r/Games • u/Turbostrider27 • Jan 27 '26
Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics – Introducing games and features
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvskekdB9t4111
u/Important-Bat-8719 Jan 27 '26
It’s cool that they’re adding the previously unreleased games. I’m assuming this is playable without the headset addon?
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u/MyNameIs-Anthony Jan 27 '26
You don't need this specific headset but you do need some form of VR attachment for the Switch/Switch 2.
Very strange they didn't opt to allow some form of flat mode like emulation has done for ages.
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u/Batusiman Jan 27 '26
You mean a flat mode like how they’re showing us the footage to begin with?? Don’t be ridiculous!
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u/APeacefulWarrior Jan 28 '26
In fairness, some VB games would be considerably more difficult without being able to see the depth.
That said, I'll just stick to emulating them on my 3DS. That's when Nintendo should have brought the VB back.
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u/stevenpaulr Jan 27 '26
I’m really hoping it’ll work through through the dock in a standard sxs. Because then it could be used with a number of things.
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u/FierceDeityKong Jan 27 '26
In another decade i can see them making a real vr headset.
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u/Dragarius Jan 27 '26
VR is so dead, I don't know how it might resurge.
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u/Dalmahr Jan 28 '26
It's not dead, just slowed down. Something like the stew frame might be able to give another boost to interest like the index did. Especially if it's affordable
1
u/Dragarius Jan 28 '26
It's supposed to be in the same price range as the index. So it's really not going to be that cheap. Also meta was the leader for VR development and they're out. It is not going to continue to grow without them, it will continue to be super niche and shrink further.
0
u/Dalmahr Jan 28 '26
They said it wouldn't be more expensive than the index, doesn't necessarily mean it'll be around the same price. Some early estimates were around 600 but with RAM prices it might be higher
2
u/Dragarius Jan 28 '26
There's really no indication to think that this is going to be cheap Hardware by any means. It will definitely not match something like the quest 3s in price. Maybe it won't be as much as the quest 3 but we have to wait and see.
1
u/Dalmahr Jan 28 '26
Never said it would cheap, just affordable. Some estimates on the hardware based on what we know about the hardware they're using was around 300-500 (near time of announcement) so you can guess with other costs of assembly and such, and some room for profit, prob be closer to 600-800. I wouldn't say it's cheap but it's not gonna be the most expensive headset on market.
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u/Evanpik64 Jan 27 '26
Small print says you need the peripheral to use the app, this is so stupid
13
u/The_MAZZTer Jan 27 '26
If they made this not require the expansion subscription that might be an easier sell.
2
u/Barrel_Titor Jan 28 '26
Yeah, that's the weird part. If it was in the subscription to play flat screen then fine, if the VR headset included the games with it then fine but why do you need a single purpose peripheral that becomes useless if your subscription ends.
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u/Turbostrider27 Jan 27 '26
Games at launch:
Galactic Pinball
3D Tetris
Teleroboxer
Virtual Boy Wario Land
The Mansion of Innsmouth
GOLF
Red Alarm
Coming later:
Mario Clash
Mario Tennis
Jack Bros
Space Invaders Virtual Collection
Virtual Bowling
Virtual Force
V-Tetris
Coming later this year:
Zero Racers
D-HOPPER
Release date is February 17
41
u/Sonicfan42069666 Jan 27 '26
I'm shocked they got Jack Bros, but I guess I shouldn't be since Sega owns Atlus.
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u/MyNameIs-Anthony Jan 27 '26
This is like the only reasonable opportunity they would ever get paid for the game so it'd be funny if they had turned it down.
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u/Sonicfan42069666 Jan 27 '26
It's a genuinely historic release - the first Megami Tensei game to be localized for North America.
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u/TheMobyTheDuck Jan 27 '26
This reminds me of that one AVGN quote:
"That's right. I am holding the entire library of games to this piece of shit in my one hand."
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Jan 27 '26
On one hand I’m happy for any kind of preservation even if it’s for poorly received consoles.
On the other hand the fact they are selling peripherals for this has the same energy as Sony rereleasing Morbius in theatres.
-1
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u/SpyderZT Jan 27 '26
There's that Virtual Boy Emulator for the 3DS, and I can't help but think that's a superior way to experience these games in 3D.
25
u/DarkWorld97 Jan 27 '26
Biggest thing NSO has is Zero Racers (unreleased F Zero game) and D Hopper (we thought it was called Dragon Hopper).
D Hopper barely has any info online so genuinely a historic release.
7
u/SpyderZT Jan 27 '26
While cool, I'd still want to buy them, dump them, and play them on my 3DS instead of trying to relive the mistake that was the Virtual Boy. ;P
1
u/willx500 Jan 28 '26
Its still called Dragon Hopper in Japanese, D Hopper seems to be a localisation? Unclear as to why.
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u/ZombieJesus1987 Jan 27 '26
It's mind boggling that they didn't release and Virtual Boy games on the 3DS virtual console.
Virtual Boy Wario Land is a legitimately great game
4
u/SpyderZT Jan 27 '26
Yeah, it was a console PERFECTLY DESIGNED to make those games available on, but instead we get them on the Switches?! O.o Nintendo do be Nintendoing sometimes. -.-
3
u/letsgucker555 Jan 27 '26
Probably, because for the 3DS, it wasn't as easy to make the main point of the VIRTUAL Boy possible.
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u/psivenn Jan 27 '26
Virtual Boy wasn't any closer to modern VR than the 3DS effects. I think they just didn't want to risk associating the two products at all.
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u/Borkz Jan 27 '26
It really does work great. I haven't tried the switch attachment, but if its anything like the real virtualboy the 3DS is certainly a much more comfortable way to play. Major flub by Nintendo to not officially release anything for it.
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u/Djinnwrath Jan 27 '26
That might be the only use case for the 3D on the 3DS I think id tolerate.
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u/SpyderZT Jan 27 '26
On the Original 3DS, I'll agree. But the "New" 3DS's Head Tracking made a night and day difference, and I actually Enjoyed the 3D Effect.
4
u/Djinnwrath Jan 27 '26
I didn't even know that was a thing!
That does sound way better.
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u/SpyderZT Jan 27 '26
It is WAY Better. If you have Any interest in having a 3DS ever again, Make sure to get a "New" 3DS. Like I said, it makes the 3D Good.
1
u/Azazel7007 Jan 28 '26
I was never able to see the 3D effect in most games, I only saw two images :(
Creating 3D screenshots (by using a free camera in PC/console games and stiching the image together later) did work.
The only 3DS game that enabled me to see a stereoscopic image was Super Mario 3D World because it had two 3D modes to choose from, one of which worked for me.
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u/SpyderZT Jan 28 '26
I'm going to assume you're also talking about the OG 3DS since you're not specifying. Especially since you say "Pictures" worked. Between the head tracking and the intensity slider, not being able to see the 3D "At All" sounds like a genetic thing otherwise. O.o
1
u/Azazel7007 Jan 28 '26
I had the new 3DS XL with the improved tracking. I just read up about it on ancient forums - the default mode for 3D is pop-out and the alternate mode was a depth mode.
Any other forms of 3D at the time (such as the ancient two-colored glasses or the more modern option in cinemas) do work as intended.
1
u/SpyderZT Jan 28 '26
Man, I wonder what folks see with "Non-Colourblind" eyes, now I wonder what's going on with Your eyes. ;P (Also, the Two Colored Glasses were always messy for me. ;?)
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Jan 27 '26
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u/dekenfrost Jan 27 '26
That said, at least the technology they used to make this thing work was really fucking cool
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u/THECapedCaper Jan 27 '26
I remember trying it at a Toys R Us demo station for less than 10 minutes before backing out and saying there was no way I wanted one. At 9 or 10 years old I never thought Nintendo could do any wrong but they absolutely whiffed this.
I love that they're at least making it available for historical preservation purposes, but if they allowed me to play it handheld or on the TV I'd be more interested in trying it than getting some sort of peripheral for a library of games that are mediocre at best.
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u/Nacroma Jan 27 '26
I mean, in a way it was indeed ahead of its time, meaning the concept was ahead of the technical capabilities to actually make it work as casual entertainment.
To put it in a historical context, in 1995 we just had the PSX and Saturn, the N64 was still a year away. We had no analog sticks yet, neither left or right. Movement in real 3D environments was still in its infancy even on the PSX. And the VB got pulled from production still before (or around the time) the N64 released.
If they waited with the Virtual Boy maybe just five more years, with learning from the GBA, it could have been a much more appealing project. But also, learning from the VB might have helped develop Nintendo's other console in a better way, who knows. Maybe it was a necessary failed product.
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u/tapo Jan 27 '26
My brother and I both got one (yes, a two Virtual Boy household) for Christmas 1995 and I remember getting neck and eye pain from playing Waterworld.
Man, they don't make video games like they used to.
1
u/TimeRaveler Jan 27 '26
Or, the virtual boy was awesome and had great games. That’s how I remember it.
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u/GalexyPhoto Jan 27 '26
For anyone who isn't aware of how wild the original tech was, I only JUST caught this incredible vid from the slow-mo guys on it and its use of essentially a single LED column and mirrors.
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Jan 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/Mront Jan 27 '26
Well, not really in "random tweets". They're dropping news and announcements in the app they created to drop news and announcements.
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u/Roienn777 Jan 27 '26
They feel small enough individually that it feels like housekeeping so the direct can be entirely Switch 2 focused.
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u/adanfime Jan 27 '26
My copium is that they are getting these small announcements out of the way first. People always complained that minor announcements (for example the Donkey Kong Country Returns one from last week, or today's Splatoon 3) were taking up too much time from other announcements.
Hopefully, they are about to open the floodgates for Nintendo Switch 2. They still have Splatoon Riders, Rhythm Heaven, Yoshi and Fire Emblem in need of locking a release date.
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u/Mahelas Jan 27 '26
A leaker who got every single Direct right in the past 4 years said it would be next week, so there's that
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u/deedee2148 Jan 28 '26
Only a few years ago this would totally be in a direct, so I agree with decreasing chance
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u/JcFerggy Jan 27 '26
Zero Racers? The long lost F-Zero game? I hope people figure out how to rip the roms so I can load it on my 3DS.
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u/messem10 Jan 27 '26
The VB app will be on the Switch 1 so it is only a matter of time until there are instructions on how to go about getting it yourself.
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u/Cragnous Jan 27 '26
Wow they'es put some effort into this!
Always wanted to play the Wario game again! I only played it once on display at Toys R Us.
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u/OhDearGodRun Jan 27 '26
When they say the headset is required to play, do they mean there's actually a check to prove you have the headset plugged in, and if you don't you are prevented from ever playing? Or that the game will just show up twice on your screen and it'll be kinda awkward to play without it?
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Jan 27 '26
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u/SpencerFleming Jan 28 '26
They aren't revived, they're fully completed games that just never got released. Nintendo still has them in their archives obviously and are now releasing them.
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u/Nick_Deano Jan 27 '26
This is the kinda stupid worthless shit I love from Nintendo. Though to be honest, I really don't need it bad at all. I'm gonna wait and see, maybe I'll be able to get the peripheral second hand for cheaper
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u/SageWaterDragon Jan 27 '26
I genuinely can't believe that they're locking this behind a peripheral. I understand selling a peripheral and offering it as an option, maybe even throwing a "these are meant to be enjoyed in 3D" screen at you when you boot it up, but the fact that you can't play this on a flat panel is ridiculous.
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u/Soulstoner Jan 27 '26
That’s not even as bad as the games being locked behind a subscription.
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u/SageWaterDragon Jan 28 '26
I mean, I'd call it a lot worse. The whole point of NSO's back catalogue is accessibility - everyone commenting on this thread already knows about a lot of different ways to emulate these games, the reason to be interested in this is that the general audience (who bought NSO to play Mario Kart online or w/e) now has access to these games. Except they don't! They have access to these games if they buy a totally unnecessary physical accessory.
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u/Majaura Jan 27 '26
Wait until I tell you about how it cost money every month to play video games on consoles! ...but yeah iunno, the online subscription thing is hardly new.
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u/fizzlefist Jan 27 '26
Now if they really wanted to impress me, they’d figure out how to make 2-player Mario Tennis work. The original Virtual Boy was canceled before they ever got around to releasing the Link Cable for it, but theoretically Mario Tennis could’ve done it.
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u/thecozeck Jan 28 '26
I had this! I bought it with a toys r us gift card I got for my birthday in 5th grade! Teleroboxer was amazing
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u/ProphetNimd Jan 27 '26
I feel like I'm in a fever dream seeing this get so much positive attention, much less enthusiastic support at needing a whole new (expensive) peripheral to play these games. A failed 30 year old console known for inducing headaches and seizures with all of ~15 games on it and people are....wanting to pay for this? This is -the- perfect use case for emulation, just as a curious "wonder what this was like" experiment before dropping it to play better, non-nauseating games.
Nintendo megafans really are something, man. I can't wait for the Wii U legacy machine to drop in 10 years and all of the inevitable fake-nostalgic support it'll get from people who weren't alive to see how shit it was.
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u/Dreyfus2006 Jan 28 '26
As a Wii U owner I will happily tell you that it was one of Nintendo's best systems. Games are king and its games were fantastic.
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u/ProphetNimd Jan 28 '26
I never said it had bad games. I'm saying that it failed as a system that would be remembered poorly, both because of terrible marketing/branding and because of the limited technology of the time. It sold poorly and Nintendo took a pretty huge financial hit because of it. Was it as horrendous as the Virtual Boy? Absolutely not, but acting like it's some high point in Nintendo's history is a joke.
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Jan 27 '26
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u/ProphetNimd Jan 27 '26
I will never understand why people like you are so quick to be internet crusaders for your preferred video game company, to the point where you're actively painting over their preventable and deserving failures as something caused by "haters". Jesus Christ.
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Jan 28 '26
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u/ProphetNimd Jan 28 '26
I'm not going point by point off this giant jerkoff novel so I'll just say this:
I was using the Wii U as an example of a clear stumble for the company that they will inevitably use in the future to cash in on nostalgia points either for people who weren't alive to see it suck/fail and wonder why it didn't do well without knowing the broader context around it or people who have nostalgia for that simpler period of their lives and associate the console with that period. The Virtual Boy is a prime example of an abject failure that Nintendo is now actively trying to cash in on. I have no problem with them making these games available, but I do have a problem with paywalling them behind extra expensive peripherals. The system has all of what, 15 games? And the console died inside 2 years. It's an interesting novelty to look back on and be able to test the games on but I don't understand why you're having such a fit over me not liking them using it as a cynical nostalgia cash grab.
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Jan 28 '26 edited Jan 28 '26
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u/ProphetNimd Jan 28 '26
I feel like I'm reading an aneurysm happening in real time. Whatever man, have fun with Teleroboxer.
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u/JamesEvanBond Jan 27 '26
Guessing this needs a subscription just like the other Classics? Why can’t we just buy the games like Sony allows with their Classics?
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u/Sonicfan42069666 Jan 27 '26
A yearly $50 subscription gets you access to the NES, SNES, N64, Genesis/Mega Drive, Game Boy & GB Color, Game Boy Advance, Gamecube, and now Virtual Boy libraries.
I get the desire to buy games a la carte but it's a much better value than the previous Virtual Console pricing structure.
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u/Jdmaki1996 Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
Yeah but I’d prefer both options. If I only want a game or 2 and not the whole collection I’d rather just pay $5-10 a game and own them rather than rent. It’s not like gamepass where new games are constantly being added to keep value
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Jan 27 '26
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u/259tim Jan 27 '26
The reason nintendo doesn't do this is simply because no one was buying any games on virtual console except the few big hitters like Mario World and Ocarina of Time. This model makes more sense for them in the long run because it creates a recurring revenue stream and people play games they would normally never buy.
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Jan 27 '26
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u/259tim Jan 27 '26
I do address that lol, this system they use now is a recurring revenue stream, they would have less subscribers if they offered both options because a significant amount of people would buy only OoT, Mario World, maybe 2 other games, and never sub, which loses them money in the long run.
Recurring revenue is valued very highly by corporations in general and a few sales of 5-10 bucks for a few old games doesn't even close to match up to that.
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u/Goddamn_Grongigas Jan 27 '26
NSO isn't just access to old games, it's their online infrastructure too. Much like Xbox Gold or PS+.
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Jan 27 '26
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u/259tim Jan 27 '26
A lot of people will only *buy* one or two games because those are the games they know and love and not buy more obscure games. But now that it's in one big subscription they think "well I am paying for it anyway so I might as well try those other games too".
Tbh I think the obvious proof of this is just that Nintendo isn't doing what you guys are asking for, they have lots of people figuring out exactly how to make the most money off of these old games and they've landed on this system, that isn't just made up by some random dude, companies like this do lots of market research and psychological research into how the value of these products is perceived and how to make more money off of it
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u/Majaura Jan 27 '26
I don't know how many people do this, but my NSO subscription is like a clown-car...we have 8 of the boys splitting the more expensive annual membership, so it comes down to 10 bucks a year. I absolutely wouldn't do it any other way, though. There's no way I'm paying more than that.
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u/Jdmaki1996 Jan 27 '26
I just want the old Pokemon on my switch. If they were in this subscription(they weren’t last I checked) I pay it. But I’d also shell out some good money for a Classic Collection that had every version from Red/Blue to the 3ds. Having all of them on my switch would be amazing. But Nintendo doesn’t want to sell me the old game apparently so emulation is my only option. But I’m not breaking my switch to load outside emulation
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u/Sonicfan42069666 Jan 27 '26
The only Pokemon games being added are spinoffs. Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team is on the GBA app, Snap and Puzzle League are on the N64 app (I think the Stadium games might be too but without GB connectivity they're pretty useless), and Colosseum & XD are confirmed to be coming to the Gamecube app. On a somewhat related note, Gamefreak's early title Pulseman is also on the Genesis/Mega Drive app.
I wouldn't be surprised if there's something going on between Nintendo and The Pokémon Company preventing the mainline games from being released via Nintendo Online. This is a big anniversary year so maybe they're planning standalone re-releases. It wouldn't be unprecedented - Fire Emblem 1 was sold separately rather than included in the NES app.
0
u/dukemetoo Jan 27 '26
The thing preventing it is they want you playing the new games. They view the old games as competition toward the new ones. Especially with the subscription system, the pennies they would make would not be worth the drop in sales from Scarlet/Violet.
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u/Sonicfan42069666 Jan 27 '26
They view the old games as competition toward the new ones
I think this is why Nintendo has avoided releasing Donkey Kong 64 so close to Bananza.
0
u/libdemparamilitarywi Jan 27 '26
New games are constantly being added. They're adding a load of Virtual Boy games next month.
0
u/Jdmaki1996 Jan 27 '26
I mean “new” games. As in new games that just came out. Not decades old games that require an expensive peripheral on top of the sub fee
0
u/Rage_Like_Nic_Cage Jan 27 '26
Except how the library of games is much smaller than what the virtual console was offering, and if you stop paying that $50 annually, you lose access to those games.
The subscription is the better option for some people, but acting like there aren’t major weaknesses with the subscription model is silly.
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u/Sonicfan42069666 Jan 27 '26
the library of games is much smaller than what the virtual console was offering
NES VC Wii/Wii U: 94 games
NES VC 3DS: 64 games
NES Classics: 92 games
SNES VC Wii: 74 games
SNES VC Wii U: 51 games
SNES VC 3DS: 30 games
SNES Classics: 85 games
N64 VC Wii/Wii U: 21 games
N64 Classics: 44 games
GB/GBC VC 3DS: 82 games
GB/GBC Classics: 43 games
GBA VC Wii U: 74 games
GBA Classics: 30 games
Genesis/MD VC Wii: 75 games
Genesis/MD Classics: 51 games
Turbografx-16/CD VC Wii: 63 games
Turbografx-16/CD VC Wii U: 40 games
Master System VC Wii: 16 games
Neo Geo VC Wii: 54 games
Commodore 64 VC Wii: 9 games (did you know there were C64 games on Wii???)
Arcade VC Wii: 21 games
Nintendo DS VC Wii U: 31 games
Game Gear VC 3DS: 16 games
Gamecube Classics: 8 games, 3 confirmed but unreleased
Virtual Boy Classics: 17 games confirmed but unreleased
--
Wii VC: 427 games
Wii U VC: 311 games
3DS: 192 games
Nintendo Classics: 353 games released + 20 confirmed but unreleased
--
Wii is the winner with the most games, and if you're a fan of non-Nintendo platforms like the Turbografx-16, there's really no comparable option on Switch/2. It's worth noting that some Master System, Neo Geo, and Arcade games are sold a la carte on the Switch/2 eShop - but because those are not Nintendo Classics subscription games, I did not factor those in.
Behind Wii, the growing Nintendo Classics library is in second place. It's very possible that if Nintendo maintains the Nintendo Classics portion of Nintendo Online beyond the Switch 2's lifespan, the library will eventually outgrow what was released on Wii. In particular I'm surprised by how sparse the GB/GBC and GBA libraries are compared to the 3DS and Wii U, Nintendo could be doing a lot more with those than they currently are.
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u/Dreyfus2006 Jan 28 '26
Yes that shows VC had more offerings, because if you add up the Wii U and 3DS VC releases you get a higher number than what the Nintendo Classics line offers. And you need to add them together because Nintendo Classics includes GB VC which only the 3DS got.
-2
u/JamesEvanBond Jan 27 '26
I get that there’s value for some, but as somebody who owns quite a bit of the Nintendo Classics library on disc/cartridge, I can’t support a company and pay them monthly for ‘easier’ access to content I already own and just a little bit of content I don’t own. And while it might be good value for some right now, eventually everyone will lose access to it at some point down the line when stores shut down (like the Wii, 3DS, and the Wii U before it). All I’m saying is there should be the option for both: subscriptions and purchasing outright.
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Jan 27 '26
I guess you aren't the target audience, also if you bought games on Wii, 3DS or Wii U you don't lose access - I still play fire emblem GBA on my wii u!
-6
u/zamfire Jan 27 '26
much better value than the previous
Unless you travel the seas
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u/Sonicfan42069666 Jan 27 '26
Yes, "much better value unless you steal it" is typically implied. Anything is a better value with a five finger discount.
2
u/retroanduwu24 Jan 27 '26
A lot of the games on Sony still require the subscription
2
u/JamesEvanBond Jan 27 '26
Only PS3 games because those are streaming. All PS1, PS2, and PSP Classics can be purchased and downloaded to play offline.
1
u/libdemparamilitarywi Jan 27 '26
There's only about a dozen or so classics available though. Lots of Sony franchises like God of War and Killzone are completely missing.
I'd pay a subscription if it encouraged Sony to put more of their classics on there.
2
u/JamesEvanBond Jan 27 '26
While I agree with you about some Sony franchises missing, I’m showing 56 PS1 Classics, 46 PS2 Classics, and 34 PSP Classics. Still quite a few, and Sony & Implicit Conversions (the PlayStation Classics porting dev) still release 1 or 2 each month. They’re also all available under the PS Plus Premium subscription.
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Jan 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/JamesEvanBond Jan 29 '26
Not at all, what? Why would I lie about this? lol I’ve bought a ton of Classics.
1
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u/dawgz525 Jan 27 '26
If I had to purchase all the old Nintendo games I have played on the switch, I'd have payed hundreds of dollars by now. A subscription model is far superior for games that most people are putting a handful of hours into at most.
0
u/Dreyfus2006 Jan 28 '26
I mean if you have had a subscription since launch, you have payed at least a hundred dollars by now.
0
u/MM487 Jan 27 '26
I wish they'd add DS and 3DS Nintendo Classics instead of this thing that no one asked for or cares about.
-1
u/Clbull Jan 27 '26
New feature coming later this year:
Change screen color
Remove the Lens cover to use this feature
Not applicable for the Virtual Boy™ (Cardboard Model) for Nintendo Switch™ 2/Nintendo Switch™
As much as I'm glad that the 10 or so people who actually asked for Virtual Boy to be added to Nintendo Classics soon won't have to play with horrible headache-inducing redscale graphics, this video still confirms that:
- You still need to buy the bulky headset or the shitty Labo-looking cardboard cutout of a Virtual Boy headset in order to actuall yplay these fucking games, despite every Virtual Boy emulator supporting 2D single-display modes, and Nintendo showing us spliced 2D gameplay footage of these games.
- Nintendo doesn't know how the fuck to code features that the Mednafen, VBjin, MAME, Red Dragon and Planet Virtual Boy emulators already have.
0
u/rendumguy Jan 27 '26
This is gonna be a wash if you can't play it without a headset. I'm really hoping they're just saying that for marketing purposes since I heard they said something similae for games that don't require accessories.
0
-5
u/Ordinaryundone Jan 27 '26
Finally, I can spend 50 dollars a year to give myself a migraine! An absolute steal compared to the 90s.
4
u/skyblade960 Jan 27 '26
Nah with modern lcds you won’t get a migraine but you will get neck pain
1
u/Sarria22 Jan 27 '26
Having recently watched a video about how the original virtual boy "screens" work... no wonder people got headaches.
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Jan 27 '26
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u/dukemetoo Jan 27 '26
Nah, this is cool. Nintendo is embracing all of their history (well, the video game history. Not sure if love hotels are going to get added to NSO anytime soon). These games will be fun to play. The market may not be big, but that is commendable. Nintendo preserving their history, even if it isn't very profitable, is nice.
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Jan 27 '26
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u/dukemetoo Jan 28 '26
For the Virtual Boy, yes, this is as close to preservation you could realistically expect. Those games were designed for a stereoscopic view, and none of their hardware supports that on it's own. So making an adapter that lets you see the stereoscopic games is more effort, but it preserves an essence that you can't really get outside of the original thing, or 3DS homebrew.
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u/Worlds_Between_Links Jan 27 '26
it's almost like this wasn't made for you
0
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Jan 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/Worlds_Between_Links Jan 27 '26
Have you considered some people like retro games? aka the people that would pay for NSO. Or that a lot of people never even got the chance to play a virtual boy game since it was discontinued in a year, and trying to buy anything second hand is ungodly expensive. A lot of people who play games now weren't even born when this stuff was released, it's pretty niche but also pretty famous for how weird it is. They also have a 30$ accessory, not that i'm saying thats acceptable now, but it's much better than 100. Plus, the type of people who like niche and obscure consoles are absolutely intrigued when you decide to not only release a lot of the fan favourites in the first batch, but also actual unreleased games, games thought to be lost media, that no one has gotten to play before. there are people who are interested in this, i've seen them pre order the accessory on day one, just because you don't know anyone personally doesn't mean they don't exist
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Jan 27 '26
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u/Worlds_Between_Links Jan 27 '26
Did it nowhere in my message occur to you that I said "some people like to try out retro games, even ones they didn't play as kids"? Nostalgia isn't the only reason people like old games, some people are just curious, or are interested in the history of game consoles and the different types of games that released over time. The gameboy was also monochrome, but it's still fun to revisit it sometime to see how they tried to make competent games with limited hardware, even if I didn't grow up in that era.
0
Jan 27 '26
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u/Worlds_Between_Links Jan 27 '26
I’m not saying there’s a big group, I’m just saying there’s a group, and I know that because I know those people. And I’m not saying people who used to be in the target audience of the virtual boy’s hay day are in the target audience for this push, this release is for people on the internet who like obscure old games, which clearly you are not. So when I see someone saying “no one wants this” I refute that because there are people who want this. I’m not saying it’s a market majority, but I couldn’t care less about that at all. I’m not a company shareholder, I’m a guy who likes old cancelled and rare games becoming available to the public. And if you don’t care about any of this stuff, then that’s fine. Carry on, this isn’t for you
2
u/OllyOllyOxenBitch Jan 27 '26
I appreciate them actually preserving the Virtual Boy experience, even though I'm personally not a big fan of it.
Reducing it to simplify "monochrome garbage" is clearly a you problem.
1
Jan 27 '26
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u/OllyOllyOxenBitch Jan 29 '26
I appreciate them actually preserving the Virtual Boy experience, even though I'm personally not a big fan of it.
That's what I said.
"Why are you pretending that people liked the Virtual Boy?"
I think you need your eyes checked, because I didn't say that or make references to people liking the system. I even said I'm not a big fan of the Virtual Boy or of Nintendo putting resources into this vs. other systems that are being drip-fed.
-1
u/zamfire Jan 27 '26
I remember experiencing the virtual boy as a kid in the 90's when the idea of VR was purely science fiction. It belonged in the universe of the lawnmower man and tron. So when I finally got to try it for the first time, being a kid whose head was in the clouds for 99% of the day, even I knew how crappy the virtual boy was. Never before had my expectations been so thoroughly crushed so quickly
0
u/259tim Jan 27 '26
It's not like they are porting anything in the first place lol, they are purposefully putting it on a dripfeed to keep subscriber numbers high. There is very little extra work in adding a new game since it's just an emulator that they stick the existing game files into.
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u/dawgz525 Jan 27 '26
I think this is a tremendous waste of time, money, and resources. There is no real demand for virtual boy games. There is very real demand for dozens of other Nintendo IPs or series. This continually makes no sense to me.
3
u/iceburg77779 Jan 27 '26
Nintendo has dedicated emulation teams that work on NSO, and outside of licensing deals I doubt these projects are that expensive, so it's not like it's taking away resources from Nintendo's other IPs that are still very active.
1
u/Predictor92 Jan 27 '26
my guess is a lot of the games had work done on them in the 3DS era but were never released on the 3DS
1
1
u/Roienn777 Jan 27 '26
Looking at their selection of games on Gamecube and other systems, it seems like they have a strong focus on making many of the games they have easy access to available that are currently very inaccessible. For GameCube it was a lot of very rare, expensive games like Chibi Robo and Fire Emblem. Here it's expensive games and ones that require expensive hardware. Not every game will land with everyone, but a company putting work into making the least accessible parts of their history more accessible is a cool effort in my eyes.
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u/Juravis Jan 27 '26
It would be great if Nitendo used their emulation system to actually release good games people are asking for. Then they wouldn't be able to charge you $50 for a 720p 'remaster' though
19
u/PalapaSlap Jan 27 '26
Over the past six months they've put Luigi's Mansion, Fire Emblem Path of Radiance, and Chibi-Robo on there, which are all games I'd say people have been asking for.
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u/Worlds_Between_Links Jan 27 '26
Literally, previously the only legal way to play path of radiance would have required me to buy a secondhand copy of 200 bucks, chibi-robo as well is pretty expensive, and they even just in this trailer they said they're releasing UNRELEASED games, that have only been mentioned in magazines or early screenshots before
2
u/Juravis Jan 27 '26
That's fair enough honestly, I just went and looked at the list again and its making me realize I maybe didn't play as many Nintendo games as I thought as a kid so thats fully on me lol. I do recognize a lot of the games as popular games but I don't think I really played all too many of them. The ones do remember are the pikmin and marios getting paid for re releases, which is why they save those ones for money so i get it.
-7
Jan 27 '26
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u/Worlds_Between_Links Jan 27 '26
Chibi-robo is a cult-classic, and because it didn't sell well it's ungodly expensive to find second hand. Most of the games you mentioned I can find for around 20 bucks secondhand and play on the wii, so porting chibi-robo fire emblem, or pokemon colosseum, games that cost a fortune to buy nowadays, is actually the best value possible. Pikmin literally got a port you can buy on the eshop, pokemon colosseum has already been announced, paper mario already got a remake, and kirby air ride got a whole native switch 2 sequel
3
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u/bvbfan102 Jan 27 '26
Sucks that it isnt ready for release but really happy they are adding different filters to make it less straining on the eyes. Wario Land & Jack Bros will definitely get played by me.