Exclusive: Virtual Boy Pro Revealed! All the Details on Nintendo's Wildest System Yet
Nintendo has revealed the Nintendo Virtual Boy Pro, a new hardware accessory compatible with Nintendo Switch consoles that looks like one of its wildest projects yet.
The Virtual Boy Pro appears to be a VR headset-style device that docks into the Nintendo Switch system while detached Joy-Con controllers control the action on screen, superimposing gameplay over the player’s real-life surroundings at home or away. The Virtual Boy Pro joins a growing list of official first-party Nintendo Switch accessories like Ring Fit, a hula hoop shaped exercise thing that also involves a different thing strapped to your leg, and Nintendo Labo, a cardboard box that had other smaller cardboard boxes inside it.
Over 140 million Switch consoles have been sold since it was released in 2017.
The Virtual Boy Pro will allow Nintendo Switch owners to experience a wide variety of newly-revealed titles in iconic Nintendo franchises, now playable in augmented reality. In one scene we see a player use the device to play the all-new Mario Kart: Open Road while operating an actual motor vehicle, leading to the sounds of tires screeching and crashing noises followed by cheers of excitement from iconic Mario Bros. character Luigi. It is unclear if the player survives the automobile crash in real life.
Nintendo had previously experimented with augmented reality (also referred to as “AR” by people who didn’t want to say the word “augmented” a bunch of times a day) with the Nintendo 3DS, a 3D capable handheld device that came bundled with a handful of cards that most players immediately lost or discarded on purpose.
“When we think about our history of beloved and successful handheld and console hardware here at Nintendo,” stated legendary Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, “we specifically don’t think about the Virtual Boy at all, mostly because it wasn’t beloved or successful. It also wasn’t a handheld or a console, really.”
When we think about our history of beloved and successful handheld and console hardware here at Nintendo, we specifically don’t think about the Virtual Boy at all
He then added, “What even was it? That was really weird of us, honestly. Still can’t believe we pulled that off, if you can even call a product that was almost immediately discontinued as ‘pulling that off.’ Anyway, I personally loved it, and I’ve been at Nintendo for a long time so when I wanted to bring it back they had to listen to me. It’s not like they can fire me and I’ll never quit. I invented Donkey Kong. He’s like King Kong but much smaller and he wears a tie, like he’s going to a job interview. He changed the world. I also made up Mario.”
Miyamoto will be turning 72 in November, and has been with Nintendo for almost fifty years. His favorite foods are ramen, pasta and any kind of noodles in general. IGN reached out to Nintendo for more fun factoids, but have not gotten any response.
It’s like the Nintendo Switch 2… sort of
While Nintendo fans around the world have spent years anticipating thea Nintendo Switch 2 andor Nintendo Switch Pro — a much-rumored, more powerful follow-up to 2017’s hit Nintendo Switch console — it seems they’ll have to make do with the Virtual Boy Pro instead.
Nintendo hasn’t revealed a price for the device yet, although the original Virtual Boy system had a launch MSRP of $179.95. However, that was in 1995 where the average sitcom family of five could afford a spacious suburban home on a single income and the highest-grossing movie of the year was Batman Forever, so things are definitely a little different now. Demonstrably worse in a lot of ways when it comes to the house stuff, but at least 2022’s The Batman is a better Batman movie than Batman Forever.
Everyone doubted Robert Pattinson as Batman but that’s because they only watched him in Twilight and Harry Potter, and they didn’t watch him in Good Time or The Lighthouse where he totally ruled and showed a lot of range and acting talent.
What did you think of Val Kilmer’s powerhouse performance in Batman Forever? And more importantly, will you be pre-ordering a Nintendo Switch Virtual Boy Pro? Let us know in the comments!
For more on upcoming Nintendo hardware and game reveals, keep reading IGN, a website that also makes a bunch of videos other places. Most of the time, they’re not fake..
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
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