A second go at fixing the Virtual Boy: how an expert restores Nintendo’s retro VR headset

Kevin Hofer

17.11.2023

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Video: Davide Arizzoli

My attempt at repairing Nintendo’s Virtual Boy failed, so I got help from an expert to get the VR headset up and running again.

In 1995, Nintendo released the Virtual Boy. A virtual reality headset, on the market for less than a year. The Japanese games giant produced 1.26 million of them – only 777,000 were ever sold. A commercial flop for Nintendo. Given its rarity, the console is very popular among collectors today.

My colleague Domagoj «Domi» Belancic is one of them. He treated himself to the headset a few years ago. Only, it’s defective. The displays either don’t show every line or just stay black. I tried to fix his Virtual Boy some time ago. To no avail.

But I’m not giving up. I’m getting some back-up for a second attempt. Jan Binzegger is the co-founder of Classicgamestore.ch. He not only sells old video games and consoles, but restores them too. Including the Virtual Boy.

Jan explains that I wasn’t on the wrong track with my first repair attempt. Back then, I tried heating the contact point of the ribbon cable – also known as the flex – with a foil iron. All with the goal of refreshing the adhesive holding the cable in place.

In Jan’s assessment, this contact point itself is actually the problem. However, my fix just wasn’t up to snuff. Jan is convinced that even if it had worked the first time, the problem would’ve just reappeared at a later date. After all, no glue lasts forever.

Thankfully, Jan made a new flex cable, which he solders on instead of gluing. This should make it last longer. And indeed, after Jan fits the improved flex, the Virtual Boy runs like new again. Check out the video above to see the whole process. For English subtitles, click the gear icon, «Subtitles/CC» and «Auto-translate».

Thanks to Jan, I was able to play a Virtual Boy for the first time. Even if the device is an ergonomic nightmare, it’s fun, at least for a short time. If you also have an old console in need of restoration, I can definitely recommend Jan’s services.

Kevin Hofer

Senior Editor

kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.ch

From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.

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