Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics Announced, Accessory Required in Order to Play - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 12 September 2025 / 3,683 Views
Nintendo has announced the Virtual Boy is returning with Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics and a new accessory for the Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch.
Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics will be available for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members starting on February 17, 2026. The accessory is required in order to access the games.
View the announcement trailer below:
Read details below:
Select games from Nintendo’s stereoscopic 3D system, Virtual Boy, are coming to Nintendo Classics exclusively for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members. To play, you’ll need Joy-Con or Joy-Con 2 controllers and the dedicated accessory based on the original Virtual Boy hardware – stereoscopic 3D included – when inserting the Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch system. Dive into titles like Mario’s Tennis, Galactic Pinball, Teleroboxer and more as they release over time. Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics comes to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack Feb. 17, 2026. The accessory needed to play Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics, as well as a cardboard version, will be available to pre-purchase on the My Nintendo Store in the future.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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People were asking for this? Don't give me wrong, having the option is neat and all, but it's not like bringing back these games will somehow stop the migraines and eye pains of having a red and black screen glued directly to their eyes. The system failed for a reason.
You’re telling me it’s not the coolest thing that Nintendo is recognizing a buried part of their history? This is so fun! It is these kind of announcements that I love the most from Nintendo.
It doesn't change what I said earlier. The system caused actual physical discomfort to play.
I agree with you. I remember literally being in the store and seeing the original. And even though I was a huge gamer at the time, I just stared at it like... what? No one wanted it, and it quickly disappeared from existence for that very reason. It even got the father of the original Game Boy fired (well, not officially, anyway; but we all know).
So the fact that Nintendo is bringing it back in any capacity is... strange, to say the very least. lol
Funny thing is the emulation scene of VB are better than this and offer options to ease that. I played the original and gave me a headache after a couple of minutes
A working Virtual Boy will probably run you at least 700 on ebay.
I had one, and it did not bother me. For those people who did find it uncomfortable, I recommend those folks don't play these games.
But for others, it is a way to authentically expeeience games that can not have been played, at least in a legal way, for about 30 years without dropping close to a grand. And for the price of what I imagine will be a pretty cheap cardboard headset, people who never had a chance could experience a fun little 90s tech curiosity.
So, I think it's pretty cool.
i will have to pass
This is the most unhinged announcement ever
That's an announcement that I would expect on april fools... yet here we are.
The meme is now the real deal!
Required to play. How embarrasing.
What a clown
Pass. Bring Wii to NSO.
I love it! It's the only Nintendo System I don't own and never played. I think Nintendo ist the only company in the world who celebrates their massive missteps. I find it grandiose that after all these years Nintendo spins this absolute failure into a cult toy! Cudos to Nintendo! They know that their longtime hardcore fans will love it. I will definitely buy it. Without Virtual Boy my Nintendo legacy is simply not complete!
A cardboard version? Did they seriously just announce Virtual Boy Labo?
It will cross 1 mi.
Collectors will buy this all excited, Every single other gamer will laugh at how absurd this is. Pay $100 to play 14 awful VB games lol. Nintnedo can waste time and money on this and yet can't give their fans decent prices on things they actually want. Just silly.
Will it make you sick like the original?
Is this an out of season April fools joke?
I wait the 3rd party versions of this add on with a head strap
