Tag Archives: Game Boy

Nintendo Warns Fans to “Immediately” Stop Using Old Hardware

Nintendo has issued a warning to fans to “immediately” stop using some of its old hardware. If you’re on the NES, SNES, N64, Game Cube, Game Boy, DS, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, or any Nintendo gaming console from yesteryear, you don’t have to worry. This time, “hardware” does not refer to console. However, if you’re using the “Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector (NTR-010)” or the “Nintendo Wi-Fi Network Adapter (WAP-001)” — released in 2005 and 2008, respectively — Nintendo suggests you stop due to security issues. 

The warning comes from the official Nintendo Japan website, so it’s possible some meaning and vital context is being lost in translation, but it’s clear that Nintendo warns against owners of these items from using them, especially continuously. 

“Regarding the network devices ‘Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector (NTR-010)’ and ‘Nintendo Wi-Fi Network Adapter (WAP-001)’ released by Nintendo Wi-Fi in 2005 and 2008, please stop using them from the viewpoint of security protection and switch to commercially available network devices,” says Nintendo.  “These products have been around for more than 10 years since their launch, and we have confirmed that there are the following concerns when they are used continuously.

The statement continues:

“If you continue to use these devices, there is a risk that they may be illegally accessed from the outside, or that the connected terminal may be infected with a computer virus, etc. For customers who are currently using it, please stop using it immediately and switch to commercially available network equipment for security protection. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and ask for your understanding and cooperation.”

It’s unclear why this statement has all of a sudden been issued, as these devices have surely been vulnerable from a security standpoint for a while, but clearly, the issue was recently brought to Nintendo’s intention. As always, we’ll keep you updated as the situation evolves. In the meantime, for more coverage on all things Nintendo, click here.

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Game Freak Had Plans For 65,535 Versions Of The Original Pokémon Game

Pokémon has always had two different versions, but before the original games were released on Game Boy in 1996, Game Freak had plans for something else.

In new translations of old Japanese interviews (via the YouTube channel Did You Know Gaming), it’s revealed how Game Freak wanted 65,535 different versions of the first generation Pokémon games.

This idea was tied to the Trainer ID system – where players would be assigned a number between 1 and 65,535. Depending on the number generated, their own experience would be slightly different – determining the Pokémon that appeared in each game, the shape of certain locations, and more.

This was eventually axed when Game Freak was visited by Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, who told the company’s founder Satoshi Tajiri that the idea might be difficult for players to grasp, and suggested a different colour palette instead (via VGC):

“I talked to Miyamoto about how we’d make players understand that every cartridge is different when they buy one, and he told me the system sounded interesting, but it was a bit difficult to grasp. He said if players can’t tell just by looking at it, then it won’t work out and it would be better if the games’ colour or appearance were different. “

And that’s how Pokémon Red and Blue (or Red and Green in Japan) came to be. One other version was eventually released – Pokémon Yellow, starring Pikachu.

Are you a fan of the two version release cycle with Pokémon? Have you decided which version you’ll be getting later this year when Scarlet and Violet arrive on the Nintendo Switch? Leave a comment below.



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Video: MVG Investigates The Switch Online GBA Emulator Leak

Earlier this week, a new Nintendo leak supposedly surfaced online – suggesting a Game Boy Advance emulator was in the works for the Switch Online service.

If you’re still not entirely convinced, Modern Vintage Gamer has now taken a look in his latest YouTube video. In brief, he’s also convinced the GBA emulator codenamed “Sloop” was also developed by Nintendo, or at least NERD (aka the Nintendo European Research & Development team).

“In conclusion, yes – I do believe Sloop was developed by Nintendo…and it’s incredibly embarrassing for Nintendo that this leak has gotten out.”

Of course, although this seems to be a legit Nintendo leak, keep in mind there are no guarantees Nintendo will actually release this public, or the games it’s supposedly tested for the same emulator.

What do you make of this leak yourself? Do you think be getting a Game Boy announcement for Switch Online in the near future? Leave your thoughts down below.



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Rumour: Here Are The Supposed GBA Games “Tested” For Switch Online So Far

Image: Nintendo Life

In case you missed it, the Nintendo Switch could possibly be adding Game Boy titles to its online service in the near future.

Following on from the initial “leak”, a list of games apparently tested for the service has now been shared online by Twitter user and dataminer MondoMega. The games highlighted in yellow in the list below have supposedly been in the ROM folder “at some point” but have not appeared in the leaked build of the Game Boy Advance emulator codenamed “Sloop”.

The same source also explains how these games have only been “tested”. In other words, there’s no guarantee all of them will necessarily receive a release in the future – even if a GBA service is announced.

As you can see, there are all sorts of GBA classics mentioned such as The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Metroid Fusion, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, and the fantastic Golden Sun games.

@Mondo_Mega – “The library of GBA games they’ve tested for this thing is massive. Tested is the key word; doesn’t mean they’ll all actually launch on the service. Yellow = in the rom folder at some point but not in the leaked build. There’s one other game with evidence of being tested though-“

Image: via Twitter (MondoMega)

The same source also revealed Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire / Emerald link cable emulation “testing” has likely taken place:

“There are multiple screenshots of different berry tag screens from Pokemon Ruby / Sapphire / Emerald saved in the emulator; most likely taken during link cable emulation testing.”

While there’s not quite as much to talk about the Game Boy and Game Boy Color emulation – codenamed “Hiyoko”, GBC titles will apparently run as separate apps. The ones spotted so far include Super Mario Land, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, Tetris and Qix.

“Not much to talk about with GB(C) though. The build of Hiyoko we have here is in an earlier state than Sloop; each game is a seperate app and there’s only four of them: Super Mario Land, Link’s Awakening DX, Tetris, Qix”

Game Boy emulators for Switch were first discovered in a 2019 datamine. This was followed by various reports last year about Nintendo’s classic handheld libraries coming to Switch’s online service at some point in the future.

If we hear any other developments, we’ll be sure to let you know.



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It Looks Like Nintendo’s Game Boy Emulator For Switch Online Just Leaked

Last year there were whispers that Nintendo was planning to bring Game Boy games to its Nintendo Switch Online subscription service to join the existing libraries of NES and SNES titles, plus the Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis catalogues available as part of the Expansion pack subscription tier.

Now, a leak seems to provide evidence that Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games may be hitting the service soon.

According to @trashbandatcoot on Twitter, files have been leaked onto 4chan which include a Nintendo-developed GBA emulator codenamed “Sloop” and a Game Boy emulator called “Hiyoko”, both developed by Nintendo of Europe’s NERD (Nintendo European Research & Development) team, the Paris-based subsidiary responsible for much of the company’s emulation efforts in recent years — including the emulators in the Classic Mini consoles and the N64/GameCube/Wii emulation in Super Mario 3D All-Stars.

There was even video of the said Game Boy (Advance) emulator supposedly running on the console, although the account that posted it was quickly deleted.

Is this surefire proof indicating that we’ll be playing Game Boy and GBA games on Switch in the nearish future? Let us know your thoughts in the usual place.




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You Can Play GTA V on the Game Boy Using This Clever Cartridge

Although the old top-down version of Grand Theft Auto was at one time ported to the Game Boy Color, the experience was nowhere near as fun as the notorious 3D versions of the game, so Sebastian Staacks decided to fix that and has come up with a way to actually play Grand Theft Auto V on the original Game Boy through the magic of game streaming.

As our various devices gain speed in accessing the internet rapidly increases through technologies like 5G and the recently demonstrated wifi 7, it seems inevitable that downloading giant video game installs or buying physical cartridges and discs will soon be a thing of the past. Streaming will undoubtedly be the real future of gaming, where titles run on powerful cloud servers while video of the gameplay is transmitted to players, exactly how services like Google Stadia and Xbox Cloud Gaming work—and there’s no more convincing demonstration of the true potential of game streaming than what Sebastian Staacks has come up with for their latest demo.

The last time we checked in with Staacks, they were demonstrating an original Game Boy streaming Star Wars. And while the movie has never looked worse than when it was compressed to 160 x 144 pixels running at 20 frames per second in four shades of gray, it was still a neat accomplishment. The secret behind the Game Boy’s newfound streaming capabilities was a custom cartridge Staacks designed and built around a wireless ESP8266 microchip and a custom PCB squeezed inside a Game Boy cartridge shell.

But Staacks is far from done with their custom Game Boy cartridge, and in a follow-up video and a new post on their personal blog, they share not only more details about the challenges of displaying full-screen video on the Game Boy’s screen which is limited to a tile-based rendering system, but also some new tricks added to the cartridge. Not only can it now be used to stream gameplay footage in real-time, but the Game Boy can also be used to actually play titles like GTA V using its own controls.

The experience doesn’t come anywhere close to playing Grand Theft Auto V on a PlayStation console, obviously. Not only will the Game Boy’s screen still burn your retinas, but the handheld lacks all the buttons and analog joysticks that help make 3D games feel so interactive. But the fact that you can is what makes this hack so impressive, and while Staacks has made the entire project open source for those wanting to attempt to build their own wireless cartridge, we’re going to remain hopeful that someone decides to build and sell these en masse for the rest of us.

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Unreleased Nintendo Game Boy Color Peripheral Revealed After 20 Years

An unreleased first-party peripheral for the Game Boy Color would have given Nintendo’s handheld a number of additional functions, including web browsing, e-mail options, and the ability to send selfies with the Game Boy Camera. The device, which would have been called the Page Boy, was showcased in a new episode of DidYouKnowGaming, hosted by Liam Robertson. In the video, Robertson reveals that the ambitious project was started by Eddie Gill, the founder of Source Research and Development, and creator of the Workboy. The Workboy was a similarly cancelled peripheral for the original Game Boy, that would have given the system an address book, world clock, the ability to make currency conversions, and more.

According to Robertson, Gill’s idea for the Workboy inspired him to keep trying to create a similar device. Alongside brother Christopher, they formed a group named Wizard. Interestingly enough, the system would not have used wi-fi, instead using radio waves, which is similar to how pagers worked around the same time (hence the name). To get the idea in front of Nintendo, Gill called on Frank Ballouz, a former Nintendo executive that oversaw the production of the Workboy. In 1999, Wizard pitched the idea to Nintendo complete with extensive information on the technology, as well as physical models of what it would look like, commissioned from a company called Sirius Modelmaking.

According to the presentation (obtained by Robertson), Page Boy would have included a search engine specifically for the device, called “Ask Mario.” As users waited for search results, Mario would talk to them, and even whistled the theme from World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros.! The device would even feature something called “Game Boy TV,” where Nintendo could make new announcements regarding upcoming games, which Robertson compares to an early take on Nintendo Direct presentations.

The device would have cost $50. Nintendo investigated the concept for three years, before closing the door in 2002. While Nintendo was fascinated by the concept, the technology would have been limited to North America, leaving out users in Japan and Europe. The company felt that it cost the item a big part of its appeal, which was being able to communicate with other Game Boy users around the world. The concept was clearly ahead of its time, and it could have been a very interesting device, had it come to market!

Are you disappointed this peripheral was never released? What do you think of the Page Boy concept? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!



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The Analogue Pocket Has Game Boy Camera Fans Taken Care Of

Photo: Andrew Liszewski – Gizmodo

If you owned a Game Boy, there’s a good chance the Game Boy Camera was your first digital camera. It was cheap, it was easy to use, and the 2-bit pixelated images it captured had an undeniable charm. For the first time in nearly 23 years there’s finally going to be an easy way to get those digital pics onto other devices—if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on the Analogue Pocket.

The $90 Game Boy Camera debuted back in 1998, and it was roughly the cost of the Game Boy itself. The camera slotted into the back of the handheld console, turning it into a full-fledged digital camera. Compared to even the other digital cameras available at the time, the Game Boy Camera’s specs were crude at best. Inside the swiveling lens that stuck up over the top of the Game Boy was a 128 x 128-pixel CMOS sensor that actually cropped images even smaller, to 128 x 112 pixels in just four shades of gray. That works out to 0.001434 megapixels.

With the ability to add fun effects to photos—decades before that would be a common feature on smartphones—and even basic stop-motion photography tools, the Game Boy Camera was still extremely popular. Even today, lo-fi photography fans do things like photograph the moon with it, or use old film photography tricks to produce color images.

Being a modern day Game Boy Camera photographer isn’t easy, though, with the most challenging workflow issue being actually getting digital copies of your shots off of the accessory, of which the camera can only store a handful. Nintendo’s solution was a link port connected thermal printer that turned Game Boy Camera photos into thumbnail-sized stickers, but getting those shots onto another device has long been a pain. Talented hardware hackers have come up with ways to connect the Game Boy Camera to modern printers, and even elaborate devices that wirelessly transfer those images to a smartphone, but there’s finally a much easier solution.

The Analogue Pocket, which officially started shipping this week, uses a custom chip inside to perfectly play any official Game Boy cartridge in existence, including the Game Boy Camera. The Pocket also features a microSD card slot that facilitates firmware updates as well as the ability to share game save files eventually, but the company has also revealed to Gizmodo that version 1.1 of the Pocket’s operating system, Analogue OS, will allow images from the Game Boy Camera to be easily retrieved through the memory card so they can be transferred to other devices.

It won’t be as effortless as wirelessly transferring images between smartphones—you’ll need to physically sneakernet that microSD card to another device—but it will be a solution that’s considerably more straightforward than what Game Boy Camera enthusiasts have had to rely on so far—custom link port adapters and special software to extract imagery. Currently, our Analogue Pocket review unit is running Analogue OS version 1.0, and while there’s no specific timeline for when version 1.1 will be available, it hopefully won’t be that far off as Pockets start arriving to those who preordered it a year ago.

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Next Nintendo Switch Online Console Potentially Leaked

Nintendo Switch Online now has N64 and Sega Genesis games, courtesy of the Nintendo Switch Online expansion pack. Right now, the current expectation is the service will be expanded with more platforms, but this hasn’t been confirmed. However, the files of the N64 app suggest that’s what is happening. 

In a huge datamining leak that reveals the N64 and Sega Genesis games coming to the service in the future, dataminers have pointed out that each game listed all have IDs for each platform, and these IDs are represented by numbers. For example, “2” is the SNES, “3” is the N64, and “5” is the Sega Genesis. Right now, there’s no platform with “4,” which of course suggests one will be added in the future.

“Initial datamining from the N64 app is somewhat fruitful,” said the dataminer. “Going by the game IDs there are at least 38 N64 titles planned for NSO. The list is alphabetical so you can fill in some of the gaps already; 37 is Majora, 32 is Smash, 33 is Wave Race, 14-16 is Mario Party, etc. Mega Drive proved to be even more interesting. At least 52 here! And if you’re still questioning additional NSO platforms beyond these two, look at the first number of the game IDs for each platform. N64 is 3, MD is 5; SNES was 2, you can figure out what that means.”

Recent rumors have suggested the Nintendo Game Boy is the next console coming to Nintendo Switch Online. Other rumors have suggested it will be the Nintendo GameCube. For many this datamining discovery reinforces these rumors, however, it’s worth noting that alongside the number nine, the number four is considered unlucky in Japan, so there’s a chance it was skipped for this simple reason. 

As always, we will update the situation as it develops. In the meantime, for more coverage on all things Nintendo — including all of the latest news, rumors, leaks, and speculation — click here.

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Rumour: Game Boy And Game Boy Color Games Still Expected For Switch Online

Image: Nintendo Life

Nintendo lifted the lid on a new tier of Switch Online retro offerings this week. The new ‘Expansion Pack’ will be comprised of a “collection” of Nintendo 64 and Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) titles.

So, what about those rumoured handheld systems for Nintendo’s online service? While there’s no sign of them, Eurogamer’s news editor, Tom Phillips, has now shared a bit of an update on Twitter – suggesting Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles are still on the way.

“N64 and Mega Drive were the two NSO platforms I’d heard about alongside Game Boy/Color. I’d imagine N64/Mega Drive are being rolled out first as they’re more enticing things to prompt people to upgrade.”

Phillips admits in a follow-up message how he’s not sure if these particular systems will be a part of the “higher pricing tier”, but known insider ‘NateDrake’ seems to think Game Boy and Game Boy Color games will be part of the “current” membership.

“I would anticipate that Game Boy and Game Boy Color are part of the current Nintendo Switch Online service and they [Nintendo] didn’t want to conflate the two.”

Earlier this month on the “Nate the Hate” podcast, the same insider said Nintendo 64 games would be coming to Switch Online alongside a “higher-priced” subscription tier, and Nintendo confirmed this information earlier this week during its Direct presentation.

Eurogamer also previously backed up our own comments and NateDrake’s about Game Boy and Game Boy Color games coming to the Switch Online service.

Would you be interested in playing these Game Boy libraries on your Switch? Tell us down in the comments.



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