Released in 1995, Nintendo’s Virtual Boy was the first standalone home stereoscopic 3D gaming system, providing a 384×224 red-only monochrome image to each eye via the two lenses. While often described as a “VR headset”, Virtual Boy lacked any kind of head tracking, not even rotational, and had a narrow field of view. That’s not to say it wasn’t an interesting 3D console - it just wasn’t really VR.

Virtual Boy was a market failure, selling very few units, and was discontinued after just one year. But it left a lasting cultural impact, and is looked back on fondly by many in the VR industry.