Nostalgia is big business, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. Amidst all of the callbacks to our childhood, Hyperkin has injected one of their own with the Ultra GB, which the company revealed at CES 2018. The Ultra GB is a modern take on the old Game Boy Pocket and runs classic cartridges from across the entire Game Boy library.
The design of the Ultra GB harkens back to to the classic handheld, as it retains a lot of the same features. The power switch and volume control are in the same place as you remember them, and if you’ve still got one lying around, there’s Link Cable functionality for some old-fashioned Pokemon couch competition.
Gamespot’s Michael Higham tweeted out a picture of the device.
One of the dope things I got hands-on at #CES2018 is @Hyperkin‘s Ultra GB! I never knew how gassed up I’d be playing OG Game Boy games in 2018 lol pic.twitter.com/cbZ9T8xxmI
— Michael Higham (@michaelphigham) January 9, 2018
It’s worth noting that the picture above is of a prototype version and that Higham indicates that there will be a few significant differences with the final version. One of them involves the screen, as the Ultra GB will feature an RGB wheel so that users can change the tint of the screen if they want. The Ultra GB will also be chargeable through a USB-C port as opposed to the classic DC connector, so there are some modern upgrades.
There’s no final release date planned for Hyperkin’s Ultra GB, but it will be making an appearance at E3 2018. Hyperkin also says that the final price point should come in at under $100, so it will be a pretty affordable addition to any game collector’s library.
First the NES Classic, then the SNES Classic, and now the Ultra GB. It’s a good time to be a Nintendo fan.
In other Nintendo news, we are still waiting to hear the details on the upcoming January Nintendo Direct. The company teased a burning Chibi Robo on their Twitter account earlier today, so something is incoming. Stay tuned.
