We can’t say we had high hopes, however Nintendo has now confirmed that its Labo VR Kit won’t work on the newly unveiled Nintendo Switch 2.
Released in 2019, Nintendo’s Labo: Toy-Con 04 VR Kit was the company first public experiment in modern VR, which included a cardboard holder and lenses, letting Switch owners slot in the handheld console to play a variety of interesting mini-games, many of which included their own one-off DIY cardboard gadgets.
Now, after the company’s big Nintendo Direct livestream yesterday, which included the unveiling on its $450 Switch 2 handheld, the company says Labo VR simply won’t work on its next-gen console—fairly obvious, since Switch 2’s 7.9 inch (~20cm) display is larger than the original’s 6.2 inch (15.75cm) display.
“The Nintendo Switch 2 console cannot be inserted into the Toy-Con VR Goggles accessory, so this game cannot be played,” Nintendo confirms in its official Switch 2 game compatibility guide.
That also means you won’t be able to play any of the Nintendo titles that support basic VR viewing on that higher-res (but larger), higher frame rate display, which included The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
That said, the company introduced Labo VR well after the launch of the original Switch, which came out in 2017, so it’s possible the Japanese gaming giant could have something else up its sleeve, again moving in its usual slow and deliberate manner.
For now, there are only really a few measly crumbs of hope. In 2024 Nintendo published a patent for a VR add-on similar to Labo VR, which seems closer to a Cardboard-like design that would slot into a Nintendo handheld. Granted, all products have patents, but not all patents have products, so it could just be another case of Nintendo marking territory rather than creating a product as such.
There was also a rumor in late 2023 that Nintendo was partnering with Google to create a standalone headset, although we’ve heard nothing since. Instead, Google seems to be focusing on developing its Android XR operating system for the upcoming Samsung Project Moohan mixed reality headset.
To dive a little deeper, check out why we think Nintendo hasn’t made a real VR headset yet. And nope, Virtual Boy definitely doesn’t count.
