Nintendo is bringing back the reviled ‘Virtual Boy’ as a Switch accessory

Nintendo has a long history of redefining gaming with consoles that capture the imagination of kids and adults alike. They also made the Virtual Boy — and let’s be honest, that one was a dud.

Now, nearly 30 years later, the infamous headache machine known for its drab red-and-black video games is making a comeback as an accessory for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. For $99, you can once again fry your retinas with stereoscopic 3D — this time to play the original Virtual Boy lineup, freshly added to the Nintendo Classics library.

When Nintendo launched the Virtual Boy console in 1995, it was an instant critical and commercial flop, and then discontinued by August of 1996. The $179.95 price tag (about $382 in 2025), the clunky headset, the shallow game library, and a “VR” experience that was really just a red-on-black 3D gimmick all doomed it from the start. Its reputation as a discomfort machine was so bad that X-Play once parodied Saw by using the Virtual Boy as an actual torture device.

The new Virtual Boy accessory is a replica and essentially serves as a Switch 2 stand while also working as 3D glasses to deliver the same stereoscopic effect. Why Nintendo never tried something similar with the 3DS remains a mystery.

Nintendo says it will re-release all 14 North American Virtual Boy titles — including Teleroboxer, Mario Tennis, and Virtual Boy Wario Land — through the Nintendo Classics library. The replica headset launches on February 17, 2026, for $99.99, with a budget cardboard edition available for $24.99.