to the working title of the game, G-Zero was going to be called Zero Racers.

Q. So how goes the progress on the HK module?  I saw the post on the VB Message Board before it got deleted and was curious.
A. Other than some brief reports on the Hong Kong module next to nothing is known, it's existence is still not confirmed by an owner, if any.

Q. Got my Virtual Lab on Monday! I am wondering up to what level you got to and how many levels are in the game, I only got up to level 7.
A. I made it to level 5 and then my VB rebooted itself, I was put down, because I had played it a lot, so never tried getting higher, this game was so rushed to be published there's no telling if there even is an end.

Q. Should I get an AC Adapterset?
A. Yes you should, it will save you a lot on batteries (unless you used cheap rechargeable batteries, but those don't last forever), making it very cost efficient to buy one for your VB, please be VERY careful with the voltage your country uses and where your adapter comes from, if you're not from America or Japan (read: if you imported a VB or Adapter) use a step-down converter to make sure you won't blow your VB up.

Q. AC Adapterset = AC Adapter + Adapter Tab?
A. Make sure you get the adapterSET, because without the Adaptertab the AC Adapter is practically worthless, the Tab connects the Adapter with the VB-controller, eventhough Nintendo could have made one single adapter, they didn't, probably thinking it would be easier to add a hub so everything would click in one another like a puzzle or they just wanted to make some extra money. 

Q. I have an American Virtual Boy system, and looking to buy some more games and was wondering if it is better to buy American or Japanese games? I want to buy Japanese, but will they play on the American system?
A. 1: With the exception of the Japanese Baseball game all Japanese counterparts of the games released in America are exactly the same game (read: all in full English), other than that only the storylines of the games solely released in Japan are not English, the gameplay on the other hand is for the biggest part entirely English with the exception of Virtual Fishing. Looking at the importing games from a different corner... Japanese games don't come with English manuals, American games do, remember that. 2: Both Japanese & American games play on an American or Japanese VB unit and vice versa, the Virtual Boy is universal just like the Game Boy.

Q. I wanted to buy one of those cases to keep my virtual boy in. Can you tell me if performance is still in business? And who they are a division of. Do you know where I can still get one of those hard cases.  Is it made by pelican?
A. I cannot find any information about Performance at all, maybe they changed their business name, but more likely they went broke and stopped producing accessories. It's not made by Pelican, that's for sure. Maybe you're lucky enough to find a VB fan who might have bought one of those soft VB carry cases after the launch of the system, because their not available in stores anymore, and for a hard VB carry case your best shot would be the American Blockbuster chain as they are the only ones that sold it.

Q. Do you know if Nintendo still do spare parts even though it is many many years old?
A. I know for sure that in America they do, and at very low costs too, look at nintendo.com's store, but that's limited to shipment only in the USA. Nintendo is worldwide known for their incredibly good customer support, in Japan they even print Hanafunda playingcards at request and those are over a 110 years old!

Q. Does the virtual boy hurt your eyes?
A. No, it does not hurt your eyes. As for eyedamage, that can only happen if you are under 7 years old, then there's a small chance of  eyedamage, because the eyes of young children aren't fully developed yet, so they can't adjust to the focus well enough. I've never had any problem resulting in hurt whatsoever with the usage of my VB, not even after playing it for six hours in a row.

Q. Do you need the stand?
A. Well the stand is handy sometimes for use of the Virtual Boy on a table or desk. But can also easily play the Virtual Boy without stand, I mean it will play games without it, for example: you can lay down on your bed or on the ground and have the VB unit rest on your face while playing or the other way around, lay the VB main unit on the ground and put your face over it to play.

Q. Is the virtual boy really worth the money? My friends have been giving me hell saying that its crap and all.
A. Everyone has their own opinion, but you shouldn't base your thoughts of the VB solely on what others say, try it out yourself, you might be pleasantly surprised and at least you will have had a unique experience. If anything, it will look really cool in a futuristic way next to your TV, radio or on a closet!

Q. Is there any hope at all to ever finding the unreleased Dragon Hopper, Bound High or any other games?
A. A whole bunch of unreleased VB games have been seen for play at tradeshows, no doubt some of them escaped Nintendo's claws, it's been like that with almost every released system ever. Prototypes usually surface years after a system stops production. I think the future will prove to be very very interesting.

Q. Do you know if it's true that there are only 1000 copies of Space Invaders: Virtual Collection pressed?
A. In December of 1995 the Virtual Boy was pretty much dead in the water in Japan, and if a company like Taito had already developed and completed a game for the VB, I bet they would be very careful with the production numbers, still a thousand copies seems way too slim, Space Invaders could sell on name alone (remember in 1995 3D games had just entered the console market). From a financial point of view VB wasn't attractive by a long shot anymore, but less than 5000 copies sold probably wouldn't even cover their production costs.

Q. (1) Why does the Virtual Boy develop horizontal lines?
A. The Virtual Boy has the ability to change different graphics modes and/or resolutions. This allows variety and diversity between the Virtual Boy’s graphics, and the games to which these graphics are in. When the Virtual Boy changes its graphics mode or resolution, certain areas of that graphics mode may become corrupt over a long period of time or heavy usage of that graphics mode.

Q. (2) Can this problem be corrected?
A. Yes, the problem can be corrected by replacing the original LED screens. A Nintendo authorized repair center should be able to fix the problem.
http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/repair/repair_charts.jsp#virtual%20boy%20repair%20table

Q. (1) My VB seems to have developed a fault. Graphics in the right-hand (eye?) screen glitch/scramble when displaying brighter colours. This happens with all of my games so I'm pretty sure it's not just a dirty cart. Likewise the cart contacts on the machine seem clean.
A. Your Virtual Boy probably is in Misalignment (did you drop or hit it somewhere?). 
To see if this is the case open the alignment check screen, here's what you do: put any game in the Virtual Boy, turn your VB on, and when the game is on the title screen press: LEFT(on the right side of the control pad), B, DOWN(on the right side of the control pad), A, UP(on the right side of the control pad). If you did this correct any healthy(read: well functioning) Virtual Boy will show a screen with one horizontal line and two separate vertical lines crossing eachother. So if the vertical and horizontal cross it's your games, if not your VB is probably out of alignment, if that's the case Nintendo of America's Consumer Assistance can fix your VB (as long as you pay repaircost/shipment) when you request this at 1-800-255-3700. Here's the page from the VB manual with the test you'll want to use: http://www.virtual-boy.org/images/misalignmentcode.jpg

Q. (2) I'm not in America so would prefer not to call the US if possible (toll-free numbers aren't toll free from overseas). Anyone know how to sort the alignment problem?
A. If you think it was dropped or hit too hard, you might have jarred something loose. I have an extra VB system that doesn't work at all in the left eye: only a horizontal line. The line moves if I shake the VB so I know one of the mirror is either loose or the wiring to the motor is loose but the VB used a very deeply recessed holes so the standard Gamebit (from MCM Electronics) won't fit and those that would fit are like $20-$50 for a set (3.8mm and 4.5mm). Buying a new base VB unit would be the best solution.

Q. Is there any way to turn the DAMN volume down! I want to play this late at night and the volume is so loud!
A. Check out this manual scan, it will show you where the volume control is and you can always use headphones :)

Q: I need to know if this is a problem or not. My VB's Right side display seems to shrink and then increase to normal size again. Is this sort of behavior normal for a VB or do i have a problem with my system? The left display has no noticeable change.
Example of problem in right side display:
1              2            3            4            5
(    ) ---> (   ) ---> (  ) ---> (   ) ---> (    )
A: Does this happen at startup or the beginning of a game. Or does it happen all the time (in what time intervals)? It does not seem to be normal, because the VB's image should remain steady after you've set your IPD & Focus. Maybe your VB has been dropped and now appears quirky? If it really bothers you, you can always try and get a new cheap VB head unit from ebay.com

Follow-up Q: It happens all the time, if i ignore it, I cant really notice it. It's most noticable at startup. But what i have noticed recently is that the screen will stretch and shrink, and then actually CUT OUT for a second, before stretching again. If i adjust the display the cutting out goes away. Im sure it's a problem with the VB, but it may be something to do with the alignement.
Follow-up A: Your Virtual Boy probably is in Misalignment. To see if this is the case open the alignment check screen, here's what you do: put any game in the Virtual Boy, turn your VB on, and when the game is on the title screen press: LEFT(on the right side of the control pad), B, DOWN(on the right side of the control pad), A, UP(on the right side of the control pad). See this page here for more details. If you did this correct a good Virtual Boy will show a screen with one horizontal line and two separate vertical lines crossing eachother. So if the vertical and horizontal cross it might be a game problem (do you play one game a lot? Check if the contacts aren't damaged), if the lines do not cross, then your VB is probably out of alignment. I have given this tip before, I can't say this enough, but if that's the case, then Nintendo of America's Consumer Assistance can fix your VB (as long as you pay repaircost/shipment) when you request this at 1-800-255-3700 or please get a new one and save yourself the hassle PS: Have a look at ebay.com, sometimes a good working VB head unit will be sold for $10 plus shipping, you can't go wrong with that!

Q: In the contoller of the Virtual boy is the battery pack required or can you play without?
A: The Battery Pack or the Adapter Tap/AC adaptor are required to give your VB power through your controller to the VB head unit.

Q: Would you sell me one of your AC sets for your Virtual Boy if you have doubles?
A: I don't have a spare right now. I will put it up for sale if I ever do get a spare though. Maybe you can check out ebay.com or if you live in America... phone up Nintendo's customer service and ask if they have a Virtual Boy Adapter Tap for you. As long as you have the Tap, you can use a SNES AC Adapter to power your VB by hooking it up to your VB Tap! If none of that works out, ask Neil at: www.geocities.com/pinmagic/VirtualBoy.html He's bound to have a spare Tap lying around.

Q: I recently bought a VB, and I have a few games. I was wondering what games you recommend (worth spending money on)?
A: Here are some brief reviews halfway down this page: http://www.virtual-boy.org/reviews.htm I recommend you give all 8 of those games a try as their still available online. Most of them are affordable too. Also have a look at all games on the reviews page with a mark above the 55%.

Q: What does your VB do when you switch it on without a game plugged inside? (Do you have a black screen or a VB logo ?)
A: All the VB shows with no game inserted is a black screen. It would seem the VB is Nintendo's only system without a startup logo included with the hardware, so it's on each game cartridge.

Q: I haven't played my Virtual boy in a couple of years. I always kept it in the original box. Now as I tried to play it, I get no power to the system via the Battery pack or the AC Adaptor. Since Nintendo can't help me I was hoping you can.

A: Firstly I have to say that if you are in America or Japan, then Nintendo can help you if you call up their customer support line and send in your VB to them. Second, you might want to double check a few simple things:
-Have you plugged the adapter lead well into the tap?
-Are you batteries put in the pack fully charged?
-Are any of the AC adapters wires worn out of old age?
-Have the tap & battery pack slided into the back of the controller ok?
-Is the controller lead inserted into the VB head unit correctly?
-Have you inserted a VB game into the VB unit?
Without a game in the slot or power hooked up right, the VB will not startup. If none of those work you might want to consider getting a new VB head unit, because it is probably broken.

Q: Is it possible to play the Virtual Boy without the visor?
A: Yes it is, but you might want to darken the room you're playing in for better immersion effect into the games.

Q. Is there anything else you'd like to say?
A. Please feel free to ask any question by mail, but whatever you do... VB on!

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