Rumours are (once again) rife that Nintendo could be on the brink of bringing back the Game Boy, nearly 30 years on from the hand-held console’s original launch.
This, of course, isn’t the first time that rumours of a Game Boy relaunch have done the rounds, but this time there’s reason to believe the speculation isn’t as farfetched as it might have seemed in the past.
A new trademark application filed by Nintendo has breathed new life into the rumours, which follow the release of mini versions of the NES Classic and SNES Classic.
Submitted last month, the application was accompanied by an image of a Game Boy. This was then picked up by a Japanese trademark bot which then sent the following tweet…
[商願2017-123766]
商標:[画像] /
出願人:任天堂株式会社 /
出願日:2017年9月15日 /
区分:9(家庭用テレビゲーム機用プログラムほか),14(キーホルダーほか),18(かばん金具ほか),21(化粧用具ほか),25(被服ほか),28(家庭用テレビゲーム… pic.twitter.com/noRhof6vF1— 商標速報bot (@trademark_bot) October 6, 2017
At this stage, little else is known about Nintendo’s plans for a Game Boy relaunch – if indeed they do have any plans for it at all. Logic would suggest that if they were to bring it back, the size of the original consoles would make bringing out a scaled-down version – as has been the case with the NES and SNES Classics – would be pointless.
The Game Boy was originally released in Japan and across North America in 1989, reaching European shores a year later. With its 30th anniversary approaching, perhaps an official announcement is on the cards…
