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Nintendo's Back in VR With a New Virtual Boy, Coming Next Year for Switch

The long-lost console is being revived next February in cardboard and plastic form as a Switch accessory with Switch Online games.

Headshot of Scott Stein
Headshot of Scott Stein
Scott Stein Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
Expertise VR and AR | Gaming | Metaverse technologies | Wearable tech | Tablets Credentials
  • Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
Scott Stein
2 min read
Virtual Boy game system accessory for Switch shown in cardboard and plastic forms

The Virtual Boy is coming back in plastic and cardboard form next year for the Switch.

 Nintendo/Screenshot by CNET

I keep wondering when Nintendo will get back into VR. I actually asked Shigeru Miyamoto about it earlier this year. 

Well, Nintendo's back in the VR game, sort of, with a new Virtual Boy. Retro games and a Virtual Boy accessory for the Switch and Switch 2 will be available on Feb. 17 next year. 

Virtual Boy was one of several company announcements for Mario's 40th anniversary in a Direct livestream on Friday, including new remasters of Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2.

The failed 1996 stereoscopic game console was one of the long-lost weird wonders of Nintendo history, revived in recent years with an emulator that enabled games to be played on modern VR headsets. Nintendo's making it an official part of the Switch experience, though, with a new library of Switch Online games for Virtual Boy. There's a new red and black accessory you'll need to play the games, too.

While the games are free (with a subscription), the accessory costs $100 for the authentic plastic recreation or $25 for the cardboard version.

Nintendo's plastic Virtual Boy accessory, shown off at the Nintendo Direct, looks exactly like the old Virtual Boy, bulky and weird as ever. The Nintendo Switch or Switch 2 will fit in it to play the 3D black and red games. There's also a cardboard version for playing the games, too, presumably at a much lower price than whatever the plastic Virtual Boy recreation will cost.

The games themselves will be part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service. Nintendo's promising 14 titles released over time, including Tetris. 

List of Nintendo Virtual Boy games shown as boxes

The Virtual Boy games that are coming. Hi Tetris.

 Nintendo/Screenshot by CNET

Nintendo has a long history of dabbling in VR. Nintendo Labo VR, released in 2019, was also a cardboard kit for the Switch that played a variety of VR games with cardboard accessories. The Nintendo 3DS had its own 3D display (but no Virtual Boy games), and shipped with AR games at launch. At Universal's theme parks, the Mario Kart ride already uses an AR visor to project overlaid experiences. The Mario Kart Live RC car game uses built-in AR effects, too.

I wondered if Nintendo would ever support a plug-in VR or AR headset for the Switch 2, and so far, Nintendo hasn't indicated any interest. The Switch 2 won't even work with plug-in display glasses without a bulky adapter. But the Virtual Boy shows Nintendo's still curious… or nostalgic. Or both. I'll see you next year with this on my face for a full review.