Nintendo

Shark demo (1994) running on a SGI O2 workstation

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This is one of the demos that were used by Silicon Graphics and Nintendo to show the graphics features of their upcoming game console (Project Reality / Ultra 64 / Nintendo 64) during CES in 1994.

SGI used an Onyx supercomputer to run the demo. I recorded it in 1024×768 (true-color) on a much less powerful SGI O2 workstation (released in 1996). O2 is based on a graphics architecture similar to what was actually used in Nintendo 64. It was a perfect fit for an inexpensive highly-integrated computer as well as a game console.

I would rather use a different SGI computer (Octane2 was my first choice), but O2 was the only machine that was compatible with my cheap VGA-to-HDMI converter.

Nintendo Virtual Boy (1995)

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Virtual Boy was the coolest thing I saw this year during the Bytefest vintage computer show. I knew that this was a commercial failure and expected the worst. However, it was fun to play some of the games and I quite liked the red LED displays. The 3D effect was clearly visible and I didn’t experience headaches from the displays even after nearly an hour of playing.

The only drawback was the mechanical stand that required me to lean forward too much and my (already damaged enough) cervical spine suffered from it. Anyway, I’m happy that I had the opportunity to finally experience this device. I wasn’t expecting to ever see it in our small country.