A trademark filing by Nintendo back on September 15 suggests that after the NES Classic we'll be getting a Game Boy Classic. (Reuters: ES/JO/SB)
The success of the NES Classic and SNES Classic pretty much guarantees Nintendo will release an N64 Classic and maybe even a GameCube Classic. But launching a Game Boy Classic handheld would surely set new sales records in this category. Unfortunately, it looks as though Nintendo may have other plans for its original portable gaming device.
As Siliconera reports, a new patent has been filed by Nintendo for a Game Boy case that a touchscreen device such as a smartphone sits inside. The buttons on the case would tap the touchscreen when pressed and therefore register as button presses in whatever game is being played on the section of the touchscreen visible through the cutout where the Game Boy screen would be.
Filed back in March, this clearly looks like a play by Nintendo to offer up a library of classic Game Boy games for anyone with a smartphone to play. Simply purchase the case, place your phone inside and download an app, which will take the form of a Game Boy emulator. Games may be included with the app, or more likely will be purchased separately as apps (or game bundles) themselves.
Offering a case rather than a complete Game Boy certainly saves on cost for Nintendo, but it also poses a few big problems. For example, every smartphone is a different size so how does the Game Boy case cope with that? Is there a size minimum and maximum? Or has Nintendo found a size that works for every phone currently available? That seems very unlikely.
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I'd be surprised to see this case launch and it may just be Nintendo using a patent to block someone else attempting the same thing. Remember, we've already had the SmartBoy phone case from Hyperkin, which allows you to use Game Boy cartridges and play games on your smartphone legally. It's a clever idea, and one that may have grabbed Nintendo's attention.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
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