VR-1

VR-1
ManufacturerSega
TypeAmusement park attraction
GenerationFourth generation
Release date
  • JP: 20 July 1994
  • UK: 7 September 1996
  • AU: 20 March 1997

VR-1 is a virtual reality amusement park attraction released by Sega. Installed publicly for the first time in July 1994 at the opening of the original Joypolis indoor theme park, Yokohama Joypolis,[1] it represented the culmination of Sega's Japanese AM teams and the Virtuality Group's collaborative developments in the field of VR.[2] In 1996 and 1997, respectively, it was also installed at SegaWorld London and Sega World Sydney.[2]

Combining 4 eight seater motion base pods with 32 VR headsets and a 3 minute long first-person rail shooter game,[3] the attraction offered a virtual reality experience believed to be unparalleled in its time.[2] The headset used in the attraction, officially dubbed the "Mega Visor Display", has been retrospectively credited as one of the most advanced head-mounted displays of its generation, not fully matched in performance until the 2010s, and influencing newer attempts.[2][4]

VR-1 is not to be confused with the similarly titled Sega VR, which, though developed under the same company, was a separate project and headset, ultimately seeing no permanent public use or release.[2]

  1. ^ "News & Information". Beep! MegaDrive. No. 1994–08. July 1994. p. [1].
  2. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference VR Focus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "VR-1". sega.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 24, 1996.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference gamebusiness.jp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).