Hyperkin's Smart Boy can turn a smartphone into a working gameboy (Photo : YouTube/The Verge)
Hyperkin, the company that introduces retro consoles such as the Retron 5 and Supaboy, will try to reborn the golden days of the famous Game Boy consoles, but this time, furnishing it as an Android-ready peripheral.
Dubbed as Smart Boy, the device takes the familiar physical experience of Game Boy through tactile buttons and D-pad on an original big grey brick. Also, there will be pockets at the back for hard cartridges that will let players bring back their past favorite video games, Gizmag reported.
Although it gives that old-school gaming experience a comeback, Smart Boy will still function together with an Android phone as its top-half screen serves as the game's display. There will be a double-sided micro-USB slot built in as well.
According to Nerd Reactor, Smart Boy will not apply to every Android hand-held devices due to the restrictions on the accessory's size, which is based on the size of the phone's screen. For now, it is perfectly suited on devices with big screens such as Samsung 7.
As of the moment, the Smart Boy is simulated as a developer kit, so the device comes with an open source serial app and firmware, which Hyperkin endorses to interested people who would want to advance the current build in order to make it a retail-ready model. As an incentive to prospective developers, Hyperkin is offering a royalty percentage on the product's sales to whoever can advance the firmware.
However, if players would only want to relive the 90's nostalgia of Game Boy consoles through the Game Boy cartridges they have kept for so long, they could just power on their consoles anytime since its high-durable. Through this, they would not need to buy a Smart Boy Device.
There are still no details if Smart Boy will be configured for iPhone platforms, given that the peripheral is a complete reversal of the concept's original announcement back in April, which was initially an April Fool's joke.
Based on news reports, the Smart Boy development kit will be available in December 2016 and will set a price of US$59.99.
Watch how Hyperkin's Smart Boy can turn a smartphone into a working gameboy:
