With all the recent talk over the reported Nintendo Switch Mini and what Old School Console will be exalted via ”classic” console, Old School Gamer’s Patrick Hickey Jr. makes the argument for the Game Boy and why a return to glory would serve the Nintendo brand wonderfully.
5: Size: This could work beautifully. Make it the size of the Game Boy Pocket, slap on 50 classic games. Release a ton of different colors and all of a sudden you have a collector’s item. You’d be surprised how many people would have one. The size and look of it would have a lot to do with it.
4: It’s Being Done Already: Why shouldn’t Nintendo get in on this when Instagram is swamped with hackers creating their own?
3: Amazing Library: The Game Boy literally has it all. Wonderful Mario and Pokemon games, Tetris and a strong third party lineup. It would make for the perfect emulated classic console.
2: Enable Wired Link Play: It wouldn’t be a detriment at all and would actually get people literally connected in ways they haven’t in years.
1: It’s Nintendo’s Reason For Being: Without the Game Boy family of consoles, it’s fair to say the developer/publisher could have ended up the same way so many others have after a failed console or two. Reviving the Game Boy is the perfect way for Nintendo to embrace their roots once again.
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Patrick Hickey Jr. is the author of the book, “The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult and Classic Video Game Developers,” from McFarland And Company. Featuring interviews with the creators of 36 popular video games–including Deus Ex, NHLPA 93, Night Trap, Mortal Kombat, Wasteland and NBA Jam–the book gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of some of the most influential and iconic (and sometimes forgotten) games of all time. Recounting endless hours of painstaking development, the challenges of working with mega-publishers and the uncertainties of public reception, the interviewees reveal the creative processes that produced some of gaming’s classic titles.
