Vapourware: The tech that never was

Sega VR
Sega VR was a virtual reality headset in development by the Mega Drive maker back in 1991. It was to be worn on the head, and had LCD screens in the visor and speakers around the ears. For some bizarre reason it never took off, and we've never really seen this sort of thing resurface for new consoles, despite the fact that Final Fantasy XIII would look freakin' awesome through such a creation.

Sensors were built into the headset that allowed the console to respond to a user's movement and head position. Quite an exciting prospect, but this was the age when console power was counted in bits, and graphics sure as hell weren't VR-worthy back then. Can you imagine playing Sonic The Hedgehog with a headset that responded to your movement? Eugh.

Apparently four games were to be bundled with the Sega VR, each using a 16MB cartridge. Obviously, none were ever released.

As a matter of fact...
Sega claimed one of the reasons for the product's scrapping was that the virtual reality experience was so real, users were at risk of trying to walk around environments in person, risking injury to themselves. The word 'LOL' springs instantly to mind.

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