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Nintendo may bring Game Boy games to phones

If there's one thing that Nintendo has that the other big console makers don't, it's a very strong history of portable gaming titles. Sure Sony has its PSP and Vita back catalogues, but neither can hardly compare to the sheer volume of games that have been released on the various Game Boys over the years. If you never had one of those chunky grey consoles, or any of its successors though, you may still be in luck, as earlier this year Nintendo patented a method for emulating its games on smartphones, PCs and elsewhere.

gameboyseat

Thanks to the clever chaps over at NeoGAF, a patent application by Nintendo was dug up from June 2014, that essentially extends a patent for similar technology from a few years before. However it does contain suggestions beyond just making games work on your phone or tablet, there's also talk of making them work with airline and train touch-screen displays, as well as on home PCs and other platforms.

Much of the rest of the patent however, discusses problems with emulating games at a good enough quality with hardware far more advanced than what was available in the original Game Boys.

gameboyseat2

Due to the age of the original patent, the wording in this one is a little archaic, discussing the proliferation of “personal computers,” and “PDAs” as a trend that's worth taking advantage of. Clearly that didn't happen, but perhaps this latest push by Nintendo is a way for it to crack down on third party emulators. Here's hoping if that's the case, it at least releases its own and doesn't just use this patent to go after other developers.

KitGuru Says: A smart move would just be to pick the best third party application and hire the people behind it. I hope Nintendo does. Pokemon on my phone would be awesome. 

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8 comments

  1. It’s not going to happen.
    Iwata said “Never.” only last year when asked about making games for any hardware platform other than Nintendo’s own. They believe (and rightly so in my opinion) that any short term gain from going multiplatform would lead to a long term loss.
    If you want to play Pokémon you have to buy a 3DS from Nintendo to do it.
    Nintendo games have been licensed to inflight entertainment systems for years though, that’s what this patent is about.

  2. It did say “gameboy” games. You know those consoles that nintendo doesn’t actually produce/sell any more?

  3. I’ve been playing gameboy games on my phone for years… emulators yo

  4. With most systems moving closer and closer to standard x86 builds, I dream of a future where every major platform also has a PC client. “PSN for PC”, just sync up a controller and remote play or native.

  5. “If you want to play Pokémon you have to buy a 3DS from Nintendo to do it.”. No, you dont. I’ve been playing gen 3 games (emerald is the best pokemon released till now) on my phone without a cinch, I even have access to bluetooth and wi-fi connecting with my own copy of the game or other players. I sent them an e-mail telling them to do it sooner, they didn’t listen. DS emulators are still a bit laggy, but the main problem resides in the fact that there are two screens to account for, it is therefore annoying to play on a small phone. However I’ve also managed to play DS games flawlessly on my phone. They should have done this way sooner, then people wouldn’t have created emulators, and they wouldn’t have lost the market. Now emulators deliver an experience with sharper graphics, the ability to trade and battle with other players through normal mobile functions, easy cheat inputting, modifiable button layout, controller support (you can play pokemon on your phone with a wireless controller), a quick load/quick save support, and a fast-forward/slow option from 0.25x to 16x. Nintendo has lost any chance of making it back to the mobile market.

  6. Sure, if you’re happy to be a chav thief there are all sorts of ways to steal Nintendo games.

  7. a chav thief? I paid a full price nintendo DSi and a full price pokemon white. I think It’s fair that I get to play older pokemon versions. And I did pay for the emulator.

  8. You think its fair because you’re a chav thief.

    You’re taking things that don’t belong to you without the owners permission. You’re a thief. And you’re trying to justify it by claiming you deserve to have them without paying anything just because you want them. So you’re a chav.

    You’re a chav thief.