So here’s a weird bit of forgotten gaming history I stumbled across. Back in 2006, the PSP had what was basically its own VR headset. It was called the Solid Eye and came bundled with Metal Gear Acid 2. It wasn’t some high-tech headset like we know today, more like a chunky pair of plastic 3D goggles that clipped directly onto the PSP. But get this, it actually worked. The game rendered two slightly offset images and the lenses in the Solid Eye created a stereoscopic 3D effect. It was surprisingly effective for such a low-tech setup.
This came out five years before the Nintendo 3DS and long before mobile VR was even a thing. In a strange way, it might have been the first real attempt at handheld VR or at least 3D gaming in a portable format. And since it was developed by Kojima’s team, you know it was going to be quirky and experimental. The wildest part is that it was only used for one game. Metal Gear Acid 2 was the only title officially compatible with it. They built this whole accessory just for that one experience. Total mad scientist energy.
But here’s where it gets even crazier. Apparently there were also UMD videos released in Japan that used the Solid Eye. And not just any videos—we’re talking 3D porn. Yeah. People were literally watching adult content in stereoscopic 3D on their PSPs. So while some of us were grinding turn-based battles with Snake, others were getting fully immersed in very different kinds of content. Sony really made a device that had something for everyone.
To top it all off, the Solid Eye makes a comeback in Metal Gear Solid 4 as a high-tech eyepiece gadget. Just classic Kojima turning a forgotten peripheral into in-game canon. Anyway, I thought it was wild that the PSP had this kind of pseudo VR setup almost twenty years ago and no one ever brings it up. Did anyone else ever mess with the Solid Eye or even know this existed?
