Philips Scuba: Difference between revisions

Philips first teased the device at trade shows in late 1996<ref name="ultragppsg"/> and released the Scuba Virtual Immersion Visor in 1997-1998 at a retail price of $299 USD.<ref name="vrshop"/><ref name="retrovolve"/> This price point was notably $100 more than the launch price of the [[Nintendo 64]], making it an expensive peripheral for the time—roughly $550 adjusted for 2025 inflation.<ref name="retrovolve"/><ref name="ultragppsg"/>

The Scuba sold approximately 55,000 units during its commercial run before being discontinued in 1999.<ref name="googlearts"/> Despite Philips' marketing efforts positioning it as a virtual reality device with claims like "You hadn't played a game until you'd played it wearing an Immersion Visor," consumer reception was mixed to negative, with many criticizing its poor image quality and misleading VR branding. The molds were later reused for low-cost TV viewers in Asia, while Retinal Displays pivoted toward wave-guide optics—technology that ultimately seeded [[DigiLens]] in the mid-2000s.