The Virtual Boy, if you know that name, then you probably lived in the 90s. It was Nintendo’s attempt at virtual reality gaming, hence the name. However, it failed so badly that Nintendo had to stop it even before it could make money, not that it could. Did you know that Nintendo released the Virtual Boy again in some way, shape, or form?
The Release of the Nintendo Virtual Boy Classics
Nintendo released the Virtual Boy Classics for the Switch 2. How this works is that you can just log into your Nintendo account and get the games for free. That’s right, some of the Virtual Boy games are available for you to download on the Switch 2 for free. They just play right away on the screen of your TV or on your portable Switch OLED. Use the Joy-Cons to control them, and you’re done.
Buying the Virtual Boy Hardware
Back then, you had to buy the actual system where you plugged in the games, and the Virtual Boy would run on itself. Now, Nintendo is selling Virtual Boy hardware that will be used to sync up with your Virtual Boy Classics. If you look at the picture below, you can buy a piece of hardware similar to the actual Virtual Boy. However, this one doesn’t run on power, and it is just a piece of paperweight.
What you do is slide the Switch 2 OLED into the hardware. It will let you play the games like how they played the Virtual Boy back then. The only difference is that the Switch OLED has a different screen. There is a different hardware that is cheaper (the $24 on the top image). It’s not the same style as the default hardware, but it will do its job.
Why would you want to buy the hardware?
Even without the hardware, you can play the games on your Switch 2 OLED. The only difference is that by default, the OLED will show two screens. That’s because each screen is for each eye. Just cover one of the screens, and you can enjoy (if you can) those Virtual Boy games without the need to buy the hardware. Plus, the games are free if you remember.
A short history of the Virtual Boy and why it failed
The Virtual Boy was released back in 1995. Back around this time, Nintendo was on fire. The NES, while on its last legs, still had some games being made. The SNES was still hot even with the PS1 gaining traction. So, why not release a different system to capture the virtual reality market? Sadly, it failed on multiple levels. The first reason was that nobody could play the games for long hours. The games would give people headaches since they were in red and black.
Putting your eyes through those lenses was a pain for some. The other reason is that there were a small number of games. Suffice to say, the system failed, and Nintendo lost a lot of money. The good thing is that Nintendo would release the N64 a year later, so they did manage to make money and loads of it. The Virtual Boy will remain as one of Nintendo’s stains, so why they released it again is a bit of a mystery.