Virtual reality gaming has matured a lot over the last decade, with some big companies like Facebook, Microsoft and Sony all investing heavily in the technology. The 2012 Kickstarter campaign that gave birth to the Oculus Rift is often credited with starting the trend for VR gaming, but it was by no means the first tech to go there.
Not the First
As we said, the Oculus Rift certainly wasn’t the original VR gaming device. The first headset was created in 1968 and called the Sword of Damocles. It was nothing like the devices available today being extremely heavy and cumbersome. It was a computer suspended from a ceiling and the user would have to be strapped in, so it was by no means portable.
Gaming giant Nintendo attempted to be the first to market the concept with the Virtual Boy console which was released for a brief time in 1995. It was sold as the most advanced and most immersive gaming experience available.
The problem was that the Virtual Boy could not deliver on its promises. Graphics were generated through a red monochrome display, making games look significantly worse than on the company’s SNES and soon to be released Nintendo 64 consoles.
