VRHow / Headsets / Virtuality arcade systems
Virtuality arcade systems: the 1000 and 2000 series
Timeline and documented systems
| System | Documented date | What the sources establish |
|---|---|---|
| 1000SU | Prototype shown in November 1990 | HCI Museum dates the commercial-system prototype to the Computer Graphics '90 exhibition at Alexandra Palace, London. “SU” is the stand-up form in the 1000 family. |
| 1000CS | Arcade shipment in 1991 | The stand-up “CyberSpace” cabinet used the Visette, a waist-height tracking ring and a Space Joystick. HCI Museum lists Dactyl Nightmare, Grid Busters, Hero and Legend Quest for the shipped arcade system. |
| 1000SD | Arcade shipment in 1991 | The sit-down cabinet used a shorter-range Ascension magnetic tracker suited to a seated player. HCI Museum lists Battlesphere, Exorex, Total Destruction, VTOL and Flying Aces. |
| 2000SU / 2000SD | Introduced later; exact launch year not established here | Virtuality’s own historical site says the 2000SU and SD were introduced and used an Intel 486 PC with Motorola 88110 graphics processors. A preserved SU2000 service/rebuild record documents a two-player stand-up pod with Visettes, controllers, Polhemus emitters, magnetic-card readers and a network card. |
How the 1000 series worked
The 1000 machines were complete arcade installations: a molded pod or ring, attendant-managed headset, controls and dedicated computer. The HCI Museum’s archival description identifies the compute platform as an Amiga 3000 with 4 MB of RAM and two Texas Instruments TMS34020-based graphics accelerators, one for each eye. It describes the Visette as using two Panasonic LCD screens at 372 × 250 per eye. The displays were mounted to the sides and reflected through mirrors into the optics because the screens were too heavy to place directly in front of the eyes.
Both early variants used six-degree-of-freedom magnetic tracking, but the installation differed. On the 1000CS, a Polhemus tracking ring around the player tracked the Visette and Space Joystick. The 1000SD used an Ascension tracker with a shorter range because the player stayed in the seat. Those distinctions matter: “Virtuality 1000” does not describe one identical cabinet, tracking volume or control layout.
What changed in the 2000 series
The surviving official Virtuality site describes the 2000SU and 2000SD as simulation and location-based-entertainment systems, with an Intel 486 computer and Motorola 88110 processors for graphics rendering. It names later software including Dactyl Nightmare 2 – Race For The Eggs!, Zone Hunter and Pac-Man VR, but does not provide a launch date or a complete model specification.
The SkullSpace archival account is useful evidence for one preserved SU2000 unit, not proof that every 2000-series cabinet had the same internals. It records two standing player platforms, each with a Visette containing two displays and headphones, a handheld joystick, a Polhemus emitter in the handbar, player buttons and a magnetic-card reader. Its inspected electronics used a 486-class mini-PC, custom graphics, sound and interface boards, a hard disk, CD drives and a 10Base-2 network card; the account says the system booted DOS 6.22 before loading Virtuality software. These are observations of that surviving machine and should not be generalized to every revision.
Date and evidence caveats
Source conflict: the Virtual Reality Society’s broad timeline labels Virtuality Group arcade machines “1991,” while the HCI Museum gives the 1000SU prototype exhibition date as November 1990 and the 1000CS shipment as 1991. This page therefore separates the 1990 prototype showing from 1991 arcade shipments instead of calling one date the launch of all Virtuality hardware. The sources reviewed do not establish a precise release year for the 2000SU/SD, a complete 2000-series model-by-model specification, or a definitive original price.
The systems required their original arcade computer, proprietary interfaces, period software and dedicated installation. Nothing here establishes modern PC compatibility, current commercial availability, performance, comfort, latency, or a guaranteed game list beyond the named archival records.
Sources
- HCI Museum: Virtuality exhibit — archival overview of the 1000SU exhibition, 1000CS/SD hardware, tracking, displays and game lists.
- Virtuality.com: 1000 and 2000 series history — official maker/platform history for the 1000 and 2000 families and named software.
- SkullSpace archive: Virtuality SU2000 — preserved-unit account documenting a two-player 2000SU installation and inspected electronics.
- The Atlantic: “The Vanguard of Virtual Reality: An Embarrassing Arcade Game” — independent historical account dating the 1000 series’ arcade rollout to 1991.
- Virtual Reality Society: History of Virtual Reality — broader timeline cross-checking the 1991 Virtuality arcade period.