Hyperkin show off Smart Boy at E3

What started off as an April Fools joke has now become a reality. 

Hyperkin joked in April that they'd be producing a device in which you place your smartphone in order to play Game Boy games. But the joke received such enthusiasm that they actually went and did it... sort of.

First thing to point out is that this isn't going to be available for your iPhone; Apple is too closed off for this to work - just look at how many times GBA4iOS has come into problems. No, this will be for Android only - what's not clear at this point is what Android phones.

Unlike with Apple devices, Android is simply a platform and the hardware comes in all shapes and sizes. It was showcased at E3 with a Samsung but that doesn't necessarily mean that only those phones would work. Having said that, it does appear that it requires a micro-USB input to allow the screen from the phone to become the devices LCD display - and that input is into the bottom of the phone. Sony phones, for example, have their input in the top left, side corner so presumably they won't work.

It'll be a shame if this exclusive to Samsung phones only as this seems really interesting. Original GameBoys suffer from ghosting and the Color and Advance systems have very dark screens. The SP did have a lit screen but the AGS-101 with a backlight was rare outside the US. The front-lit version was still good but if the phone can provide a sharp, light LCD screen then this could be a pleasure to play. And we're not just referring to ROMs, as you can also play original cartridges as well - although whether you're limited to original Game Boy cartridges or not is not clear yet.