The history of gaming is littered with the discarded, fusty, husks of good intentions.
Regrettably, Virtual Reality has been responsible for more misadventures than most, not least when you look at the noble, if ill-fated, efforts of Sega, Nintendo and Atari in that area.
Admittedly, Sega and Atari shelved their Mega Drive and Jaguar VR headsets before they could be given the kicking that was coming their way, but Nintendo forged ahead with its Virtual Boy to a deafening chorus of "WHYYYY?!"
Indeed, Sony was the first console manufacturer to get VR right, when it bunged-out the PSVR in 2016, but few remember that this wasn't Sony's first visit to the Virtual Reality buffet table...
Read on, moist rajah, for the important details.
Regrettably, Virtual Reality has been responsible for more misadventures than most, not least when you look at the noble, if ill-fated, efforts of Sega, Nintendo and Atari in that area.
Admittedly, Sega and Atari shelved their Mega Drive and Jaguar VR headsets before they could be given the kicking that was coming their way, but Nintendo forged ahead with its Virtual Boy to a deafening chorus of "WHYYYY?!"
Indeed, Sony was the first console manufacturer to get VR right, when it bunged-out the PSVR in 2016, but few remember that this wasn't Sony's first visit to the Virtual Reality buffet table...
Read on, moist rajah, for the important details.
Sony showcased its first ever head-mounted display as far back as 1993.
The Visortron offered two non-stereoscopic screens inside a headset, with no motion tracking, as a way of watching films, TV and (with an adaptor) even video games. Described as being like watching a "33-inch TV from four feet away", it was an important first step.
Though never released commercially, the Visortron signalled that Sony had its lusty eye firmly on the VR cherry.
The Visortron offered two non-stereoscopic screens inside a headset, with no motion tracking, as a way of watching films, TV and (with an adaptor) even video games. Described as being like watching a "33-inch TV from four feet away", it was an important first step.
Though never released commercially, the Visortron signalled that Sony had its lusty eye firmly on the VR cherry.
Between 1996 and 1998, Sony released a range of headsets which built upon the Visortron technology. A step up in quality, it gave the effect of watching a 52-inch TV from four feet away, and also had the added feature of making the user look like a sort of retro-sci-fi knob-end.
Though again mostly a way of watching films without anybody knowing exactly what film you were watching, Sony's Glasstron family featured no motion tracking, but at least one game was developed with it in mind; Activision's Mechwarrior 2, when running through a Glasstron headset, could be played from a first-person perspective.
Neatly, the fifth and final Glasstron model featured LCD screens which could be switched off, allowing the viewer to see through them. However, even with the novelty of being able to intermittently bear witness to your surroundings, sales were sufficiently lacklustre that Sony cancelled the Glasstron range just a few years after launch.
Though again mostly a way of watching films without anybody knowing exactly what film you were watching, Sony's Glasstron family featured no motion tracking, but at least one game was developed with it in mind; Activision's Mechwarrior 2, when running through a Glasstron headset, could be played from a first-person perspective.
Neatly, the fifth and final Glasstron model featured LCD screens which could be switched off, allowing the viewer to see through them. However, even with the novelty of being able to intermittently bear witness to your surroundings, sales were sufficiently lacklustre that Sony cancelled the Glasstron range just a few years after launch.
In 2002, with the PlayStation brand well established, and the PS2 leading the console pack like a "hairy Jeremy", Sony built upon everything it had learned from the Glasstron project, and released its first proper Virtual Reality headset.
Yes: a whole 14 years before the PSVR.
The snappily-named PUD-J5A not only allowed you to watch video content - as per the Glasstron, with stereo sound and that - but featured full head-tracking, and was compatible with a half a dozen or so actual games.
Yes: a whole 14 years before the PSVR.
The snappily-named PUD-J5A not only allowed you to watch video content - as per the Glasstron, with stereo sound and that - but featured full head-tracking, and was compatible with a half a dozen or so actual games.
The PUD-J5A games included several flight simulators - Energy Air Force and its sequel, Sidewinder V, and Airforce Delta: Blue Wing Knights - a rollercoaster game (because all VR needs a rollercoaster game), and Virtual View R.C.T. Eyes Play: a dirty game for perverts.
Virtual View R.C.T. Eyes Play was billed as a photography simulator, but it just happened that the subjects of your photography were Japanese glamour models in a variety of skimpy outfits.
Players had full control of the camera, so they could wander around said models to view them from any angle. If you so wanted, you could even pretend you were sniffing them!
Unfortunately, even with this overt appeal to the desires and wallets of sex pests, it wasn't enough to prevent the PUD-J5A from lapsing into obscurity.
Players had full control of the camera, so they could wander around said models to view them from any angle. If you so wanted, you could even pretend you were sniffing them!
Unfortunately, even with this overt appeal to the desires and wallets of sex pests, it wasn't enough to prevent the PUD-J5A from lapsing into obscurity.
The PUD-J5A was only ever sold online, for around £410 in 2002 Japanese money, and with only a handful of games ever released - and fielding criticisms over the quality and resolution of its lenses - it never took off. The head-tracking was restricted to a horizontal field of view, of roughly 25-degrees, so even its VR capabilities were limited.
Sony clearly realised that the potential of the PUD-J5A was limited, and never promoted it heavily, released it in stores, or - indeed - anywhere outside of Japan.
When most gamers were asked if they'd had their "PUD" - they thought they were being asked about dessert!!!!!!
That never once happened.
Consequently, the PUD-J5A remains one of the rarest gaming peripherals ever, and an odd curiosity on the boulevard that ran towards Sony's relative success in VR.
Sony clearly realised that the potential of the PUD-J5A was limited, and never promoted it heavily, released it in stores, or - indeed - anywhere outside of Japan.
When most gamers were asked if they'd had their "PUD" - they thought they were being asked about dessert!!!!!!
That never once happened.
Consequently, the PUD-J5A remains one of the rarest gaming peripherals ever, and an odd curiosity on the boulevard that ran towards Sony's relative success in VR.
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