Hands-On With the Virtual Boy: 2026 Edition
The Virtual Boy is something of an infamous console as far as Nintendo is concerned. Considered a flop on release and rife with problems, it was, nevertheless, one of the first commercially available attempts at bringing VR to the masses. Now, thanks to the Nintendo Switch 2 and some plastic or cardboard, players can see what they very likely missed out on, without some of the problems that came with the original hardware.
During a recent hands-on day at Nintendo, I got the chance to play with both the cardboard and, much more appealing, full stand Virtual Boy kits, and I have to say, it was a somewhat odd experience. I am not really sure who this is all for. The Virtual Boy is hardly the most well-regarded console ever, so it is unlikely this is a nostalgia play, and the games themselves, while fine within their limitations, are hardly unique enough to stand on their own. So the business motives here are a little murky, but all that said, I am glad Nintendo is doing this, if only for game preservation reasons.
Using the cardboard option is the cheaper, yet clearly inferior way to play these games. It fit on the front of my massive melon without any hassle, even with my glasses on, but I was forced to sit at a desk, resting my elbows so I could hold the Switch 2 and mask to my face. This is ok for very short bursts, but it didn’t take long before my creaky old bones were protesting. The plastic stand is a much better way to play. Instead of holding the mask to your face, the stand sits on a desk, and players lean into it. It has its own problems, like setting it to a comfortable height, but it is still a much better solution for anyone who is super keen on experiencing what the Virtual Boy has to offer.
As for the games, well, I got some good time with two of the 14 on offer. The first was Galactic Pinball, which uses the 3d space quite well, in a gimmicky sort of way. The ball zips around a 3D pinball table, zapping in and out of ramps, bumpers and other Pinball staples. It is a fun, if shallow, pinball game that does a great job of highlighting what the Virtual Boy can do. The other game I played was TeleroBoxer, which played similarly to the classic Super Punch Out. Another good example of how the Virtual Boy represeted 3d way back when it came out, but again a shallow game.
The final thing I want to talk about is how it all works with your eyes. Now I have a sight problem; when things are too close to my eyes, I see double. This is fixed with glasses, but even with my goggles on, the longer I played the Virtual Boy, the worse my eyes got. In the end, I had to stop playing because I was getting a headache. Now I suggest that this may be limited to people with similar eye issues, and I think it is related to both the red colour of the game and how 3D is represented on the Virtual Boy, because modern VR doesn’t affect me, but it is worth mentioning. If you have a sight problem, getting some hands-on time, if possible, could be a wise call.
In all, the Virtual Boy in 2026 is a strange experiment, one that I am not sure will move the needle in a meaningful way, but it is still nice that it exists. It was an odd chapter of Nintendo’s history, so it is great to see it preserved this way, though I suspect the lack of nostalgia and the price of the accessories will put all but the hardest of hardcore Ninty fans off. I have always loved that Nintendo has embraced the weird, and despite the Switch 2 possibly being the “safest” Nintendo-designed console ever, it is nice to know they still have love for the wild and weird.
