Following the success of the NES Classic and Super NES Classic, it seemed all but inevitable that Nintendo would continue the line with another vintage video game system packed with classic games. Common belief in the gaming community is that the Nintendo 64 would be the next in line, but recent developments indicate that may not be the case.
A September 15th trademark filing in Japan, as discovered by @trademark_bot, reveals that the next in line could instead actually be a Game Boy Classic.
Here’s the thing: The original Game Boy was very much a product of its time, and is different from the NES and Super NES in many ways that lead to numerous questions about what Nintendo would do with a Classic re-release.
For starters, there’s the form factor. The Nintendo Classics line has taken to shrinking down its consoles into a palm-sized portable package, but the original Game Boy was already around the same size as the Classic home consoles. It was a bit of a brick, but they also developed a sleeker version in the Game Boy Pocket, leaving us to wonder if they would follow the original design (the image above in the trademark filing seems to support this), the Pocket, or perhaps split the difference and give us a Game Boy Classic that looks similar to the original, but is sized like the Pocket.
Then there’s the matter of the screen. One would assume that unlike the original, a Game Boy Classic would feature some form of backlight, but what about the colors? The original was notorious for its creamed spinach color, while later versions had black and white screens. Would Nintendo aim for authenticity, or embrace the advances in technology? Or even allow users to choose which they prefer?
Then there are the games. Following the NES Classic’s 30 and the Super NES Classic’s 21, it’s hard to know how many Nintendo would deem to include — as well as if Game Boy Color titles are fair game, either. Still, there’s no shortage of great titles to squeeze into the package, from the Super Mario Land series to the follow-up Wario Land games, Metroid II: Return of Samus, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, the many various Pokémon, and so much more — and that’s not even touching on the third-party stuff!
Of course, the biggest question of all is when — or if — we’ll see anything about this confirmed. At the moment, Nintendo is already trying to fulfill demand of the Super NES Classic, with the NES Classic poised to resume production next Summer. In the meantime, one final question for you: What would you like to see in a Game Boy Classic?
