Nintendo Is Bringing Back Its Most Controversial Console As a Switch Accessory
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Nintendo is bringing VR to the Switch 2 (and even more VR to the Switch 1), but not in the way you might expect. During an hour-long Nintendo Direct presentation this morning, the Mario creators announced that the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack will bring 14 Virtual Boy games with stereoscopic 3D and a Virtual Boy accessory that makes it all possible.
If you’re anything like one of my editors, you’re probably asking yourself, “What is the Virtual Boy?” For all the gamers out there who missed out on the ’90s, the Oculus Rift wasn’t the first 3D headset to try to appeal to gamers.
In 1995, five years after the original Game Boy, Nintendo tried its hand at virtual reality with the release of the “portable” Virtual Boy. This 32-bit system was a decently powerful and promising machine for its time (the original PlayStation was also 32-bit), but its greatness was hampered by two serious flaws. First, unlike modern VR headsets, it didn’t sit on your head, but rather on a stand that you had to lean against, like Han Solo being lowered into a torture device in The Empire Strikes Back . Second, games were displayed only in eye-searing red-and-black graphics.
While the reasons for its eventual failure were somewhat more complex, suffice it to say that the game sold poorly. Only 14 Virtual Boy games were released in the US, and Nintendo was quick to tell us to forget about its failure – until now.
While unofficial emulators have been trying to recreate the virtual world of Virtual Boy for 3DS and Meta Quest, Nintendo has decided to try its hand. Starting February 17, 2025, the company will begin releasing Virtual Boy games as part of its Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription service — with a charming bonus.
Virtual Boy as a Switch accessory
Like many 3DS games, most of the games in the Virtual Boy library don’t technically rely too much on 3D for gameplay, and some unofficial emulators have switched to displaying the games in 2D without causing too much trouble for players. But Nintendo, as usual, has decided to go all-in on the feature. To play Virtual Boy on Nintendo Switch Online, you’ll need an official Virtual Boy accessory that supports stereoscopic 3D on your system. Pre-orders are available starting today (order links are inactive at the time of writing), and an exact release date has yet to be announced.
You have two options: First, you can buy a full-fledged copy of the Virtual Boy, complete with stand. Personally, I’d happily buy one, even if it was just a piece of non-functional plastic – it’s that cute. But if you don’t share my views or want to save money, you can also buy a cardboard version, similar to the Nintendo Labo VR headset for Switch 1 .
Regardless of which Virtual Boy accessory you buy, you’ll insert a Switch or Switch 2 (Virtual Boy games will be available on both consoles) into it, and the headset will split the console’s screen into two halves, creating a 3D image as you look at it through the lenses. It’s similar to Nintendo Labo, which let you play Super Mario Odyssey , The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild , and a few other games in VR on the Switch 1. (You might be more familiar with using your phone to accomplish this via Google Cardboard .)
Nintendo has said that all 14 Virtual Boy games released in North America will thus appear on Nintendo Switch Online, though eight additional Virtual Boy games released only in Japan appear to be missing for now.
And that’s all we know for now. Like other retro replicas of Nintendo devices, the Virtual Boy accessories required to play these Nintendo Switch Online games will only be available to paid Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. That’s a bit of a shame if you just want the controller as a tabletop toy, but unlike the Gamecube controller also released for the Switch 2, it’s likely to be a bit easier — you can play a wide variety of games with that device, but the Virtual Boy accessory will only be available for Virtual Boy games.
Unless, of course, Nintendo plans to follow up on Labo and add VR modes to existing Switch 2 games, like Donkey Kong Bananza . That’s all just speculation at this point, but hey, the Switch 2 is way more powerful than the Switch 1, and you can play Mario Odyssey in VR. A girl can dream.