Nintendo was flying in the early 90s – the SNES had become the biggest games console on the planet and the Game Boy could seemingly do no wrong, going from strength to strength through the first half of the decade.
However, the Japanese gaming giant was not impervious to a crazy idea or two. We had the Super Scope light gun/bazooka, the Game Boy camera attachment that produced photos of loved ones looking like they were made of Lego, and even before those, the Power Glove (look it up). Then there was the Virtual Boy.
Hoping to capitalise on the very early VR trend, the Virtual Boy was a console that provided 3D gameplay viewable through a stand-mounted stereoscopic headset. You leaned forward and put your face against the visor to play.
Games were presented in red on black, but the 3D imagery was acceptable – I know because I had a very early demo after its launch at CES in 1995. It failed, of course, and only a handful of games were ever made for it.
And bar the retro gaming scene, nobody has barely mentioned it again since.
Well, until now. Nintendo has only gone and announced that Virtual Boy emulation is coming to Nintendo Switch Online and made a couple of Switch accessories to go with it.
First, a fully functioning Virtual Boy-alike will be released (and available on pre-order very soon). You just slot your Switch or Switch 2 into it and away you go.
But if you don't want to go all-in, there'll be a version that's more like the Labo VR headset from a few years ago, too. It's made from cardboard with lenses, and also works with a Nintendo Switch or Switch 2.
You'll use your existing Joy-Cons or a controller to play.
Either of the two accessories will be required to play the 14 games coming to a Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics download for all Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members. This will be launched from 17 February next year.
The games will include Mario's Tennis, Galactic Pinball, and Teleroboxer.
As a retro gaming nut myself (and someone who remembers the original) adding Virtual Boy to the Switch and Switch 2 is a great move for me. I'm not sure how anyone under the age of 30 will feel about it though.
Still, considering how few were sold first time around, this could be the first time many will get to see arguably Nintendo's biggest failure in action. Young or old.
