The Game Boy Is Coming Back, Hyperkin's Ultra GB Plays Original Cartridges

Hyperkin is known for its lineup of retro consoles and introducing new ways to play old games. At CES 2018, the company revealed a prototype of the Ultra GB, which plays Nintendo Game Boy games using the original cartridges.

The Ultra GB shares a similar design to the Game Boy Pocket, but it's built with an aluminum body and a front-lit screen. Button layout and ergonomics remain the same as the old handheld, though. You'll find the volume control and power switch in same place as the original Game Boy. While the concept design has a blue tint to the screen, Hyperkin is adding an RGB wheel to change the screen's color tint in the final model.

The prototype Ultra GB has a DC power connector, but the final version will charge through a USB-C port. There's also a link cable port to maintain the multiplayer capabilities of some Game Boy games. Stereo audio is another big feature on the Ultra GB, which was implemented with Chiptune musicians in mind.

Hyperkin hasn't given a release date for the Ultra GB just yet but stated that it's aiming to launch by the end of the year. A price hasn't been set either, but the company said it's likely to be under $100 USD. A near-final build will be shown off in June at E3 this year.

With the wild popularity of gaming's past, seen with the NES Classic and SNES Classic, it seems a return of the old handhelds is in order. We've covered some of Hyperkin's products in the past like the SaveWizard for PS4, the retro-style X91 Xbox One controller, and Retron HD that plays NES games.

For much more, check out the best gaming hardware at CES 2018.