CES 2018 – Hyperkin Ultra Game Boy Resurrects a Classic

When it comes to CES in Las Vegas, the expectation is that we’ll be introduced to the newest and most advanced consumer electronics in the world. As it turns out, this also means revisiting a blast from the past. If you’ve been itching for some original Tetris, a little Super Mario Land and maybe some Pokemon Red and Blue for good measure, you’ll be more than a little stoked to hear about the Hyperkin Ultra Game Boy.

Given all the fervor surrounding the NES Classic Edition and the SNES Classic Edition, it feels like it’s inevitable before Nintendo starts exploring other consoles from its past for a classic reconditioning. For the time being, there’s nothing official about a Game Boy Classic, though.

To help fill that void, the Hyperkin Ultra Game Boy takes what we knew and loved about the original Game Boy and improves on it in a few big ways. For starters, instead of a fading plastic shell, you get a much tougher aluminum housing. And instead of taking four AA batteries, the internal battery can be recharged over USB-C for about six hours of play at a time.

Perhaps one of the most controversial changes is the inclusion of a new backlit LCD display. Whereas we were forced to endure the puke spinach green screen of the original Game Boy, the Hyperkin interpretation runs through the whole RGB spectrum. You know, in case you’re not already getting enough RGB-ness from your gaming mice and keyboards. The backlight can be turned off if you want an experience closer to the original.

Unlike the NES Classic and SNES Classic, however, this system does not come with any pre-installed titles, so you’ll need to hunt down some original cartridges. But hey, at least this looks way more authentic than the Hyperkin SmartBoy accessory, right?

Hyperkin is aiming for a late summer release at a sub-$100 price point. They just have to get past Nintendo’s lawyers about that Ultra Game Boy name. There’s no way Nintendo would allow that, right?