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It’s not often Nintendo Switch Online gets a new feature. In fact, it’s pretty rare. This isn’t unique to NSO either. The same applies to PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass. While all three are regularly updated with new games, feature-wise all are fairly stagnant. Not completely stagnant, but the priority is churning through content because ultimately that is what brings subscribers in and keeps them subscribed. That said, alongside word of three new games being added soon, we have word of a new feature about to drop.
It’s safe to say, not many are subscribing to Nintendo Switch Online for the Virtual Boy games. The NES, SNES, Game Boy, N64, or GameCube games? Absolutely. Will more come in when DS and Wii games are added? Definitely. Virtual Boy has to be the least or close to the least engaged with platform that the subscription service offers. There are a few reasons for this, but the chief is that next to nobody has nostalgia for it because next to nobody bought the thing back in the 1990s. There are Virtual Boy enthusiasts out there, though, many of whom are likely subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online to easily access the Virtual Boy catalog on modern hardware.
If you are one of these people, you will be happy to know that come August 4 Nintendo Switch Online — and specifically the Virtual Boy app — is getting a screen color customization feature that will allow users to select from various color preferences for screen customization by using the right control stick and L/R buttons. You can see an example of the feature in practice below:
Of course, this is not a game-changing feature, nor is it clear why Nintendo felt the need to add this, and add it to the least popular system featured in the Nintendo Switch Online library. That said, it’s a nice surprise for those who play Virtual Boy games via Nintendo Switch Online, and shows that Nintendo is experimenting with improving the experience of playing these classic games on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
Unfortunately, this new feature is not relevant for many Nintendo Switch Online subscribers because while Virtual Boy games are available on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 — unlike GameCube games, which are limited to Switch 2 — it’s locked behind the Expansion Pack tier like some other platforms are. And this is a little odd because it’s not like the Virtual Boy drives a lot of interest in the Expansion Pack.
The standard Nintendo Switch Online subscription currently costs $20 a year, the same amount it has cost since the inception of the subscription service. The Expansion Pack, meanwhile, costs $50 a year. This is a hefty price bump, but it still makes it far cheaper than PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass