If Nintendo Did Decide To Make A Smartphone, We'd Want It To Look Like This

looks pretty decent

nah, not feeling it. Not as nicely designed.

Meh looks alright I guess. But this reminds me of how many people have some how got it into their heads that the NX will be a smartphone.

The LG dual screen slider phone would be a better form factor for a Nintendo phone. Obviously you'd have dual screens but also accommodation for shoulder buttons and face buttons on either side of the slider portion. The concept above doesn't accommodate for more than a single touchscreen. That's kind of useless as a Nintendo device

The buttons on the lower end seem to be pretty hard to use. I would personally love a phone that can open up and have a 3DS-esque setup in the middle.

I'd buy it if it's made of the same material as the DS and Gamecube: Nintendium

needs triggers and a c-stick?

one screen would mean no DS or 3DS game so no thanks

The above design seems to resemble something obsolete, like a prototype for a smartphone before smartphones had ever hit the marketplace. Nevertheless, if Nintendo ever did make a phone, I'd still hope for a standalone console equivalent as I would buy both (and a Nintendo phone would be the first that I would ever buy).

That's looks like the most cramp inducing controller I've ever seen.You will have to snap your fingers back into position after an extended play on that thing.

Nintendo will never add 'boy' to their future product, just like Sony will never add 'man' to their products. It's so kitschy.

@FragRed I don't think the NX is a smartphone but rather that the 3DS successor is.

That looks horrible, no thanks

I wouldn't want Nintendo to use Android. Not even a Kindle Fire type version of Android.

I also don't like the Game Bat. It looks uncomfortable and flimsy. I do love the expansion port idea which is sort of like something we're seeing with Google's modular smartphone.

The overall design of the phone hits the right nostalgia buttons for me but I think it wouldn't be appreciated by the wider audience.

That looks bugly, no thanks.

I hate cell phones, love Nintendo. I don't ever want this to be a thing.

Looks flimsy, unergonomic, and expensive.

I'd rather have something like the PSPgo, as much as people hate it.

Nah, 3DS XL is already uncomfortable enough to play in the long run, this looks even more terrible. The stereo camera is also in weird position, that will require the phone to be held vertically, while the game button is on the side, which means the stereo camera can't be used with game/AR where the phone need to be held horizontally.

Something with clamshell or slider form factor is preferable if Nintendo want to make a phone.

Ugh, no. No. NO! Retro is great, yes, but that just looks cheap and the snap-on gamepad looks frighteningly fragile. The leverage that one could put on that edge would quickly damage those connectors.

The main problem I have with all of these homebrew designs, though, is that the designers have no understanding of electrical engineering and therefore while they can make a clean-looking outer shell, there is no consideration of the placement of chips, screens, etc. that would dictate whether or not such a design was even feasible.

Also, I'd MUCH rather see a design that places the D-Pad/Analog stick and buttons to the side (like the PSVita) instead of below the screen. Holding the gamepad from the bottom not only makes it uncomfortable for those with bigger hands, where exactly are you going to put the triggers?

I'd LOVE to see a Nintendo smartphone, but not one that looks anything like this.

P.S. There's a reason that those archaic design cues were left in the '80's. I don't want a phone that reminds me of a Fiat X1/9 car

controller looks super uncomfortable

That's not a good design.

I think all they need to do is put cell technology in a new type of 3ds. Thus the reverse would happen, a gaming machine with a phone as opposed to a phone that's trying to be a gaming machine. But if not I would purchase a Nintendo phone if it was available.

this looks like it could be a bad idea!

Do we think that we could live with a 'New 3ds XL that had the bottom part of it just a bit thicker for Cell-Phone function?

Those GB openings are a real dust collector.

Cosmetically it looks cool, with a very retro Game Boy feel. However, I would be very disappointed if Nintendo went the route of smart phone instead of a dedicated console or portable console. Other then time wasters and some puzzle games, I do not enjoy playing games on my phone.

But I'll give my respect to whoever dreamed up these photos because they put a lot of work into it.

Nah, I don't like it.

I find it simply ugly. And can someone explain to me why "Battery" module is interchangeable with "Memory" and "Camera"? Because from the outset this seems absolutely nonsensical... Also Android... Yuck! ;/

Has a BUTT-TON of potential and would be a nice throwback for old-school gamers.

Not a fan, then again I don't really enjoy smart phones in general. I think if Nintendo were ever to release a phone (please no), they wouldn't base it's design on one of their pre-existing systems. Doesn't seem like Nintendo's style.
Edit: Another thing, I highly doubt Nintendo would use an OS that is not their own.

LOL, no. The render is ok, but the technical aspect leaves much to be desired, specifically and as pointed before, the weight distribution, the ports and their future damage, the lack of buttons, the weird modularity...

Plot twist. This is the NX. ...okay I have a little more faith in the Big N than that haha.

I love the Game Boyish look, but the designer is thinking inside of the wrong box.

I would at least cram shoulder buttons there, and the controllers in this mockup are unusable. You would also have hard time reachng the touchscreen.

But most of all, I am a bit of Android Phobic what comes to games, because I am afraid of latency. Nintendo is very particular about low latencies, and I believe Wii U's hardware is built to induce as little latency as possible.

I like the title Smart Boy....feels like a spiritual sequel to Game Boy

It could use some work but still pretty cool. I'd honestly trade in my current phone for something like this.

I would be all over that. I'd worry about stability with the button module, but otherwise it looks inspired.

The phone itself at best looks okay. The attachment system looks incredibly stupid.

looks cool but I feel like the D-pad and buttons are too low,might be awkward to hold and play for a while

I'd rather the controller be a Bluetooth shell that you snap the phone into. I already have one like it in the shape of a 360 controller and it works quite well.

This looks.. really weird. Please don't make it look like this, Nintendo, if you ever make one of these. I love the looks of the old Game Boy, but it just doesn't work here, sorry.

The "8-bit" mode is a nice touch.

Imagine if the Nintendo NX was actually just a phone.. a really strong phone made with the purpose of gaming. I'd definitely be interested in a Nintendo phone.

This is titled as news?

Oh god no. That controller attachment alone would not survive usage.

they need a thinner version of the SP with touch screen. That would be the best of both worlds.

shut up and take my money nintendo! shut up and take my money!

and also it's kinda act like one of those modular phone feature

NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE!!! Get this away as far as possible from anyone at Nintendo who could be lunatic enough to actually pull this off!
Smart devices are one the worst things to have been invented in recent history, and I can only hope that Nintendo doesn't throw their dignity away for something as atrocious as this!

@bitleman @DreamOn the 2DS is a single screen

Its alright

When I saw it yesterday, I thought it was a rather silly desing.

Why bother having memory expansions if you need to get rid of the camera for them.

It also looks retro-dirty. Not sure that would catch on in a modern market.

A slider design with a 2nd screen in it would be better

@DinoFett
I think the 3ds with added phone capabilities would make more sense too. I don't think just adding phone features is enough though, Nintendo would have to court app developers from other phones in order to lure people over. It is one comment I see being made often about Windows Phone and their 'app gap'.

i hate smartphones

Reminds me of the Sony Xperia PLAY. That was a solid gaming device in terms of the build, but other than playing games on it, it wasn't that great of a device overall.

I'd get it.

That would be cool, though better if it slid to reveal the buttons, and also hopefully available in MULTIPLE SIZES for those of us who maybe don't want the largest model and still like the SMALLER 3DS

A proper cellphone version would probably need to invert the clam shell design so that both faces are exposed at the same time; just add a thin hardcover for the controller face when you're not using it and you're golden

Eh...no thanks.

I don't think it's that bad lookin' tbh.

Ugh, no thanks. Lots of extras to be bought, unlike a 3ds.

Yikes, the hate here for something that doesn't even exist! LOL
I personally think the phone looks very cool. The controller, though? Yeah, that looks uncomfortable.
It's just a concept, guys. Sheesh.

Fun concept but too retro, the gameboy is dead and it has reasons for being dead its appearence plays on too much nostalgia.

The problem with nintendo making a smartphone, is that they're so tied to "Dedicated Video Game Console" that if they tried to make a smartphone, no one would take it seriously.

Hideous.

I think a Nintendo phone should be a DS clamshell designed console with a touch screen phone integrated on to the the top panel.

I don't want this. "Smart boy" is not something a girl wants to have written on her phone.

It looks okay for the most part, though the attachment seems off-putting for me.

I like the novelty of it, but I doubt I would get it, unless it could compete with today's top brass of phones. Then again, I don't get smartphones to game, so...

If the button tray could slide out that would be incredible. This is certainly a fine stab at a Nintendo Smart phone that could survive its polarisation of fans.

Gotta admit, the ideas there are very interesting, not exactly keen on the design, but the idea of in general is pretty impressive.

@link422007 you said, "I'd buy it if it's made of the same material as the DS and Gamecube: Nintendium" - Like

This is still my favourite nintendo handheld/phone concept: http://giant.gfycat.com/InfamousGratefulHowlermonkey.gif

the physical buttons are on top of the screen.

Mobile phones and serious gaming don't really go well together, for -at least- two reasons: battery drainage, and lack of buttons. I still haven't seen these problems solved in a clever and elegant way, sorry.

I think Nintendo would have to work some kinks out of the phones design, but its none the less a good venture for Nintendo to take up.

That actually looks terrible...like, it reminds me of the Xperia Plays, which were deservedly unsuccessful...

That looks awful.

No, no, and no. This looks poorly designed from an ergonomic stand point, there's a reason why the "Boy" moniker was dropped with the DS (about half of all game players are girls and women), and there is no way I would ever support a Nintendo smartphone. I'm not going to encourage or enable the DeNA capital alliance, and all of the mobile style game designs and DRM that will inevitably accompany it.

I stand by my remarks of 1 and 2 years ago that I do not see Nintendo and smart phones working well together, and that I would refuse to support such deals if they ever reached fruition. I will not be swayed by the DeNA capital alliance so easily.

Maybe there's some other demographic out there which a Nintendo smartphone would be designed for... It wouldn't be for the core fans, though, that's for sure.

I would buy it!

No, just no...

@JaniN83 BAHAHAHAHA! Oh wow, that was a good one!

The ergonomics of that are awful. Little room for your hands and very top heavy.

What that design does show is that "mobile" platforms are limited by touch only inputs and will always be hampered by that fact. Playing FF III on my iPad was a truly awful experience.

It looks awful. Also, why would Nintendo need their own phone?

Looks pretty decent however I would prefer if the buttons were slide out.

If it's running Android, I wouldn't buy it. Android is an unstable mess and can't even handle itself much less actual gaming.

Maybe it's because I have been stuck with a Lumia WP8 for the past couple years, but this actually looks good to me. In any event, I would not only buy the phone, but I would join a premium carrier just to have the phone.

I'm sure I've seen this before, and as before I thought the way the "bat" connected to the phone looked pretty shoddy, like it could be snapped. Give me dedicated gaming over mobile any day of the week.

Nintendo will never use the name "gameboy" ever again. Gaurenteed. It alienates thier female fanbase.

It's part super retro cool but part meh at the same time.

It's one of these ideas that you think would be awesome, until you get one and realise all the limitations and issues with such a design, especially for old school gaming.

I love concept art like this! This would be a pretty neat device. Android would mean it wouldn't suffer from game shortage like FireOS does and Nintendo could still develop games that would be available exclusivly for the system.

I like the retro aesthetic. They could also have a more sleek looking modern design too.

Only thing I would probably change would be having the controls clip either side of the (horizontal) device, basically turning it into a GBA. This would allow for shoulder buttons and make it more comfortable. Also replacing the D-Pad with a Circle Pad would be great. A 3D display like the 3DS would be awesome too!

But yeah, pretty nifty idea. Would like it if Nintendo put something like this into practice, making it available on contract/pay-as-you-go with network providers like EE, o2 etc etc.

To be honest I think this would properly be one of the best ways for Nintendo to remain relevant as a modern company while retaining some exclusivity on their games. Imagine if this was £150-£200 handset only, would basically be the same as buying a new portable.

This is a fun concept and I like the design. but I have to agree with others that the idea of Nintendo making a phone seems fraught with peril. The phone market is littered with corpses that tried to enter the arena as something different or unusual. And unless it has some exclusive access to the Nintendo eShop or some kind of dedicated Nintendo console apps, a Nintendo phone would disappoint as just another phone for blah app download games. You can be sure it would not be a beast on specs, which means it needs some seriously solid exclusive content to survive.

I do like the throwback phone design though. Would be interested in some kind of design deal with an existing phone manufacturer to make phones designed based on old Nintendo systems.