{"id":135618,"date":"2026-01-10T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-195787"},"modified":"2026-01-10T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T16:00:00","slug":"opinion-the-nintendo-console-nobody-wanted-to-review-returns-soon-and-im-here-for-it-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2026\/01\/10\/opinion-the-nintendo-console-nobody-wanted-to-review-returns-soon-and-im-here-for-it-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: The Nintendo Console Nobody Wanted To Review Returns Soon, And I’m Here For It, Again"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Virtual<\/a>
<\/span> Image: Damien McFerran \/ Nintendo Life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As someone who witnessed its initial release, I\u2019m delightfully baffled that Nintendo is resurrecting the Virtual Boy. We aren’t just getting a passing mention or a trophy in a Smash Bros.<\/strong> game; we\u2019re getting a full-blown revival, including a dedicated NSO app<\/a>, a $100 authentic replica peripheral<\/a>, and a $25 cardboard cutout<\/a> for the Labo<\/a> diehards.<\/p>\n

All this for the console that married Game Boy visuals with Vectrex<\/a>-style wireframes, stuffed them into a View-Master shell, and doused the whole package in a colour palette straight out of a 19th-century darkroom.<\/p>\n

Yeah, that<\/em> Virtual Boy.<\/p>\n

For 30 years, Nintendo\u2019s first rule of Virtual Boy was “You do not talk about Virtual Boy,” yet here we are in 2026, and Nintendo is embracing the most eccentric chapter in their storied history. I\u2019m dumbfounded, but honestly, I\u2019m here for it.<\/p>\n

1995: Rose-Coloured Glasses<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For most, the Virtual Boy is more meme than memory – particularly for European gamers who missed it entirely. When it launched, I was a video game columnist for the Journal-American<\/a>, right in the heart of Nintendo of America’s backyard: the Seattle Eastside. My journalistic credentials earned me an early look at the Virtual Boy, plus day one copies of the console and all four launch titles.<\/p>\n

\"Virtual<\/a>
<\/span> Image: Nathan Lockard<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My August 18, 1995 article covered the launch, and I was surprisingly optimistic, as evidenced by my headline \u201cNintendo\u2019s 3-D gaming system first step in the right direction\u201d. I saw potential in Mario\u2019s Tennis<\/a> and the wireframe wonder, Red Alarm<\/a>, and I even theorised that if games kept coming out, the Virtual Boy would become as much of a household name as the Game Boy.<\/p>\n

I was half right. It became a household name alright, just not for the reasons Nintendo\u2019s marketing team had hoped.<\/p>\n

A Silly Seven Months<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By any measure, the Virtual Boy had a rough life. With only 22 games worldwide<\/a> and fewer than 800,000 units sold, its owners belonged to one of the most exclusive clubs in gaming history.<\/p>\n

The VB\u2019s sales were so poor that in 1996, a little more than a year post-launch, my younger brother won an award at Sears for selling a single system. By that point, moving one<\/em> unit was the retail equivalent of selling dirt to a desert dweller.<\/p>\n

Frustration was palpable even within Nintendo\u2019s inner circles. I remember visiting the offices of Golin\/Harris, Nintendo\u2019s marketing consultants, and hearing them complain that major magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) couldn\u2019t be bothered to review Virtual Boy games.<\/p>\n

EGM ignored it, but Nintendo\u2019s Tripod made an appearance in my other writing gig at the time, the 3-2-1 Contact<\/a> magazine. My colleague, Rusel, wrote reviews for the entire Virtual Boy launch lineup, while I had the more enviable task of reviewing Chrono Trigger<\/a> on the SNES. I must\u2019ve drawn the long straw that month.<\/p>\n