Nintendo Trademarks 'Game Boy' in Japan, Sparks Speculations of Another Throwback Console
Recently, local reports from Japan claimed that Nintendo had applied to trademark the brand Game Boy in the country. This could be a sign that the video game giant is preparing for another major throwback release.
Earlier reports mentioned that the supposed brand to be trademarked was the "Classic Mini Game Boy," which made sense since Nintendo has had very successful releases of the Classic Mini NES and SNES Classic Edition this year.
However, Kotaku updated their report to add that the brand mentioned in the official trademark application papers filed pertained to a "Game Boy" branding.
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The first report of the trademark application was provided by a bot Twitter page that showed the documents were submitted last Sept. 15 and had an attached Game Boy console image.
For a bit of a refresher, the Game Boy was Nintendo's 8-bit handheld console that was first released in 1989 worldwide. At launch, Game Boy owners around the world enjoyed classic titles such as "Tetris," "Super Mario Land," "Alleyway," "Baseball," "Tennis," and the Japan-exclusive "Yakuman."
In the previous decades, Nintendo repeatedly rebuilt the Game Boy console based on the technological advancement and trends at the time. In 1998, Nintendo released the Game Boy Color that obviously allowed developers to add colors to their classic titles.
Nintendo has yet to comment on the reports and speculations of a Game Boy comeback release. However, considering the marketability of all the throwback console and classic editions they have launched, it is possible that an all-new Game Boy project is in the pipeline.
Just last month, Nintendo launched the SNES Classic Edition that sold out in less than hour on most retailers. In fact, the company's recurring problem both on the classic releases and the new Switch console is how they can ramp up their production to keep up with the market demand.
Meanwhile, since SNES Classic Edition consoles were sold out on Day 1, Nintendo and authorized retailers promised that more supplies will be arriving on shelves soon.
