If you missed out on Nintendo’s original GameBoy console, or you’re simply nostalgic for the glory days of monochrome portable action, good news – this funky new gadget turns your iPhone into a proper GameBoy, complete with cartridge support.
Hyperkin, known mostly for its range of accessories for consoles, PCs and phones, has already created a ‘RetroN’ games machine which mimics an old-school home console, taking NES and SNES cartridges and delivering a full retro experience in your living room. It’s a great way to show your kids life before the PS4 and Xbox One, and for your precious offspring to stick out their tongues and declare your precious childhood memories ‘sad’ and ‘ugly’.
Now Hyperkin is working on the incredibly exciting SmartBoy, which attaches to your iPhone 6 Plus and converts it into a fully functional Gameboy. Apple’s phone slides into a slot up top, which keeps the top half of the screen free for those gorgeous 8-bit graphics. The bottom half of the touchscreen is used to register the SmartBoy’s physical buttons, which seem to perfectly emulate the original device’s d-pad and the rest.
And to keep things as realistic as possible, you’ll even be able to slot in your old Gameboy cartridges, if you’ve still got them up in a shoebox in the loft.
The SmartBoy is still very much a concept, but Huperkin’s product developer has confirmed that they’re hoping to pack in a battery to keep your iPhone juiced up during lengthy play sessions. He’s also hoping that the final version will include built-in cheats, akin to the awesome Game Genie, plus full save states.
If you don’t own an iPhone 6 Plus, don’t despair or yank out your credit card just yet. Hyperkin is gonna try its damnedest to bring the SmartBoy to Android and Windows Phone handsets too.
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