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Virtual Boy games are coming to Nintendo Switch Online

But you’ll need a special headset accessory to play them.

But you’ll need a special headset accessory to play them.

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Andrew Webster
is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.

Nintendo’s oft-maligned VR headset the Virtual Boy is getting a new life on modern hardware. Nintendo announced that the platform will be coming to its collection of retro games available to Switch Online subscribers, and will be available on both the Switch and Switch 2.

The twist is that in order to play these games you’ll need a dedicated headset accessory, which looks just like the original hardware, but lets you slot in the Switch (or Switch 2) tablet for viewing the games. A cardboard model will also be available, which sounds similar to the Labo VR headset. The main headset accessory will cost $99.99 according to Nintendo, while the cardboard version will be $24.99.

A total of 14 games will be available through the service, including the likes of Mario Tennis and Tetris. Nintendo says they’ll be available starting February 17th, though the 14 games will be launching over time.

Update: added official pricing from Nintendo’s site.

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