SmartBoy Turns Your Phone Into A Fully-Functional Cartridge-Playing Game Boy

Nathan Birch

11/09/2017 05:50 pm EST

Still have a collection of classic Game Boy games sitting in a dusty closet somewhere? If you're a child of the 80s or 90s, you almost certainly do. Unfortunately, those games will probably stay in that closet, as rounding up a still-functional Game Boy and the required double-A batteries is a pain in the butt.

Well, thanks to the SmartBoy, you can now play all your old Game Boy carts on your phone, with no funny business required. Gaming hardware and accessory maker Hyperkin first revealed the SmartBoy as an April Fools' joke back in 2015, but then quickly admitted the device was actually real. Hyperkin started offering a SmartBoy "development kit" via their website in 2016, but now they're giving the device a full release.

(Photo: Hyperkin)

Play the original Pokemon Red and Blue off your original save on the bus! Keep the SmartBoy at your desk, and induldge in a little Mole Mania or The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX on your lunch break! Force your kids to play handheld games the way you used to play 'em. The possibilities are endless.

SmartBoy Details

(Photo: Nintendo/Hyperkin)

Here's the full SmartBoy rundown from Hyperkin:

Hyperkin will be releasing the SmartBoy through the Samsung Mobile Accessory Partnership Program (SMAPP) to the U.S. and Korean market. Originally a development kit in late 2016, the SmartBoy attaches to Android smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S8, turning your smartphone into a handheld gaming device.

The SmartBoy is compatible with actual NTSC/PAL Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, while sporting a classic-style tactile button set, making the SmartBoy look and feel like a real handheld gaming console. Out of the box, the SmartBoy was designed for current-gen Samsung devices with USB Type-C ports, like the Samsung Galaxy S8 - other Android device compatibility may vary. Hyperkin Product Developer, Chris Gallizzi, was ecstatic to learn his team's baby is now a retail-ready device officially licensed by Samsung.

'The SmartBoy has been about two years in the making - three if you count the months we were kicking around the idea,' Gallizzi said. 'From an April Fool's Joke, to a successful dev kit, and now an officially licensed device, that little guy has come a long way!'

SmartBoy Features

Features:

- Compatible with NTSC/PAL cartridges

- Plays GB and GBC cartridges

- Classic-style tactile button set

- Designed for current-gen Samsung devices

- Phone Size: 5.2 - 6 inches

- Upscales to phone's resolution

- USB Type-C port

- Does not require batteries

The SmartBoy puts Nintendo power back in the palm of your hand in either late spring or summer of this year, at a price of $50.

[via Nintendo Life]

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