Game Archeologists Dig Up Nintendo Antiquities in Dubai

It's a strange news day to be sure. TheNational.ae is reporting that game shop retailers in Dubai unearthed 100 pristine copies of Nintendo's failed VR gimmic, the Virtual Boy. The Japanese portable console consisted of a gamepad and a headset that gave specially created titles the illusion of three dimensionality. The console, whose unique visual system was limited to monochrome red LED graphics, stands as a singular failure in an otherwise spectacular track record in gaming. It was discontinued in 1995 after a production run of only 770,000 units.

According to The National, the Virtual Boys, which are still sealed in their factory boxes, were abandoned years ago and discovered by chance by a purchasing manager for Geekay Games in Dubai. As news of the discovery spreads, collectors around the globe are beginning to salivate over the prospect of nabbing one of the rarer consoles in gaming history. While a used copy can be had for about $100 on ebay, the value of the trove unconvered in the UAE is unknown. New-in-box versions of the console are unheard of.

Only 22 games were ever produced for Virtual Boy, which carried a sticker warning gamers against eye damage from staring at the screen for more than 15 minutes at a time. A screenshot from Mario's Tennis for Virtual Boy is shown below.

[via TheNational.ae]