According to a United States Patent Application Publication published today, Nintendo has filed a patent for a Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance emulator.
Originally filed on Nov 8, 2017, the patent application states that the emulator will work not only for personal computers but also for a “low-capability target platform,” such as airplane screens, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and cell phones. The emulator also aims to “provide high-quality graphics and sound that nearly duplicates the game playing experience on the native platform.”
Nintendo’s patent also references a 1998 application by Aaron Giles, whose emulator utilizes “adaptive frame skipping to maintain synchronization between emulation time and real time.” In other words, Giles’ emulator usually only renders each screen partially in order to minimize lag. The problem with this, according to Nintendo, is that the image quality is degraded when only partial commands are executed. This new patent supposedly solves the image degradation problem while still promising performance and sound quality.
While it’s currently unknown as to how Nintendo will use their emulator, it’s evident throughout the patent that the company is pushing for Game Boy accessibility and portability using today’s devices. It will be interesting to find out if this emulator will make its way to the Switch eventually, or if we’ll see a Game Boy classic down the line.
