Check out the trailer for the Virtual Boy: Nintendo Classics, a chance to finally play classic Nintendo Virtual Boy games on your Nintendo Switch 2. 14 class...
I am maybe in the minority around here. I am excited to play around with these games. Also, even though the narrator says you need to buy the accessory, I suspect the Labo thing or any of the cheap Switch VR headsets will do the trick, and that’s what I’m intending to use.
So they‘re selling a literal piece of plastic that becomes utterly useless the moment you lose access to their subscription service. Also, 14 games that they plan to release over time? Damn they must hate their customers with a passion.
At that point, why not just 3d print one or something. Save money by not giving it to a scummy company, and hey, throw a raspberry pi in there or something with an emulator and you can probably actually run Virtual Boy games on it.
It’s a VB-themed redesign of the Labo VR kit. Should presumably be compatible with everything Labo VR supported (like, three titles I think?). Maybe the fact that they’re bringing it back means they might reuse it in the future?
I think it’s a fun novelty, but locking the actual software behind the Online+ Expansion pack instead of including it with the (no doubt expensive) accessory is a bit crap.
Wario Land is still a really great game on it even today that doesn’t deserve to be locked on flawed hardware (the motherboard disconnects one of the lenses over time and it’s a pain to repair), and Red Alert is one of those games in which the limitations actually, probably accidentally, give it a really unique hypnotic style, and the dual gamepad controls (also used to nice effect in Teleroboxer) ensured it didn’t just feel like a regular Nintendo game of the time. I don’t doubt it inspired actual classics like Rez.
I get the hate for the Virtual Boy - most games on it barely feel complete, it was uncomfortable to use, it made your pupils dilate - but it is a fun and important piece of weird gaming history, and Nintendo acknowledging it as such and finally officially allowing people some way to play those games again (knowing full well it’s going to get a lot of hate) is still a good thing overall for classic game preservation.
I don‘t think it does anything for game preservation. What is it preserving exactly? Not the titles. Those are subscription based. A piece of plastic where you can insert your handheld in? Just get a cheap VR headset for your phone. And if Nintendo thought Wario Land was so great then why did they stop making those games like 2 decades ago?
Like everyone else here, I’ve got no love for Nintendo’s business practices, but the owner of the software having officially endorsed ways of playing their stuff on modern devices (let alone replications of original hardware, like with their old controller releases) has basically always been a good thing, both for average Joe consumer that’s interested in game history and doesn’t know what a ROM is, and for the emulation community who wouldn’t ever pay for this stuff but can often build off the tech (or educate us on the problems with it). Is any of this the ideal? Of course not, locking ancient games being a subscription is typical megacorp horseshit. But a kid being able to pick up a brand new Switch 2 and play Game Boy Arkanoid and Virtual Boy Teleroboxer on it is something.
Art of all forms shouldn’t be virtually inaccessible to the masses outside of methods of questionable legality (although, make no mistake, I think those methods are good too, and these things can coexist).
Whether or not the games are objectively “good” or popular is totally beside the point. Just because I can easily download a pirated version of some forgotten 80’s b-movie doesn’t mean it’s not a good thing when it finds some form of new life through an overpriced official boutique blu-ray release.
And if Nintendo thought Wario Land was so great then why did they stop making those games like 2 decades ago?
Because the last games didn’t sell so well, and because the staff that worked on them have other projects.
Just because a game didn’t get infinite sequels forever doesn’t mean no one can appreciate the originals. By that logic, Chrono Trigger must be one of the worst JRPGs of all time to you.
thought this was a very early april fools joke with the literal 1/100 scale Virtual Boy “accessory”
I mean as someone who is old enough to remember calling Blockbuster every 30min to see when they got the thing in stock to rent out…sure have at it I guess. But man you REALLY need to take breaks otherwise your retinas will crust over. Although when you are done playing it was neat to see the entire world in a shade of red afterwards.
I was a kid when this was in blockbuster, and I remember playing it in the store using the demo setup. I was glad to have tried it, but I was good after that, lol.
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Their shareholders, I suppose.
I am maybe in the minority around here. I am excited to play around with these games. Also, even though the narrator says you need to buy the accessory, I suspect the Labo thing or any of the cheap Switch VR headsets will do the trick, and that’s what I’m intending to use.
How many kids are going to have their vision fucked up this time?
Oh god. They didnt even improve upon the BODY in any way. They could have at least made the feet longer so it stands a bit taller.
Even when I was a kid, the VB was super short and uncomfortable to use as intended. I always just laid back in bed and just let it lay on my face 😅
Who asked for this?
Executives that are banking on nostalgia of gamers with disposable income and little sense to see through their greed.
But…why?!
bad ass
So they‘re selling a literal piece of plastic that becomes utterly useless the moment you lose access to their subscription service. Also, 14 games that they plan to release over time? Damn they must hate their customers with a passion.
God forbid they just released the entire library at once. Total of 5 megabytes 🥳
If the recent pathetic patent filings were not enough to finally wake you up to what an awful company Nintendo are I don’t know what to tell you.
I’m one of the Virtual Boy’s only fans. I don’t own a Switch 2 and don’t have plans to. I might just buy the accessory as a display piece.
At that point, why not just 3d print one or something. Save money by not giving it to a scummy company, and hey, throw a raspberry pi in there or something with an emulator and you can probably actually run Virtual Boy games on it.
I believe the accessory works with switch 1 also, but its also really expensive at like 140 usd
lol the actual Virtual Boy only had 11 titles.
22 titles actually, of which 14 were released in the US.
It’s a VB-themed redesign of the Labo VR kit. Should presumably be compatible with everything Labo VR supported (like, three titles I think?). Maybe the fact that they’re bringing it back means they might reuse it in the future?
This doesn’t have the head tracking capabilities of the VR kit, as you only insert the Switch which doesn’t have a gyro without the joycons.
Apparently they’re selling two versions. One is the full scale VB, and that’s clearly a collector’s item. The other is the VB-themed Labo VR.
I think it’s a fun novelty, but locking the actual software behind the Online+ Expansion pack instead of including it with the (no doubt expensive) accessory is a bit crap.
These games should have been like maaaaybe $5 each on the 3DS a decade ago. Maybe $30 for a physical cartridge with all of them bundled.
For those with homebrewed 3DS, download Viper3DS And for those with Meta Quest, play VirtualBoy Go.
Both emulators are now in competition with this blatant cash grab so I suggest you make haste with either of these options
Wario Land is still a really great game on it even today that doesn’t deserve to be locked on flawed hardware (the motherboard disconnects one of the lenses over time and it’s a pain to repair), and Red Alert is one of those games in which the limitations actually, probably accidentally, give it a really unique hypnotic style, and the dual gamepad controls (also used to nice effect in Teleroboxer) ensured it didn’t just feel like a regular Nintendo game of the time. I don’t doubt it inspired actual classics like Rez.
I get the hate for the Virtual Boy - most games on it barely feel complete, it was uncomfortable to use, it made your pupils dilate - but it is a fun and important piece of weird gaming history, and Nintendo acknowledging it as such and finally officially allowing people some way to play those games again (knowing full well it’s going to get a lot of hate) is still a good thing overall for classic game preservation.
I don‘t think it does anything for game preservation. What is it preserving exactly? Not the titles. Those are subscription based. A piece of plastic where you can insert your handheld in? Just get a cheap VR headset for your phone. And if Nintendo thought Wario Land was so great then why did they stop making those games like 2 decades ago?
Like everyone else here, I’ve got no love for Nintendo’s business practices, but the owner of the software having officially endorsed ways of playing their stuff on modern devices (let alone replications of original hardware, like with their old controller releases) has basically always been a good thing, both for average Joe consumer that’s interested in game history and doesn’t know what a ROM is, and for the emulation community who wouldn’t ever pay for this stuff but can often build off the tech (or educate us on the problems with it). Is any of this the ideal? Of course not, locking ancient games being a subscription is typical megacorp horseshit. But a kid being able to pick up a brand new Switch 2 and play Game Boy Arkanoid and Virtual Boy Teleroboxer on it is something.
Art of all forms shouldn’t be virtually inaccessible to the masses outside of methods of questionable legality (although, make no mistake, I think those methods are good too, and these things can coexist).
Whether or not the games are objectively “good” or popular is totally beside the point. Just because I can easily download a pirated version of some forgotten 80’s b-movie doesn’t mean it’s not a good thing when it finds some form of new life through an overpriced official boutique blu-ray release.
Because the last games didn’t sell so well, and because the staff that worked on them have other projects.
Just because a game didn’t get infinite sequels forever doesn’t mean no one can appreciate the originals. By that logic, Chrono Trigger must be one of the worst JRPGs of all time to you.
thought this was a very early april fools joke with the literal 1/100 scale Virtual Boy “accessory”
I mean as someone who is old enough to remember calling Blockbuster every 30min to see when they got the thing in stock to rent out…sure have at it I guess. But man you REALLY need to take breaks otherwise your retinas will crust over. Although when you are done playing it was neat to see the entire world in a shade of red afterwards.
I was a kid when this was in blockbuster, and I remember playing it in the store using the demo setup. I was glad to have tried it, but I was good after that, lol.
Also just announced: new patents on covers opening and closing and adjustable legs.
Virtual Boy games will all release at full price individually.
On the one hand this is a blatant cash grab.
On the other, compared to the $1000 for Jacks Bros this is the deal of the century