Nintendo launched Virtual Boy in Japan on 21 July 1995 and in North America in August of the same year. Designed under the direction of Gunpei Yokoi, it used two linear red LED displays and a system of oscillating mirrors to present a separate stereoscopic image to each eye. The machine rested on a table using a stand and was controlled with a gamepad featuring two directional pads. Games were distributed on cartridges. Although Nintendo promoted it as a personal three-dimensional experience, Virtual Boy had a very short commercial life and was never officially released in Europe.