The Nintendo Virtual Boy was one of Nintendo's earliest portable systems, yet it's almost never referenced by the company, and its games have never been ported to modern systems. The Nintendo Switch Online service has retro games, but it's unlikely that Nintendo will add Virtual Boy titles to the service, even as freebies for subscribers. The Virtual Boy has been revived as a handheld in a fan project in the past, but Nintendo usually ignores its strange first entry into the 3D gaming market.
The Virtual Boy was a bizarre headset with a stand and a controller. The intention was for the player to place their head into the visor of the Virtual Boy, where each eyepiece used a parallax effect to create the impression of 3D depth. There were a few issues with this technology, with the most notable being that users complained of headaches and eyestrain from playing the system. The Virtual Boy could only display games in shades of black and red, severely limiting the visuals and types of games that could be developed for the system. The unusual setup of the system also meant that it wasn't a true handheld, at least not in the same manner as something like the Game Boy.
The Virtual Boy's best games haven't been passed down as classics, as the vast majority of Nintendo fans have never played them. The Virtual Boy only had a limited run, and its games have never been ported. There also isn't much of an incentive to play them through an emulator, as the 3D effect is going to be lost on most screens. Nintendo has the opportunity to bring back the Virtual Boy as part of the Nintendo Switch Online or Expansion Pack services, yet it's unlikely to happen, even with Nintendo's desire to attract people to the service with retro games.
Nintendo's Virtual Boy Was A Famous Flop
The Virtual Boy is Nintendo's second worst-selling system of all time, behind the Nintendo 64 DD, which didn't even receive an international release. The dismal failure of the Virtual Boy led to it being discontinued within the space of a year, which is a shamefully short period of time to support a console, especially for a company like Nintendo, who stuck by the Wii U for years despite its poor sales figures. The Virtual Boy only received twenty-two games throughout its lifespan, some of which only launched in Japan and have become incredibly rare and expensive as a result. Nintendo has never rereleased the Virtual Boy titles on modern systems and the console is usually only referenced in brief cameos in its game. What's surprising about the lack of Virtual Boy rereleases is that another console came along that would have been perfect to receive Virtual Boy games.
Nintendo Missed Its Chance To Bring Virtual Boy Games To The Nintendo 3DS
The Nintendo 3DS had some amazing games, but the Virtual Boys titles weren't among them. There was a time when it would have made a lot of sense to bring Virtual Boy games to modern systems, yet that window has passed, thanks to Nintendo transitioning to a new system. The Nintendo 3DS would have been the perfect system for a Virtual Boy Virtual Console, as the system had a far more impressive 3D setup than the Virtual Boy. The Nintendo 3DS used autostereoscopic 3D that didn't need any special hardware gimmicks to work, as the player simply needed to look at the screen head-on for the 3D effect to work. There was no need for 3D glasses, nor the bulky headset of the Virtual Boy to make images come to life.
The Nintendo 3DS would have been the perfect platform for Virtual Boy games, especially as Nintendo developed 3D versions of some of its classic games for the system, like Kid Icarus. The era of the Nintendo 3DS is drawing to an end, as Nintendo is closing the 3DS/ Wii U eShop in the near future. There's no point in bringing the Virtual Boy games to the Nintendo Switch, as the 3D gimmick will be completely lost, unlike the 3DS, where they may have found a new audience among people who could appreciate the 3D effect without needing to blind themselves on the hardware.
It Makes More Sense To Bring Game Boy & Game Boy Advance Games To NSO
Nintendo's main goal with Nintendo Switch Online and the Expansion Pack is to bring in subscribers to the service. For many people, the retro games are one of the main draws of Nintendo Switch Online, as having access to the 8-bit and 16-bit entries in the Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Star Fox, Metroid, F-Zero, and The Legend of Zelda series. Those who pay for the Expansion Pack also gain access to Nintendo 64 titles, like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, along with online multiplayer support for games like Mario Kart 64. The emulation in some of these games was ropey at first, but it has been improved with post-launch updates that bring them closer in line to the N64 originals.
The Virtual Boy only has a small library of games and only a few of them are worth playing. The loss of the 3D effect also removes a great deal of the appeal of these titles, as the 3D was the entire point of the system. If Nintendo is going to spend time porting old games to the Nintendo Switch to sell as a subscriber incentive, then bringing Game Boy would be the far better choice. A few fans would be excited about games like 3D Tetris, Mario Tennis, or Virtual Boy Wario Land in a Virtual Boy app on Nintendo Switch, but way more people would be excited about the Super Mario Land games, the original Tetris, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Donkey Kong '94, Metroid II: Return of Samus, and the original Pokémon games. The same is also true of the Game Boy Advance library, which also has its fair share of classics, like Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, and Metroid Fusion. Bringing Game Boy games to Nintendo Switch just makes more sense. The Virtual Boy has its fans, but it's unlikely to see a revival on the Nintendo Switch.