Arcade Virtual Boy Project

[Tighe]

Hi Everyone,

It has been a while since I posted here, but I would like to share this project of mine with you.  I converted a Virtual Boy into an arcade cabinet inspired after Atari's Battlezone.

Blog Post:
http://www.tighelory.com/2011/06/arcade-virtual-boy.html

Youtube:


KLOV forums thread about me building it (this has the most information)
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=180916

[javeryh]

That is ridiculously awesome.  Small footprint too which is even better.

[BobA]

Really interesting build.  Cab looks great and the idea is 

[Tighe]

Really interesting build.  Cab looks great and the idea is 

Thanks! did you see the custom serial # plate I made for it?

[Xiaou2]

Very cool project.

 The only thing Id suggest, is if the VB has a typical speaker(s), disconnect them, add an amp w/ volume control, install decent sized speakers and a subwoofer in the cabinet.  That will surely make the sound a lot less 'tinny'.

 You could install 2 speakers in the marquee area, pointing downwards..  and the sub in the base section of the cab.  If theres still a lack of full-ness, could put more speakers in the base as well.

 Could also hook the audio up to an EQ & or effect setup for fine tuning the output to a very sweet and full sound.

[Tighe]

Very cool project.

 The only thing Id suggest, is if the VB has a typical speaker(s), disconnect them, add an amp w/ volume control, install decent sized speakers and a subwoofer in the cabinet.  That will surely make the sound a lot less 'tinny'.

 You could install 2 speakers in the marquee area, pointing downwards..  and the sub in the base section of the cab.  If theres still a lack of full-ness, could put more speakers in the base as well.

I thought about that, but opted to not, I didn't want to blow anyone's ears out. 

[Xiaou2]

Its a shame really. Its not really about how loud it is, but the actual sound quality.

 A tiny speaker inside a laptop or Virtua boy isnt going to be able to reproduce a good sound spectrum.  It will lack bass and full spectrum ability.

 In addition, a tiny air chamber made from thin plastic, has no resonance to it... so the sound is again.. destroyed before it even has a chance.

 The reason why most arcade machines sound so good, even at low volumes, is that they use a decent sized speaker with the entire hollow cabinet as the air-chamber / amplifier.   Take the speakers out of that cab, put them into a small plastic box on a table, and they wont sound half as good.

 Now, I cant say for sure what Nintendo used to develop the sound on the VB.  But its doubtful that they used the actual systems speakers.  As such, theres probably a lot of potential to hear things the way they were actually designed to be heard... rather than the limitations of th

 Edit

 According to this guy, theres a headphone jack.  The sound output is actually much better than the speakers can produce.  Have a listen on your home system, decent pc speakers...etc.




 -VS-

 VB Speakers

[SavannahLion]

If anyone else gave you crap about it, the dedication plaque is very nice and a nice thought to the creator. I never did like the humiliation brought on him due to the VB. Especially since there are more EPIC FAILS within the U.S. industry.

[somunny]

Really neat project, but I have to say I'm more interested in what's going on in the background of the pics you posted.   

[BobA]

Really interesting build.  Cab looks great and the idea is 

Thanks! did you see the custom serial # plate I made for it?

Saw the SN plate and the dedication plaque.  Nice touches.

[kalars123]

the stand wasn't my least favorite thing about the VB, the migraine's were 

[Malenko]

     

less thread crapping pls. Hows about you build YOURS the way you want?

to OP, looks great, I never had any love for the system but your cab looks great.

[RayB]

WOW. Awesome.    You need to sell the template or a kit.  

(I agree with Xiau2 on outputing sound to proper speakers via the headphone jack).

PS: Isn't the guy's name Gunpei?

[Tighe]

WOW. Awesome.    You need to sell the template or a kit.  

(I agree with Xiau2 on outputing sound to proper speakers via the headphone jack).

PS: Isn't the guy's name Gunpei?

Wow!  Can I even call that a typo?  I guess I will be fixing that!  Why did I type "y"

[Tighe]

WOW. Awesome.    You need to sell the template or a kit.  

(I agree with Xiau2 on outputing sound to proper speakers via the headphone jack).

PS: Isn't the guy's name Gunpei?

Wow!  Can I even call that a typo?  I guess I will be fixing that!  Why did I type "y"

Really thank you for noticing that!  I already made a new one, I am just waiting for the clear coat to dry:

[Xiaou2]

less thread crapping pls. Hows about you build YOURS the way you want?

 Thread crapping would be something more along the lines of talking about something unrelated, or maybe arguing with you...

 I merely gave the guy my Opinion. 1st, that I really like his creation... and 2nd, that it wound be even better with a slight modification, IMOP.  Its called "Constructive Criticism".

 Unlike others, I dont make fun or or trash others non-corporate creations, here, nor on outside websites.  If I dont like something at all, that again is a personal creation, I dont really comment.

 Anyways, Cheer Tighe.   I looked up some info on Gunpei.  Amazing man.  Too sad he passed on already.

[Tighe]

Corrected Dedication Plate Installed!

[crashwg]

Amazing project!  I wish I had the funds to build one.  One of these days I'm going to have to attempt to fix my VB, one of the screens has lines running through it... 

[RayB]

Wow!  Can I even call that a typo?  I guess I will be fixing that!  Why did I type "y"

I was *really* hesitant to bring that up considering the effort and detail that went into that. I'm glad to hear it was so easily correctable. 

[fallacy]

Crazy that you spent so much time and creativity on something you will never use. Virtual boy only had like 20 games and most of them were not even complete games?

Maybe if they had that arcade back in the day they might have actually made some money on the Virtual boy. 

[jasonbar]

That is so very full of awesome.  I love it.

I too am a fan of the much-maligned Virtual Boy.  I've got a pretty decent collection: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?hl=en&key=tLp74k_imcWb6sR7TqIMdUg&hl=en#gid=14

Hopefully Richard Hutchinson will make his multi-cart soon, so you won't have to swap carts.

Attached is me at Super Potato in the Akihabara district of Tokyo last year.

Thanks,
-Jason

[Xiaou2]

Crazy that you spent so much time and creativity on something you will never use.

 Now see, ^^^  That  ^^^ 
 is threat  "Crapping".

[jimmy2x2x]

Amazing job, really well executed!

How did you make the dedication plate?

[Tighe]

Amazing job, really well executed!

How did you make the dedication plate?

It is a neat trick I came up with.  I printed it on clear full page shipping labels from staples in my laser printer.  I applied it to the aluminum, and then since the label is matte finish, I then coated it with a Krylon Triple Thick clear acrylic.

Lables:
http://www.staples.com/Avery-8665-Clear-Inkjet-Full-Sheet-Shipping-Labels-8-1-2-X/product_45759

Triple Thick:
http://www.krylon.com/products/triplethick_crystal_clear_glaze/

[Tighe]

That is so very full of awesome.  I love it.

I too am a fan of the much-maligned Virtual Boy.  I've got a pretty decent collection: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?hl=en&key=tLp74k_imcWb6sR7TqIMdUg&hl=en#gid=14

Hopefully Richard Hutchinson will make his multi-cart soon, so you won't have to swap carts.

Attached is me at Super Potato in the Akihabara district of Tokyo last year.

Thanks,
-Jason

WOW!  That would be SO awesome!  More info please!

Edit:

I have seen his flash cart, but I didn't realize he was working on a multicart!

http://www.richard.hutchinson.dsl.pipex.com/new_page_9.htm
http://www.planetvb.com/modules/hardware/?type=flashcarts&v=fb

[yotsuya]

It is a neat rick I came up with.  I printed it on clear full page shipping labels from staples in my laser printer.  I applied it to the aluminum, and then since the label is matte finish, I then coated it with a Krylon Triple Thick clear acrylic.

That is brilliant.   

I agree! Gonna have to consider that myself. Did you cut the aluminum yourself?

[Tighe]

It is a neat rick I came up with.  I printed it on clear full page shipping labels from staples in my laser printer.  I applied it to the aluminum, and then since the label is matte finish, I then coated it with a Krylon Triple Thick clear acrylic.

That is brilliant.   

I agree! Gonna have to consider that myself. Did you cut the aluminum yourself?

Yes, I bought a roll of aluminum flashing at the hardware store I used it for my florescent red plexi Xbox 360 control panel I built, I had a ton left over, it is nice and thin, you can cut it with scissors.  I had heaver aluminum, but this looks great.

[Donkbaca]

So you used a router to flush trim the aluminum to the wood?  Is that dangerous?  Was it hard?

[Tighe]

So you used a router to flush trim the aluminum to the wood?  Is that dangerous?  Was it hard?

If you are referring to the control panel for the 360, then yes.  The aluminum is very thin, and aluminum is much softer than the hardened steel of the router bit.  cut it like butter, and no damage to the bit.

Just the Aluminum:


Red Florescent Plexi Applied:


Blacklight:


With controls:


On cabinet:


Video:


I have since routed out the back so that the joysticks sit higher.  I haven't finished this project yet, the VB kind of took over my time. 

[ChadTower]

Crazy that you spent so much time and creativity on something you will never use. Virtual boy only had like 20 games and most of them were not even complete games?

14 US games released.  They are all fun.  I love the VB.  Never had a headache from it once I stopped using the stand.  If you lie down on the couch and put the VB on your face... and don't move... yeah it's dumb... but it plays much better.   

Love this cabinet.  Great job. 

[ChadTower]

They had large displays at major toy store chains, kiosks in the game stores like Babbage's and Software Etc, and Blockbuster rented VB games and systems.

[Tighe]

The idea of this project is to give me something fun to play, and to change some people's minds about the Virtual Boy.

Also if you like this please digg it:

http://digg.com/tigheklory

[Nephasth]

Now you know what this means... You have to produce and sell cabinet kits with serial numbers!

[Tighe]

Now you know what this means... You have to produce and sell cabinet kits with serial numbers!

If you are willing to pay enough for me to quit my real job   

[GameGeezer]

This is...absolutely...beautiful! Top it off that it's practical: You finally found a way to make the system comfortable to use! I found the VB technically interesting when it was released, and both V-Tetris (Japan-only) and Welltris (World) are fantastic titles, but even when it came out I could never use it in a comfortable posture.

If you've not done so, you may want to look into picking up the J-only library, as there is a decent selection of titles released to the Japanese market, and I don't recall any system localization/lockout for the console.

Any chance you'd be willing to share the master artwork files (side-art, marquee and c-panel) for those of us geeky enough to want to build one (non-commercially)? I'm also curious: I may have glossed over this point, but did you slice up an existing cab or detail it all out from raw materials?

-GG

[Tighe]

This is...absolutely...beautiful! Top it off that it's practical: You finally found a way to make the system comfortable to use! I found the VB technically interesting when it was released, and both V-Tetris (Japan-only) and Welltris (World) are fantastic titles, but even when it came out I could never use it in a comfortable posture.

If you've not done so, you may want to look into picking up the J-only library, as there is a decent selection of titles released to the Japanese market, and I don't recall any system localization/lockout for the console.

Any chance you'd be willing to share the master artwork files (side-art, marquee and c-panel) for those of us geeky enough to want to build one (non-commercially)? I'm also curious: I may have glossed over this point, but did you slice up an existing cab or detail it all out from raw materials?

-GG

First, look at the build thread on KLOV:

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=180916

This cabinet started from raw material.  The side art is just the SVG of the Nintendo logo and Virtual Boy logo from wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Virtualboy_logo.svg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nintendo.svg

I did an extrude in Illustrator to make it 3d for the CPO and Marquee. 

Here is the 600dpi CPO
http://me.tighelory.com/images/Virtual_Boy/Virtual_Boy_Control_Panel%20_Overlay.png

I will post the marquee later, to be honest I am going to make better marquee artwork.

I have some of the Japanese titles, I wish I could get Space Invaders and Gundam for it.

[Woodshop Flunky]

LOVE this cab!    Very commercial finish!

[GibsonRiddler]

Just saw it talked about on Gizmodo's web site. Great job. It was the only Gameboy I did not own.

[GameGeezer]

I can trackdown any JP VB titles that you desire... PM me if you wish to discuss it.

I'll look over the linked thread later on... It's tme to sleep. -GG

[crashwg]

Thank you Tighe for inspiring me to fix my VB!  It had the dreaded display glitches in the right eye and if it weren't for your amazing project I probably would have left it to collect dust for a few more years. 

Fixing it was not easy (it requires removing some sticky stuff and resoldering some fairly small traces) but I've got it up and running again and am seriously considering emulating your design at some point in the future.  Now to get some more games, off to ebay.  I hope your build doesn't inspire too many people to dust off their VBs and make it harder for me to get games for a reasonable price...