Nintendo has been very clear that the concept of the Virtual Console is a relic of the past; on Switch, it seems that the company has other ideas about how to distribute retro games on its latest console.
However, that hasn't stopped Nintendo fan and indie developer JayH from dreaming up this intriguing hardware concept which bolts a screen to a single Joy-Con controller to create the perfect vintage gaming solution.
While it's nothing more than a mock-up on a page at the moment, we're struck by the simplicity of this design; it wouldn't cost Nintendo much to produce a unit which houses a screen and a system-on-a-chip powerful enough to run SNES, NES, Mega Drive and Neo Geo games, and this could be equipped with Wi-Fi in order to download games from the eShop.
Or, perhaps an industrious individual not involved with Nintendo can find a way of connecting the Joy-Con to a screen for emulation purposes - could this be a Kickstarter in the making?
Let us know what you think of this cool idea by posting a comment.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 63
Hooboy, here come more of those Kickstarter millions for people with basic Photoshop skills but no experiences with production design and manufacturing.
Gosh, the monitor size will be so tiny.
Replacing the original screen with a smaller one and in the process making the L and R buttons impossible to reach ? What a great idea !
So it uses the joycon which is not the best joypad for retrogaming and associate it with a new hardware : nonsense !
I NEED this!
Legal issues...
Legal issues everywhere.
So we would lose the nice screen to a cheap and tiny one... and we don't even get a dpad.
For retro games.
Yeah... I don't think the appeal of the Switch is the single joy-con playstyle...
What's the point? I don't understand this? Why not just play these game on the switch?
If only I could play virtual console games on my 2DS XL, with its D-pad and shoulder butt.... Wait. I can.
@Tibob I am guessing there would be L&R on the back of the screen.
On the Game Boy Player I always switch from stick to d-pad depending on the game scenario but for SMW it would be so tedious to play it all the way like that.
It's a neat idea, nowhere near fruition, which he has just shared with the whole world, for anyone to mimic...
@HobbitGamer I love a GBA with access to New 3DS Virtal concole Games.
I don't think a single Joy-con even has all of the buttons needed for SNES games.
Could you even fit a Raspberry Pi in something that tiny? I know they're small, but...
So........what does this solve? I'll be able to play these games on my Switch in a couple of months and it already has a screen and is portable. As a preference I'd rather play these on a d-pad so I really have no use for this.
Neat idea from a creativity perspective but I'm not sure the point, short of Nintendo wanting to sell a $89.99 add on for the Switch.
Screen is too small. I'm spoiled with the 3DS XL, Switch and phones now. Wonderful idea, though.
@CrazyOtto SNES: A, B, X, Y, L, R, Start, Select, D-pad.
Joycon: A, B, X, Y, L, R, +, Home, control stick.
Not a graceful transition, but it could work.
A single joycon isn't the best controller, so keeping just this from the switch to be attached to another device isn't a good idea.
Also playing snes with a stick instead of a dpad sounds horrible and it is also missing the triggers.
The whole point of virtual console on the switch is to have everything on a single device, not multiple cheap things.
TL;DR: stupid idea
unless I've been imagining it since buying it, the Switch already has a screen! the virtual console is dead peeps we know this. Nintendo has other ideas! isnt it time to get used to the idea now?
... unplayable for Snes.
Just give me Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, & LeafGreen on VC so I can play every main series Pokemon game on the 3DS. :')
They're a tad expensive but the GPD XD an emulate pretty much anything. Sick of waiting for Nintendo to drip feed the classics again.
@Tedikuma It’s possible but you’d have to use the raspberry pi zero. It’s incredibly small
I certainly won't be googling 'joy boy'
I’m actually loving this. It’s a novelty but really cool. Ultra-portable as well.
Playing 2D games with the control stick? Not being able to access the L/R buttons? Again, what would this thing's advantage be vs if it had built-in buttons? Build quality I guess? But yeah, who would need this?
I'm surprised you didn't think of this @damo
I would buy it
From concept to Joy Boy Micro iteration... all in one photoshop image
Cute concept, but obviously isn’t necessary and really won’t even work well as a novelty.
One reason, no d-pad is still a problem. Those who have already solved the d-pad issue will have even bigger problem, as the buttons are utilized as your d-pad. Shoulder buttons are inaccessible, making most snes games unplayable. For the same size and price you can grab gba micro on ebay, which has a d-pad and fully functional for snes and other 32 bit games. Or, if these games come to switch anyway, well you could just use your switch and not have to buy or carry anything extra.
I could see it working with NES, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear, GBC, GBA, NeoGeo, and Turbo Grafx-16/PC Engine games but for SNES and N64 it probably will not work especially with the lack of L, R, and SELECT buttons. Also the no d-pad support will flop this from the get-go as playing platformer and fighting games on this will not work as accurate.
Looks amazing if you can get the triggers and the grippiness to work right
It is ironic that they are called Joy-Con but when you try to use them sideways it causes infinite sadness and rage of immense proportions, but even more so for games like Wizard of Legend where it is your only option for co-op... such a dumb choice for a developer to make as the only controller option.
I wouldn't pay for that.
How do you use the SL and SR buttons when a Joy Con is connected to a Joy Boy?
@Tibob I was thinking about as well.How can you play S.N.E.S. games like Super Mario World with L and R buttons?Does anyone think this guy has already realized this?
@CrazyOtto It wouldn't have a Select and if there's no way to use SL and SR then that would be three buttons missing for a S.N.E.S game unless you use the ZL/ZR and L/R buttons.
Interesting concept, but I'm not sure it's a viable solution. Besides, my trusty 3DS serves this function well enough.
... what's the point? If you're gonna make a separate raspberry pi portable system, give it a controller built for it. Holding a joycon on its side works, but it should never be your first choice for gaming if other options are possible as there are so many more comfortable and reasonable button layouts that we'd all prefer instead.
These garbage Kickstarter projects need to stop
it's a stupid concept.
@Spectra Well, I like the Nintendo Switch Online subscrption and I think it's a great idea to play classic Nintendo games. I don't get why you think it's a bad idea.
@CrazyOtto Well, it technically does... It actually has one more. Four face buttons, a control stick (instead of a D-Pad), and the R and ZR (or L and ZL) buttons are usable, even if not comfortable at all. Plus for Start and Select, you have the Plus and Home buttons (or Minus and Capture). And you can even click the analog stick, which is basically an extra button!
So are there enough buttons? Yes. Are they in any way comfortable to use? Not at all.
Wonderful !
Looks cool but I'll just keep playing these games off my phone with a gamesir Bluetooth controller or the actual joycons because they already pair with Android
I just want a switch dock with a Wii U/Wii/GameCube disc drive attached, a sensor bar port, an HDMI port, Wii mote and Gamepad support (that somehow makes these controllers act as compatible controllers with switch games as well, four GameCube controller ports, two GameCube memory card ports, a native switch app that lets you pick your system in the UI...
And while I’m dreaming, both an SD and a microSD card port.
And the SD card port can play DS games using the game pad or even the switch detached from the dock as a second screen.
Basically I want a souped up Wii U with a switch charger attached and that can connect to a switch through Bluetooth like a Wii U gamepad... and also just connect to a Wii U gamepad.
What’s the point in using the joycon? Why not just build in the controls, I doubt it’d cost any more and it’d be more ergonomic and allow for a proper dpad better suited to old games.
... At this point It'd be better to buy a used psp, vita or any of the open handhelds like gp2x.
Cya
Raziel-chan
@Tibob I didn't even notice that until you mentioned it, that is a pretty huge oversight, especially with the game shown being Super Mario World, which uses the L and R buttons pretty extensively.
What the hell would one even be able to play with such few buttons...
Pong?!
Doesn't look perfect to me. Why would I want to play classic games with poor controls and a small screen, instead of using the Switch normally while playing something like an emulated NES classic?
@Razzy
True. If you are going to have to have different hardware a switch joycon is not ideal. Bring the dpad.
Well we can't see the back of the unit so it may be a little thicker in the back and have the shoulder buttons. Maybe.
I think I'd rather it be a Game Boy Advance SP sized screen that can run GB, GBC, GBA, Game Gear and Neo Geo Pocket Color games from a micro SD card. The screen would be too small to play console games. And obviously it would work with all future Joycons so when Nintendo does release a proper d-pad Joycon, it would still be compatible. And why bother doing so? Because they can, or if these guys can't, somebody should. Sometimes you just want a small device to slip descretly into your trouser pocket which you can't do with a Switch. And phones don't have proper buttons to play games with.
terrible idea, the switch is already portable. Why would i want an add on that makes it crappy
This is the worst thing I've ever seen, I'm never coming to this site again
So what is this then? I mean what is the purpose of it? If it isn't using the Switch's own screen then it is it's own stand alone device. With this in mind you really have to ask why even bother with the joycon attachment. It just seems completely unnecessary and when it comes to controls for an emulator handheld there are far better ways of going about it than with a joycon attachment.
Guess I'll be the mean one. That looks like garbage and likely would handle like it too with those old games. They're not made to awkwardly play using 4 buttons or a stick for digital not analog control(stick.) It's made for a normal shaped/function D-pad and a similarly designed/spaced out set of buttons in the right amount. Pie in the sky, Nintendo wouldn't touch this.
@Will808 Except dedicated handheld gaming consoles are still better for portable gaming than modern smartphones thanks to their bulit-in physical controls for gaming no matter how completely awful this Kickstarter product is.
@GamingDude800 look up the gamesir G4S bluetooth controller on Google it attaches to your phone and provides physical buttons it's great for steam link games especially and emulators
@Will808 Sorry but I personally have exclusively switched to dedicated handheld gaming consoles for all of my portable gaming needs ever since I got my PSP Go on Amazon I believe i 2016 or something as I personally don't need to completely rely on completely unreliable Bluetooth connections just to play games with physical controls on any of my dedicated handheld gaming consoles thanks to their built-in physical controls for gaming.
@GamingDude800 I've personally experienced no disconnects or noticeable lag since I bought it a year ago. But what do I know I'm the type of guy to buy a $100 wireless gaming mouse to play on his gaming laptop. At the end of the day it's just personal preference and it's okay to play that way. I still highly recommend checking it out if you ever become interested though
But it has no d-pad, whine , whine, whiiiiiinnnne, etc.
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