Nintendo turned its biggest failure into an expensive and uncomfortable novelty

I’ve written about a lot of different video game consoles over the years, from New controllers to Retro tools to Whatever you want to call it Playdate. But I can’t remember ever being in constant pain from testing a device; These are the joys of a virtual boy. Nintendo has turned its biggest flop into an accessory for the Switch, but the costs involved — to your wallet, eyes, and neck — make it a tough sell. Much like the original, this is new for Nintendo fans only.

First released in 1995, the Virtual Boy looked like a virtual reality headset but wasn’t actually a VR or headset. Instead, the console offered stereoscopic 3D games that you could watch through a pair of massive glasses that were propped up on a stand. It also presented the games in eye-catching red and black, resulting in an experience that had some potential but was ultimately ugly and uncomfortable. It was a failure and was discontinued after only one year, amassing a library of fewer than twenty games.

Now Nintendo has brought the same experience to Switch. Virtual Boy games were added to the Nintendo Classics collection of retro games available to Switch Online subscribers this week, but the twist is that due to the unique nature of the original hardware, you need to purchase an accessory to actually play them. There’s a plastic recreation of the Virtual Boy that will set you back $100, which is what I’ve been using, as well as a cheaper cardboard headset that’s priced at a more reasonable $25. Either way, you’ll need a subscription and addon to play these games.

Technically, games will run in handheld mode without an accessory attached, but without the magnifying glasses, they display too small to be essentially unplayable. It looks something like this:

Virtual plastic boy It seems Like the originals, complete with fake controller port and audio dial. But it’s actually an elaborate Switch (or Switch 2) case that turns it into something resembling a Virtual Boy. It works like this: The top of the Virtual Boy opens, allowing you to slide the Switch, sans Joy-Con controllers, inside. When you close it, the Switch becomes the console that powers the Virtual Boy experience. Look through the goggles, and you’ll find yourself bathed in reds and blacks (although other colors will do). Will be available after launch).

Since you’re not wearing it strapped to your face, the Virtual Boy doesn’t have the same issues as a typical VR headset, supporting a bunch of weight on your head. But it’s still far from comfortable in my experience. The stand is adjustable so you can change the angle of the glasses, but I had trouble finding the perfect viewing angle, despite trying to operate it a few different ways. Oh man, those red graphics; It was hard to look at in the 90s, and things haven’t gotten much better. Virtual Boy is a system where you need to take frequent breaks to maintain your eyes and neck. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.

However, the Virtual Boy lineup is surprisingly interesting to play in 2026. There are seven titles available at launch, and although there are a few duds – I can’t seem to wrap my head around the first-person robot fighter Teleroboxer -I really enjoyed playing 3D Tetris, Galaxy pinballand a space shooter Red alert. It might be the highlight Wario Landa fairly straightforward and at times heavy platformer but with 3D elements like enemies jumping right in front of you, which makes things feel a lot more tense. It’s not a huge selection by any means, but it gives you a good idea of ​​what the Virtual Boy is all about. This means that there are some solid games with great 3D tricks that are fun in short doses. (Why tent pole? Mario Tennis Not available at launch, especially given this The latest version of Mario tennis fever, It is a mystery to me.)

Nintendo tends to have a complicated relationship with its own history, Often covering up their failures and Doing a poor job of celebrating what makes its games so important. So, on the one hand, the existence of this virtual boy seems like a miracle. Few people had the opportunity to play the original, and it is available here through it Nintendo’s most successful platform ever. But it is also a product that requires jumping through a lot of hurdles to get a small amount of reward. Since it’s tied to NSO, you only spend $100 to play the games as long as you have a subscription or the service is active. Next, you have an expensive paperweight.

The Switch version of the Virtual Boy is a strange, confusing device with limited appeal – which, now that I think about it, perfectly recreates the experience of the original.