Nintendo is apparently working on an official Game Boy phone case

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Nintendo has obviously been warming up to the mobile scene, with games like Animal Crossing, Mario, and most recently Dragalia Lost all hitting smartphones with much success. Now, it seems, Nintendo wants to look at ways to tug on the heartstrings of even more gamers with this new patent application that was first discovered by Siliconera.

And it makes sense. Retro gaming is definitely on the rise thanks to things like Nintendo Switch Online and its growing count of retro games, Sony’s PlayStation Classic, and of course, the various NES and Super NES retro consoles that have released in recent years. Heck, even third-parties have joined the retro craze with Game Boy-style cases for iPhones.

What is contained in the Game Boy case patent?

The patent application shows a folding case design that looks like it is intended for a smartphone, but Nintendo is making sure to cover its bases, saying that it could also apply to other electronic devices “such as a tablet terminal that does not have a telephone function.”

As you can tell from some of the images, the case will flip over onto the phone and the buttons on the case will push through to the corresponding places on the touchscreen and interpret it correctly (hopefully). This is accomplished through the use of conductive sheets that mimic that of a person’s finger when navigating a smartphone.

There are a bunch of phones and screen sizes

The biggest issue I see with this case is that there are a variety of phones and screen sizes on the market. Even if you just look at the iPhone, you have three sizes on just the newest model. How will the case not only determine the corresponding button placement but display the appropriate screen size in the viewing window?

Maybe there will be options in an accompanying app that lets you choose your phone model, but it still doesn’t change the fact that all of these phones have different physical sizes, as well, and no one wants a loose case around their $1000 phone.

If you can’t wait for Nintendo to release an official case, here are some options from Amazon.

What do you think of the case? Is this something you’d buy? Let us know in the comments.

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